Why did My german shepherd female only have ONE puppy?

Question

I'm sad :( Last time she also ONLY had one, and same goes for this time. She seems to be normal now...

She is a little over a year old and in great health. Can someone please explain?

Answer 1

It might not be your dog. Did you mate her with the same stud both times? He could have a low sperm count. OR if hes fine too and they are only mating one time it might not be enough. Maybe they need to "Do it" many times.

Your taking the right steps consulting your vet. Just in case the reason is something medical.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

If she is just a little over a year old, she shouldn't have been bred yet AT ALL, let alone twice. Large breed dogs should NEVER be bred before 18 months, preferably not before 2 years. Actually, the more I look at this, the more I think it must be a joke or a mistype, since I can't believe that someone would breed a baby, and it is unlikely she went into heat early enough to have had two litters already. But if it isn't, maybe the fact that you bred her too early resulted in only one puppy. A baby herself, she can't handle the physical (or emotional) stress of producing puppies.

Answer 3

Possibly because her reproductive system is not mature. As W. said, no female dog should be bred prior to 2 years old.

What you've done here is put stress not only on her immature body, but also her immature reproductive system. I'm guessing that you bred her back-to-back on her first and second heat cycles. It's not at all surprising that she's having trouble producing puppies.

The question is, now that you've done this to her, will she ever be able to produce a normal litter?

Sometimes the inability to produce a normal litter indicates an anatomical abnormality in the female.

Either one of these issues could be causing her problems. Either way, you should do the smart thing and have her spayed. Do your research *first* next time.

Answer 4

She is not old enough nor mature enough to be bred! "just over a year"..... and this is her second breeding? what is wrong with you?


This ladies and gentlemen is a prime example of a Back Yard Breeder. Bit ch was breed twice before she was even 2 yrs old.
Congratulation, not only have you entered the status of BYB, but you're taking a chance of killing your dog with the way you are breeding her! She isn't even old enough to have certain health screening done and you're trying to pump out puppies already!

I see alot of "don't breed her again until she is 2 yrs old". Ummm that'll probably be the 3rd heat in a row she'd be bred, and some of you are suggesting it? How about either get her fixed or wait a YEAR until you've educated yourself, and had her health tested!

Answer 5

First of all no female should be bred until they are at least 2 years old and have had genetic health testing to determine if any genetic weaknesses will be passed on in future litters. I would take this sole puppy as an indicator that your female isn't meant to breed and have her spayed.

Answer 6

She is very young to be having pups. While she has reached sexual maturity it is not safe to breed a dog until they are two. In her case her body has probably terminated any extra pups in an early stage because her body could not handler it. I would recommend that you get her spayed or not breed her again until she is at least two years old.

Answer 7

If your not there throughout the whole birth then she may have eaten the others. Most dogs eat the pups untill they have the number they want especially since shes a little young (old enough to have pups but...) her mothering instinct hasn't kicked in yet and she then would def. eat some. If theres a possiblity that thats the problem next time watch her the whole time and clean the pups off your self instead of letting her. And jsut make sure she doesn't eat the rest. Then after shes done giving birth feed her a good big chucnk of raw hamburger and she wont eat them. Im not sure why this works but it does! Or it could be that one is just the number of eggs she releases, it could alos be because of her age. So ask a vet to chech her out to make sure that shes just to young to produce more then 1 egg. And if your breeding her pure you tell let the people who owned the stud that usually only one pup comes out because they could be expecting more and then when only 1 pup comes they could be a bit mad.
Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 8

are you taking her to the vet?
normally when breeding a dog, you're supposed to wait until the females are 2 years of age.
only a year and a half? shes already had two litters? :(
wait until she's older, she'll most likely increase and always take her to the vet when shes pregnant, she could have more puppies inside her that are dead, i wouldn't doubt health issues because she's so young.

Answer 9

Great job on being an uneducated breeder and dog exploiter. She shouldn't have been bred until at least the age of 2. Get her spayed, you obviously don't know enough to be doing this.

Answer 10

Because that is the way that her body is build, and how much, her body can handle. Consider yourself lucky, there are a lot of female dogs who can't give birth at all. And you coulds also go to the vet, to see if there is anything else wrong with her.

Answer 11

GOOD! i hope you know you are killing your dog by breeding her so young. and breeding her MULTIPLE times before she is old enough! what is wrong with you?! did you even bother to research anything about healthy, safe breeding? i hope you are a troll, if not, you should not be allowed to own a dog. i hope you find a better home for that puppy than the one you are providing for your own dog. if only ignorance was physically painful...