Hey guys,

I'm new to breeding and have recently done my first mating with my bitch.  At day 67 nothing was progressing so I took the bitch to the vet for an x-ray and scan and she was totally empty.  It appears to have been a full phantom/false pregnancy or reabsorption.  On what would be day 86 the bitch had started bleeding very heavily and her vulva was very swollen, thinking pyo or infection I took her straight to the vet who scanned her and said no infection was present but put her on an anti-biotics just incase.  On day 89 I took the dog back to the vets for bloods as she was still bleeding very heavily and it turns out she is back in season.  !

The first season of this mating the bitches vulva was not swollen at all and the bleeding was so little that we nearly missed it.  No males showed any interest in her at all.  I did her bloods for the first season and it showed progesterone levels ramping up so she appeared to be having a proper season.   I learned how to and performed cytology on the bitch when with the stud dog to make sure we had the bitch properly covered and I'm pretty confident we got the timing part perfect.   The bitch had a bit of discharge around day 10 which was odorless and creamy white which lasted for 1 day.  My vet said this was an early sign of pregnancy in some breeds so to take it as a good sign.  Another few days later we had a lighter white discharge which again had no smell, the vet this time said we should put the bitch on an antibiotic just in case it was a minor infection.  The antibiotics seemed to clear it all up without any problem.  

We took the bitch for a scan on day 35 to a local fertility company as my vets, due to lockdown, would not do the scan as they were only taking emergencies.  I explained before the scan that this was my first time breeding and when the man doing the scan saw that my bitches teats were larger than normal before starting the scan said' Well she's definitely pregnant'.  The scan I saw was a fuzzy mess and as far as I'm concerned I saw absolutely nothing there, the man scanning pointed to the screen a few times and said 'There's one' ' There's another one' when I honestly saw nothing.  I came home and watched a video of a 35 day pregnant dog scan and it was absolutely nothing like what I had seen, I saw no black masses at all just grey fuzziness. The man scanning was quick to remind me that there was still plenty of time for reabsorption and it would be worthwhile to pop back around day 50 for another scan.  In hindsight, I'm pretty sure he could see my bitch was empty and just wanted another scan fee from an obvious newbie. 

During the 'pregnancy' i took the bitches temperature every single day ( excessive I know! ) and at no point did it go outwith normal range,  I've had the stud dogs fertility checked and it came back as excellent.  The bitch put on a bit of weight during this pregnancy but I suspect more from excess food for the non-existant puppies and the restriction from her usual exercise.  I've no idea why the pregnancy failed my only assumption is that she was pulled into a pack style season with the rest of her sisters, who were all in season at the exact same time, when she wasn't actually due, but I dunno.
 
So here is my question...  Now that my bitch has gone back in season straight away do I breed her again now from this season or do I wait until the next one?  Is this whats called a split-season?  I don't mind waiting if that's the correct thing to do but the advice I have been given so far after the first pregnancy was confirmed as a failure was that it was very important to make sure I breed my bitch again on the very next season. I was told that if a bitch has a failed or false pregnancy or even recovers from a treated pyo it was essential to breed them on the very next season as repeated unproductive phantom or false pregnancies can cause the lining of the uterus to thicken each time which is the prime cause of cysts to develop causing uterine infections and ultimately pyometra.   The last thing I want to do is cause my bitch any problems.  Do i try again straight away or wait for her next season in December?  Happy to answer any questions :)

Cheers AJ

It seems that she probably experienced a split season.  Usually when this happens, the bitch comes out of season before ovulating and then comes back in and ovulates very soon after coming back in.  If you didn't do progesterone testing up until the point where you got an 'ovulation confirmed' result, then you wouldn't know she has come out of season - if you just went on the rising levels.  Then you bred her just before she came out of season and before she ovulated.

> I learned how to and performed cytology on the bitch when with the stud dog to make sure we had the bitch properly covered and I'm pretty confident we got the timing part perfect.

Cytology is really quite difficult to read properly, and needs a lot of experience.  Whilst it is not difficult to take the swabs and make the slides, interpreting the results really needs and experienced and I just doubt you could be doing this accurately by yourself on your first bitch....

> Another few days later we had a lighter white discharge which again had no smell, the vet this time said we should put the bitch on an antibiotic just in case it was a minor infection.  The antibiotics seemed to clear it all up without any problem.  

Odourless white or creamy discharge after breeding is very normal and not a reason to put a dog on ABs.  The discharge clears up by itself, so likely that had nothing to do with the ABs.  Please don't overuse antibiotics - they have many adverse effects, from affecting the immune system of puppies, resulting in larger than usual puppies, resulting in antibiotic resistance so that when you really do need them, they are not as effective... and so on.

>Now that my bitch has gone back in season straight away do I breed her again now from this season or do I wait until the next one?

It depends on when you want puppies.  No reason to breed her again, but if you want puppies soon, then do so.  However you might not have long to wait because she may well be over already by now - she is likely not going to be the usual 10-12 days before being ready now, she is likely to ovulate very soon after coming back in again, that's what happens with split seasons.  They are not 2 separate seasons, it is one season interrupted....

>the advice I have been given so far after the first pregnancy was confirmed as a failure was that it was very important to make sure I breed my bitch again on the very next season. I was told that if a bitch has a failed or false pregnancy or even recovers from a treated pyo it was essential to breed them on the very next season as repeated unproductive phantom or false pregnancies can cause the lining of the uterus to thicken each time which is the prime cause of cysts to develop causing uterine infections and ultimately pyometra.  

I'm not sure who gave you this advice, but the only reason to breed her again immediately would be if she had pyo-ed.  Which she hasn't.  If she had pyo-ed she is likely to do it again after her next season, if not bred.  So breeders need to breed ASAP and then spay before that can happen.  But if she has just missed a pregnancy or failed to get pregnant or had a phantom, those are in no way a reason to breed again immediately.  None of those things are going to cause cysts or cause her uterus to thicken.  The uterus of a dog is constantly degrading over the dog's life time and the more cycles the dog has, typically the more degraded it will become - but those issues don't cause anything more than the usual process.

> During the 'pregnancy' i took the bitches temperature every single day

Totally unnecessary and invasive.  I've always maintained that if you stuck something up my backside on a regular basis, I would definitely bite you.

For all those newbies reading this thread.  I have never, ever taken a bitches temperature in 45 plus years, and I've never had a bitch miss.

(Just to add - I have taken temperatures, but only in a dog that needed treatment.)

' I've always maintained that if you stuck something up my backside on a regular basis, I would definitely bite you.'

Love that . And me too!

What age is this bitch because I thought, but I don't KNOW, split seasons tended to be more likely in a puppy - before her cycle is fully established.

Regardless, if she was mine, I'd leave her for now (not a great time to be breeding in any case with this lock-down still basically in effect) and see how she is by the end of the year.

I don't like it that she's back bleeding heavily.   Me neither re temperature taking.

ps   We had a singleton bitch puppy who, unlike all my other bitches, came in bang on 6 months the first time, and then started cycling every 5 months.   Mine started at around 8 months and cycled at that interval.   As I felt all this was pulling her down, after 3 seasons like that, I had her spayed.   She wasn't really good enough to be shown much in any case.   She stayed with us to the end of hr life however.

Split seasons are very common at all ages and many bitches have them without owners even noticing. 

It's bad luck to get one on a breeding cycle, but it happens.

And yes, taking the temp throughout pregnancy is very pointless and going to make a bitch dislike it... You only need take it when you are expecting labour, not right through pregnancy - why would you do that...?