1st Time Breeding

[hogbody]

I have a 2 year old bitch that just came into heat. I have a stud lined up and will be getting her bred. This is her first time and my first time raising pups. Question(s).......She had her 7way booster last April. Should I give her another booster before I breed? Should I worm her before I breed? Should I feed her anything besides her regular feed?...............Anything else I should know? Any input from all you experienced breeders will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[TOUCHSTONE]

I recomend a trip to the library to get some books that offer info on breeding and whelping pups. Your female's health and conditioning are very important. The vet can check a stool sample for worms when you get the brucellosis test done. If she has worms the vet will perscribe the correct medication to treat the specific parasites. She will need a whelping area that will provide a warm dry environment for the newborn pups. She should be aquainted with her whelping environment before the pups are due.

[TheLittleBlackBook]

I have a 2 year old bitch that just came into heat. I have a stud lined up and will be getting her bred. This is her first time and my first time raising pups. Question(s).......She had her 7way booster last April. Should I give her another booster before I breed? Should I worm her before I breed? Should I feed her anything besides her regular feed?...............Anything else I should know? Any input from all you experienced breeders will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I have 5-hour DVD series explaining everything to know on the subject of breeding and raising pups, listing all the things that can possibly go wrong and how to prevent or handle them, so it's going to be pretty hard to list everything here in a post.

That being said, most breedings (and the subsequent raising of pups) can be done without much effort on your part. The trouble is the word "most" ... because every now and then you will experience some deliveries where the bitch, and/or the pups, will die without knowledgeable, competent human intervention. And no one here can tell you when those kinds of problems are going to happen. Thus, you would be well advised to do as the above person recommended, and that is buy books and educate yourself in advance, so you don't have to use the trial-and-error method and lose a lot of pups along the way.

As a general rule, the number 1 thing to take care of is a proper worming of the bitch, and the simple fact is any fecal exam at the vet is a waste of time, as they have a 40% margin of error. A better thing to do is to know which wormers to use, to have them onhand, and to administer them at the proper dosage. It is always best to have several kinds of wormer onhand, the 3 most important of which are ivermectin, pyrantel pamoate, and fenbendazole. Worming a bitch out properly before whelp is a lot more involved than a typical monthly worming for a dog sitting on a chain. Many of the roundworm are cystic, in the muscles, and cannot be reached by ANY wormers. When bitches are pregnant, there is a certain phenomenon that realeases the worms from their cystic state and causes them to migrate back into the stomach ... but they also can pass into the pups via the milk. And this process is continuous, which is why repeated wormngs are needed all throughout the pregnancy and whelping process.

The second thing to do is to prepare in advance for coccidia infection, especially if you have chickens on the yard.

The third thing to do is to have an above-ground pen to raise your pups in, which drastically reduces the burden of worms on the growing pups. Pups raised on the ground will simply have a lot more problems than pups raised in above-ground pens. Knowing what shots to give, when to give them, and how to handle parvo are other valuable skills to have.

That said, because this is a young bitch, and you said you haven't raised a lot of dogs, you will probably have a clean breeding without event.

Good luck.

[TC]

Here is a handy calendar calculator to use:
http://www.schaferhund.com/gsd_pregnancy.aspx
And here is great site to go to for breeding information, however keep in mind all dogs are different when whelping.
http://www.petbitsforyou.com/
Both these sites are very informative and I always point new breeders in the direction of these two sites for great information.