Breeding back to back heat cycles 🐾

Copied post. Worth sharing.

“Recently at an AKC Dog Breeding Symposium held at Michigan State University with key note speaker Dr. Claudia Orlandi Ph.D. (AKC's breeder of the year and author of The ABC's of Dog Breeding) shocked many breeders when it was disclosed that there have been scientific studies to show that it is detrimental for bitches to skip heat cycles. It was shared that once you have begun to mate a bitch that you should NOT skip any heat cycles until she is completely finished breeding. A bitch is said to be "finished" breeding when her litter size is drastically decreased. The study involved following females that were bred every heat cycle and females that were bred every other heat cycle. After they were "finished" breeding, the bitches were spayed and their uterus dissected. Those showing most stress, and damage of the uterus were the females that were bred "every other" heat cycle. Part of the rational that skipping heat cycles is harmful stems from the fact that with consecutive heat cycles there is no "flushing action" of the uterus, that normally occurs by having a litter of puppies. The female will go through Estrus no matter if she is bred or not and by breeding a healthy bitch back to back, can lesson the chances of the female experiencing pyometra, infections and false pregnancys. The choice to breed or not, should be contingent upon the goals the breeder has and for sure the mental and physical health of the female, above all else. The important information to take away from this study, is that a breeder with healthy females, does have "choices".++”

-author unknown

We’ve seen the “pet people” of dog book have discussions about breeders who breed their bitches back to back and how they must be unethical. Or how horrible it is the bitch was “not given time off between litters” because after all, “she has offspring who haven’t even turned a year old yet.” It’s easy to get caught up in humanization of our beloved canines but unfortunately it’s usually at their expense.

I have heard this rationale before from mentors and senior breeders, so this post wasn’t news to me. I have some personal preferences and practices I hold in my own program that I’m willing to share. First, I wait until dam is at least 2 years old to breed. Recently I have even seen the benefits of waiting until their 3 year old year which will most likely be our standard moving forward. Secondly, I want to have my dams retired and with their new forever loving family by the time she turns 5. (If not earlier) This leaves her and her new family many years of her youth to enjoy. (Rehoming breeding dogs will be another post of its own) Last, and probably the most important to me… limiting the number of litters a bitch has. When I see a breeder getting up to 5 or 6 litters by the same bitch, I’m going to have a lot of questions.

I do believe there is enough research to support the benefits of breeding back to back once a bitch is fully health tested as long as she is completely healthy and doesn’t have whelping complications or is a stressed mother.

Four litters is not out of the question (and not unreasonable in some cases) for many breeders if she’s producing outstanding offspring. I’ve heard other breeders say their rule of thumb is 4 litters or 7 years old, whichever comes first.

I don’t think any breeder sets out to be unethical or tries to be unethical on purpose. Most believe they are doing the right things for their dogs, the breed or their program. What it ultimately comes down to is knowing your dogs and evaluating each individual bitch. (Physical/Mental health, how they handled and recovered their previous litters etc) The more we know and help to educate each other, the better we can all become. (Breeder and Puppy Buyer) #breedingbetterdogs