Hello, I found this website earlier today while searching the internet and thought it was excellent. I have a  bitch who will be 3 years old in January.  So far she has had 2 litters and both have been a disaster, her first pregnancy went fine until she started to pup 3 days early.  She had 2 puppies, 1 normal sized pup which was born dead and the other a lot smaller which I fought to keep alive but sadly died a day later.  The vet took an x-ray and said everything looked ok and put her on antibiotics because she had a horrible looking discharge and was not herself. Anyway the discharge continued for months and she was back and forth to the vets and on numerous different antibiotics (can't remember all the names but sinulox was one) eventually it cleared up and on the vets approval a while later she became pregnant again.  She was fine all through her pregnancy and this time gave birth at 61 days in April.  This time she had 3 normal sized puppies and 1 puppy not fully developed, all off which were still born.  Again she has had a discharge ever since and has been back and forth to the vets and on various antibiotics.  I decided not to breed with her again and to have her spayed but my Vet said we should try her once more but to try giving her antibiotic throughout her season and again and day 57 of her pregnancy.

I am so confussed as what to do for the best I have every faith in my Vet but I don't want to put her through any more upset, I would really like to know what is causing her to loose the puppies. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I would be most greatful.

I am just curious as to why you would continue to breed with this bitch? I don;t breed myself so I am only asking from curiosity and no other reason :)

You say your bitch will be 3 years old in January so if my counting is correct that makes her 2.5 years old just now and you then go on to say "so far she has had 2 litters". Sheltie's are not my breed but I would have thought that would have been a bit much. Perhaps someone will come on and tell me I am wrong and this is ok for that breed, but if not then I would not breed from her as there seems to something wrong somewhere., but should you go ahead how long are you planning to wait before you get her mated ?
Margaret

Has your vet suspected Pyometra?  If so maybe it's not safe for her to have a litter and she should be done.

Have you used the same male each time?  If so maybe they're just not compatible and you should speak to your bitch's breeder and see which lines are suitable.

She sounds awfully young to be having a 3rd litter, shouldn't she be having a rest. In my breed the guidelines are not to breed before 2 years old, and to allow at least one season between litters. I also agree that it does sadly seem like there is something wrong with the bitch that is causing the puppies to be born dead, so it might be better not to put her through a 3rd pregnancy.

Personally I don't think I would try with this bitch again unless she was really something very special and had a lot to offer the breed, some bitches aren't meant to have pups and there isn't a lot we can do about it, sometimes it just isn't meant to be. 
In addition she seems awfully young to have had two pregnancies, in my breed which is a similar size most people wouldn't breed before the age of two and would then only have two or three litters at most, two years apart.