We have heard from a couple of people that when a female dog is allowed to have numerous litters of pups, it takes "life" from them. One person even swore that it took a good 5 years off his Boxers life. What do you think? Have you heard that?
2007-03-31 02:45:23 · 10 answers · asked by Malea S 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Breeding, whelping and caring for pups is hard on a dog. The more litters they have the more of a toll it takes. If a dog is bred to young and/or every heat cycle it certainly could cause health issues taht could indeed shorten life.
The key to breeding and keeping a female healthy is to do genetic health testing before breeding, making sure she is kept up on routine vet exams, not breeding her under 2 years of age and not over the age of 6, making sure she is conformationally correct and only allowing her to have one litter per year during that time (if she is prone to having large litters of 10 or more you may consider only breeding every other year to give a longer break between). Also making sure she is fed a high quality food. If all the conditions are met and she has no complications during breeding, whelping or in caring for pups then it shouldn't cause life shortening issues.
2007-03-31 02:55:26 · answer #1 · answered by Great Dane Lover 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
A reputable Shih Tzu breeder says that it isn't the pregnancy that drains the mom and shortens the their life, it's the nursing. So she advocated (and has been doing it for years) to start weaning the puppies (small breeds) at 5 weeks so that they are completely wean by 6 weeks old. She also states that some breeders of large breeds will start at 3 weeks. She says that if the puppies are weaned off early like this, the mom should live a healthy, normal lifespan no matter how many litters they have.
Some people will say that the puppies need to nurse as long as the mom will let them to get antibodies. That's wrong because antibodies are only transferred in the first few hours and last the puppies quite a long time (sometimes up to 14 or 15 weeks of age). As for contact with the mom, get one of those baby onesies and put that on the mom dog (or make something similar for a big dog) so that the mom can get in with the puppies while her milk is drying up (or maybe there is another dog in the household who will spend time with the puppies).
2007-03-31 12:04:14 · answer #2 · answered by SabrinaD 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have never heard of a responsible breeder having this as a concern.
Puppy Mills however that breed the females at every heat, until they are about six years old, and then discard the dog on some back road in the middle of the night do put a tremendous strain on the dogs system. But when adopted by a caring family, even these dogs can live a full life.
Is it possible that some dogs have a weaker constitution and can't bear the strain of having even one litter? I suppose as with people all things are possible.
You need only to ask yourself...is my dog healthy and will she receive the right care during a pregnancy? If your answer is yes then you should have nothing to worry about. Have your vet do a physical with breeding in mind and then listen to what he suggests.
2007-03-31 10:01:24 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Being a breeder for many years it can be true if the person breeding allowed the dog to breed every heat. A good responsible breeder will not allow this to happen. Repeated litters on one dogs just weakens the dog and the quality of the pups. I usually allowed one litter each year or every other year depends on how the female recovered from the previous litter. To over breed a female is just not good for the dog or a breeders reputation.
2007-03-31 09:53:55 · answer #4 · answered by ♥Golden gal♥ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Numberous breedings... Meaning what?
A good strong healthy female, raised on good food, been vet checked for health, good body tone, etc.. A litter isn't going to hurt her.
If you continue to breed her and don't let her get back into shape entirely, it's going to take some life out of her. If you breed her back to back, never allowing her to get back to pre -pregnancy shape, then it's going to be even harder on her.
When you say numerous.. I think you are meaning 5 or 6?? Yeah that would definitely take a toll on a dog, even if she was back to shape.
But given that you are breeding to improve the breed, you shouldn't need to breed her more than a couple of times. You breed your b*tch to a good quality male, taking everything into consideration. Her litter should be better than she is. By all rights you could then take her daughter and breed her to a quality male and her daughter should be even better than she is.
Maybe you would breed female 1 again to another quality male to see what she produced with him. Maybe a super male is produced somewhere in the world and you are positive that she would produce well with him and you breed her 1 more time. All 3 litter should have produced dogs that are better than the female you first bred.
Why would you need to breed her a 4th time, You already have 3 daughters that are superior to their mother. Right??
2007-03-31 10:38:55 · answer #5 · answered by DP 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I took this from a web site on animal health...
Pet behavior and pet reproduction
"Contrary to what some people believe, getting pregnant — even once — does not improve the behavior of female dogs and cats. In fact, the mating instinct may lead to undesirable behaviors and result in undue stress on both the owner and the animal. Also, while some pet-owners may have good intentions, few are prepared for the work involved in monitoring their pet's pregnancy, caring for the newborns and locating good homes for all the offspring."
I also think that breeding your dog is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. Most of them are supported in this web site, but I have to admit I have also been influenced by the pictures I have seen of puppy mills and backyard breeders. It does take it's toll on the female body. I think if you want your pet to stay young and healthy, you should just have her spayed. Let her keep her youth and vitality, and let her be your baby.
2007-03-31 10:32:37 · answer #6 · answered by Momma 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Having & caring for a litter is very hard on their bodies. Those bred every 6 months will definitely live a shorter life. An unhealthy, unhappy life.
2007-03-31 09:53:46 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No more than it does with humans. If one over breeds a dog and allows it to become run down that can have detrimental effects otherwise NO breeding a dog DOES NOT take years off of its life.
2007-03-31 10:25:24 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I've not heard that but it doesn't surprise me. Having puppies puts a lot of stress and strain on the dog. It wears them out and could make them not live as long.
2007-03-31 09:50:43 · answer #9 · answered by puppyraiser8 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
having a litter of puppies helps a female dog mature and makes her more protective of the people in her household. letting your dog have too many litters will make her overly aggressive and hostile towards people. eventually she will start eating the puppies
2007-03-31 09:52:05 · answer #10 · answered by janet h 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋