I have a 9 month old boarder collie. She suffered a long bout of diarehha as a puppy (no cases was found) she is fit and healthy now but only weights 11.4 k. my vet has advised me that she sould not have a litter in the future due to her size. I would appreciate a second opinion. many thanks dawn.

I have one peice of advise....CHANGE YOUR VET!!! and ignore his advise.
Archer

Was it the future generally or did he say in the near future?  Just as.. well, not that I know much at all about Border Collie's, but I would have thought that 11.4kg is a bit on the lean side?  I mean, my cockers weigh more than that!  So perhaps your vet was indicating that he would prefer her to put on a bit more weight and ensure her health is tip-top before you should consider breeding from her?  Just a thought, as I said, I may well be wrong! :)

Guest
feed your dog properly,exercise her properly and love her for what she is.
If she is very small it is unwise to have a litter from her as it could carry the risk of complications.
Only the healthiest bitches who have passed the required health tests for the breed should have pups... not a bitch who has had a poor start in order to put weight on her
Archer

Archer, it may just be me, but why have you given conflicting pieces of advice to this question?  In your first reply you tell the guest to ignore their vets advice and then in in your second reply, you give a much more informative and I would have thought correct answer, the type I have come to expect you to post? :)

Hello Guest,
We have a border collie too,she is now 10 1/2 months,she weighs in at 19.4kgs,which seems about right for her build and age.She has just been spayed,having had her 1st season 3months ago and she lost 1/2kg following the op. we had no intention of breeding from her :)
We feed her on Nature diet and James Wellbeloved complete,plus veggies both cooked and raw.
She is full of energy,has a glossy coat and our vet assures us she is in 'perfect' health :)
Once your own bitch begins to 'fill out' if you do decide to breed from her,please be sure to get her health checks done,hearing,eyes,hip scores etc. it is so important that these checks are completed to ensure both a healthy 'mum' and lovely puppies!
good luck with her and enjoy your time with her,as much as we do with Spice :)
Jacqueline.

Where have I given conflicting advise?? Any vet who tells someone to have pups from a dog in order to put weight on her is,IMO,not worth the consulting fee you pay him.
Archer

Oh dear, speed reading :D   The Vet said she should NOT be bred from because of her small size.

Of course she may well make up the size by the time she is mature at two, but I would agree with the Vet that a poor doer is not a good candidate as a brood bitch.

More importantly than size, is she a good representation of the breed.  Infact is she a KC and/or ISDS registered Border Collie (not boarder by the way)?

She should pass the relevant health checks as in hip scoring and eye testing.  Was she tested as a 5-6 week old puppy for CEA? 

There are far more things to consider then her weight.  Your vet may have been seeing something other then her weight when he advised you not to breed.

& of course if she is ISDS registered & you want to register her puupies with the ISDS you have to join the ISDS & she has have a eye cert

& the stud dog has to be ISDS registered as well

Unregistered BC puppies don't make "good"prices-locally they make about £50 each & take ages to sell

Why do you want to breed from her anyway ? Is she a good worker or done well in shows(obedience or breed) ?

BC rescue is full of "pet"breed BC's

Ahah....my apologies!Really should make time to sit down to read things properly instead of a quick read here abd there
Archer

I suspect you may have misread the post Archer.  The Vet said that she should NOT have pups, which seems to me to be excellent advice.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

To be honest I think the vet is absolutely right in this, Archer.  If the bitch is as tiny as that she should certainly not be bred from, now or in the future. Well done that vet - most say "Yes, she'll be fine". This seems to be one who has the bitch's health uppermost.