# Breeding how often



## Boomboomdeboom (Apr 13, 2013)

I am not a breeder, but give the dog a chance to get back to optimal health & shape. IMHO not sooner than 2 years.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

As an absolute minimum, no responsible breeder would breed at consecutive seasons. In the UK, the Kennel Club will not register more than one litter a year, or more than 4 litters in the bitch's lifetime, or a litter from a bitch less than 1 year old at the time of mating, or 8 years or more old at the time of whelping.


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## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

There are more opinions on this matter than there are hairs on a poodles butt! No one has the perfect answer, is a dominate uterus better than a full one? I think this question has to be asked of each individual animal and not every answer works best for every dog...

I will say I'm glad I don't live in the UK where they can dictate what one can or can not do with their dogs...


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

I never, ever agreed with breeding back to back heats until we found the incredible vet we have now. She is a breeder herself. She has no issue whatsoever with a bitch being bred back to back at least once, while they are young, if they are healthy and under a vet's care. A girl should not be bred before two years of age. But like keithsomething says, there are tons of opinions, and they are just that, opinions. Breeders have to do what is right for them. Waiting until two years of age, and testing for everything you can are the two things I am a stckler about, and the rest is personal preference.


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## marbury (May 1, 2013)

fjm said:


> As an absolute minimum, no responsible breeder would breed at consecutive seasons.


This is not necessarily correct. There are two schools of thought on this, and the only reason I know that is because I was browbeaten near senseless when I came forward with the same opinion as you early on. I heard of other GSD breeders doing back-to-back and asked them how they could justify it... now I've done more research. I'll have to comb google to get articles for backup, but some veterinarians and quite a few breeders actually advocate back-to-back breeding with a 2-3 cycle hiatus following the second breeding.

I know breeders who use both methods (although with German Shepherds), and quite honestly... the dogs bred back-to-back appear healthier, have fewer lost puppies each litter, maintain excellent weight and coat quality, and not a single one that I know of personally has had delivery complications or late-life pyometra. The dogs I know personally who have been bred every other cycle or longer seem to have more issues with subsequent delivery, usually loose a puppy (mind you, these are 8-14 pup litters so that is expected), and have lackluster coats on the intermediate cycle. Two bitches from completely different lines were not back-to-back bred, one had chronic phantom pregnancies and was spayed and the other got a rip-roaring open pyometra and had to be spayed.

I have not used either personally, as I have not yet bred my own bitches. The kennel I worked at last bred every 3 cycles (bred, two off cycles, bred) which usually worked out to being a litter every year and a half, depending on the bitch. So I honestly do not know which method is 'correct', but I've seen both work and I have to say... I used to be 100% in your court, but I've been playing both sides as of late. I've just seen too much evidence of back-to-back being used RESPONSIBLY and being, at least at first look, easier on the bitches.


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## Boomboomdeboom (Apr 13, 2013)

I will agree, each individual dog/breed is different. My experience with our co owned female is she had 6 very large pups that took a lot out of her. She is a 23 lb. 16" Klein. She was (is) healthy, but was by no means ready to be bred again at her heat cycle, 6 months after the birth of the pups. 


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Very interesting, Marbury. In the UK it is still considered a no-no, and as I said, the KC will not register two litters in 12 months unless under the most exceptional circumstances. In part that is a response to accusations that they register pups from puppy mills, where bitches might be bred every season for years - the poor animals still are, of course, but some of the litters are KC registered, some with a spurious register like DLR.


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## zyrcona (Jan 9, 2011)

fjm said:


> In the UK, the Kennel Club will not register more than one litter a year, or more than 4 litters in the bitch's lifetime, or a litter from a bitch less than 1 year old at the time of mating, or 8 years or more old at the time of whelping.


With respect, this is not completely correct/ up to date with regard to back-to-back breedings. See The Kennel Club and FAQs - Puppy Litter Registration - The Kennel Club

It is possible to request permission to breed from a bitch over 8 under certain circumstances and with support from a vet, so this isn't a fixed rule _per se_. As far as I am aware, the 4-litter rule is fixed with no exceptions. There are also a lot of hoops to jump through if people want to use AI.

You might be thinking of either the Assured Breeder Scheme or the breed club, both of which will not allow their members to breed back to back.


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## Pluto (Jul 8, 2012)

zyrcona said:


> As far as I am aware, the 4-litter rule is fixed with no exceptions.


This is the one that I find pretty odd. Do they limit the number of litters per stud that can be registered? I wonder what the reasoning behind it is? I would think there could be a better balance between making sure people don't use a bitch as a puppy making machine and a 4-litter max?


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