Breeding Question

[AutumnSkye]

At what age do you think you should stop breeding a female. I am new to the breeding part and would like to know everyones opinion. I have been reading the boards for a while now and it seems like everyone on here is very knowledgeable and you all seem to give some great advice. Just looking for a little help. I have a bitch that I want to breed who is a little on the older side but in great shape and health. Thanks in advance for everyones help.

[wingpatch]

Hi sky
I am no pro, but here is my input. Has she had pups before, How long ago. I have owned hounds that had pups regularley That i raised out of till they were 10 yrs. old.

Wingpatch

[Beagleman973]

A vet once told me that I should never breed a bitch that hasn't been bred at least once by the time she was four to five years old. In other words, if she was say 7, and never bred before, the chances of a complicated birth was greatly increased. I don't have anything else to back this up and others may know more, and say this isn't true. I just have always gone by this advice and never had any problems.

Other than that, I personally don't like to breed a bitch past the age of 7. Many breed later than that, but once again health issues play into it.

Best advice, take her to your vet, have her checked out, heart, lungs, etc, and ask the vets advice about breeding her.

Good luck!

[snowshoehareguide]

good advice from others here. i will say that ive bred older dogs sometimes because theyd reached the point that i really thought i needed a pup to continue bloodlines. bred a ten year old walker female once. with a little help from vet i lost her, he gave her too much sedative to take an xray..... im not sure if thats the way to put it but i called and he said come pick her up . i just need to take xray to be sure all pups have been born.. she growled at him and he gave her sedative and she never woke up.. xrays showed all clear.. she was not a growly dog but having pups will do that to some. managed to raise one pup by hand. im hunting great great grand pups now. ,,, all dogs die of something.. at ten years old theyre hunting days are limited. this might seem cruel but im glad i bred her even though i lost her. i see a lot of her now in her great grand pups.. and this was only dog i ever lost having pups... i would do it again.. pete

[Chuck Terry]

I bought a grade female once. The owner said she was an "older dog" but said he did not know her exact age. Based on the wear on her teeth, she appeared to be in excess of ten years old. I was really suprised by her "maiden" appearance. I ask the previous owner if she had ever had pups said he had never breed her and did not think the owner before him had either. On the last Saturday of rabbit season that year, another hunter notice the males paying alot of attention to her. She was swollen with a "watermellon" discharge so I immediately put her up and kept her isolated for three weeks. Long story short, I was too late separating her. She raised a nice litter of pups but developed a cancerous tumor in her mammory gland. The vet felt like it was related to the hormonal changes during pregnancy. He cited research that indicated an increased risk for such cancer in OLDER FEMALES THAT WERE BRED FOR THE FIRST TIME. The frequency of cancer in these females was apparently higher than females of the same age who had whelped previous litters early in their life. Not trying to scare you but since then, I have been hesitant to breed older females. I would definitely consult a vet I had confidence in first if this is to be her first litter. Good luck!

[AutumnSkye]

We have bred her like 5 times in the past and the last one being about a year and a half ago. She did great with them. But this time she will be around 11 when she is bred. But Ill definately look at having a vet check her out before we do.

[Chuck Terry]

Great! Good luck either way!