How Long Should You Wait to Breed a Dog Again?

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Before you get started, you need to know that dog breeding is a serious commitment that should be carefully considered. An experienced dog breeder will tell you that proper breeding includes health care, good nutrition, and the right training and socialization. For most breeders, this is a demanding endeavor that’s rarely profitable, and there are times when not everyone is sold from a litter of puppies.  

But if you’re sure about wanting to breed your dogs for a bit of money, then you’re probably wondering, “How long should you wait to breed a dog again?” 

Is it Safe to Breed Dogs?

Many studies have proved that breeding a female is safer when done every heat cycle, but this doesn’t include the first heat and even during the second heat depending on their age. Sometimes, dogs don’t come into heat until they reach 1½ years old while others can come into heat at just 8 months old. However, if you do decide to breed your dog every heat cycle, they should be retired earlier than dogs bred every two heat cycles. 

For many breeders, retiring their dams by the time they reach 4 years of age ensures they produce healthier puppies while in top shape and will keep everyone safer. While many claim that breeding back-to-back isn’t good for a dog’s long-term well-being and health, research proves otherwise. When it comes to canine reproduction, not breeding your dogs can negatively affect their health.   

Scientists have confirmed that phantom pregnancies (also known as pseudopregnancy) can increase the risk for breast cancers, which is the second most common cancer found in dogs. Because the same risks apply to giant breeds, it can be even harder for them not to breed once per cycle since they tend to have shorter lifespans. However, some breeders will spay and neuter their pets after having their first litter to lower their risk for diseases while ensuring they don’t get more pregnant dogs. 

What is Back-to-back breeding? 

Back-to-back breeding refers to breeding dogs without skipping any heat cycles. Traditionally, people thought that bitches, or female dogs, needed a “break” in between each litter to ensure their health but this is no longer the best practice for a few reasons. The first reason for this is due to a dog’s reproductive and nursing cycle, along with the healing that’s needed which can be compared to humans having a baby once every 2 years. 

Healing is especially important for smaller breeds which come with tiny pelvic areas which means that pushing out puppies is more difficult for them. Full recovery can take longer, but puppy farms may not always consider this or follow the right practices. 

What Happens When You Don’t Breed Your Dog

Unfortunately, a lot of things can happen if you don’t breed your dog or decide to skip an oestrus cycle which we discuss below. 

Phantom Pregnancy

This commonly takes place when a dog isn’t bred; dogs will often show signs of pregnancy even when it’s not such as weight gain, nesting, lactation, and mammary enlargement. These will usually occur between 6 to 12 weeks after their cycle and represent the extreme changes that occur in their bodies while pregnant. Many experts suggest that phantom pregnancies are part of dogs evolution from wolves. 

Pseudopregnant female wolves inside a pack would help to raise pups by providing milk to the litters of other females. As such, it’s believed that false pregnancies have become common in dogs since they provide an evolutionary advantage in wild canine packs, including wild dogs and coyotes. 

Mammary Tumors

A 2006 study on mammary cancer in dogs found that a large number of bitches that had mammary tumors also experienced pseudopregnancy. Moreover, a huge portion of these bitches experienced consistent pseudopregnancies and the same dogs tended to come with higher rates of developing mammary tumors earlier compared to other animals. While more research is needed, it’s clear that dogs that aren’t bred are more likely to get pseudopregnant, which can then increase their risk for cancer. 

Because skipping breeding cycles has been linked to mammary cancer, many experts believe that pregnancy in dogs can protect them against serious uterine diseases. Among the most common uterine disease found in bitches include endometrial hyperplasia. Another potentially serious disease is pyometra, which results in the uterus getting filled with pus; it affects close to ¼ of dogs no more than 10 years old and not desexed. 

Pyometra

Progesterone levels in a bitch can remain elevated whether or not she gets pregnant and can have an inflammatory effect on the uterus lining. Unfortunately, when a dog goes through their cycle without getting pregnant, the production of progesterone can increase their risk for endometriosis and pyometra. The latter is known as an inflammatory disease, which comes with secondary effects such as bacterial infection. 

This is why it’s important for dogs to carry a pregnancy as much as possible, regardless of the litter size. Canine experts believe that bitches that whelp regularly for their reproductive life will rarely develop this disease, while dogs that rarely whelp or have never done so in their life will have a higher rate of developing pyometra. According to the Standard Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, uterine diseases are uncommon in kennels where dogs are bred and conceived regularly, which indicates that pregnancy can protect the lining of the uterus.

When is it Better to Wait Before Breeding? 

Despite the many advantages of breeding your dog, there are also good reasons to wait before doing so. Below are just a few reasons why you should consider breeding your dog later. 

Health Concerns 

Pet owners with health concerns for conditions or diseases that may only appear later in life and those that can’t be cleared through other ways of testing (including some heart disorders, some eye disorders, some seizure disorders, and Addison’s disease). If you have a dog or a breed that’s prone to any of these disorders, then you might want to wait for them to get past a certain age before you start breeding them. This may help reduce their chances of getting these diseases. 

Work and Sports

Dogs that have been bred for conformation competition will be evaluated once they reach 2 years of age or older. While this isn’t a health concern for dog parents or their puppies, it is often the goal for some breeders. The same thing applies to working dogs but they often won’t be bred until they’re given a title; again, this isn’t a health concern but is important for some breeders. 

When it comes to show dogs, many owners and breeders won’t start breeding them until they turn 3 years old when they’ve finished their careers. In this case, government regulations and kennel club rules will require that bitches should only be bred every two cycles. Older bitches will need veterinary intervention; this can help them reproduce while good bitches can continue breeding well after 6 years old after their fertility begins to decline. 

Recovery

Responsible breeders that care about their pups won’t breed allow their bitches to breed until they’ve completely healed and recovered from their previous pregnancy. Fortunately, there are rules implemented to make sure that neglectful breeders aren’t able to abuse their pets. However, the regulations currently in place throughout some states don’t take into consideration the dog’s biology, so breeding is often controlled by limiting the number of litters one dam can breed, as well as the age when they should be retired and desexed. 

Regularly breeding dogs while they’re still young and then rehoming and desexing them early on is the best thing to do for dogs. A responsible pet breeder will use this information to work around their animal’s natural biology to determine when it’s best to start breeding their dogs again and when it’s time to retire them.  

Why You Shouldn’t Skip Heat Cycles

At a recent AKC Dog Breeding Discussion which took place at Michigan State University, key note speaker Dr. Claudia Orlandi Ph.D. (author of The ABCs of Dog Breeding and AKC’s Breeder of the Year) surprised breeders when she disclosed many scientific studies that confirm how detrimental it can be for bitches to skip their heat cycles. Many experts agree that when you start mating your dam, you shouldn’t skip a heat cycle until she has fully finished breeding. Dams will often be done breeding once their litter size has drastically decreased.

A study mentioned followed females who have been bred during each heat cycle as well as females who were only bred once every two heat cycles. After the breeding season finished, they were all spayed while their uterus was also dissected. Those that showed the most stress as well as damage of the uterus belonged to the group that was only bred every two heat cycles. 

The reason why many experts agree that skipping a heat cycle can be harmful stems from the fact that there’s no cleansing of their uterus, which typically takes place when they have a litter of puppies. Dogs will undergo their estrus cycle whether they are bred or not; by breeding your dam back-to-back you can lower the chances of the female getting a false pregnancy, infections, and pyometra. As such, the choice of whether or not to breed should depend on the goals of the breeder or owner, as well as the female dog’s physical health above everything else. 

When to Stop Breeding a Female Dog

Unfortunately, there are no set age recommendations for when you need to stop breeding set in stone; some people will say 5 years of age, while others will say that dogs can breed up to 8 years old. However, breeding will be different for each bitch, so be sure to consult your vet at the beginning of each breeding cycle to determine whether it’s still a good idea to breed your bitch or if it’s time to retire. 

In general, dog owners have agreed regarding dog reproduction that it’s best to stop breeding dogs once their litter size has decreased or when problems occur. However, some owners prefer to stop using their dams for breeding before any problems arise; they would rather miss out on producing one last litter than risk any of the abovementioned problems. Experts also agree that starting early and implementing back-to-back breeding before retiring early is the best way to breed dogs. 

Some breeders try to retire their dams by the time they reach 4 years of age but there may be times when you go past this. But this should be the exception rather than the norm, and should always be done under the guidance of your reproductive veterinarian. Although breeding dogs may seem like a simple and natural part of their lives, there are actually many considerations and steps to ensure the success of ending up with a healthy litter. 

What are Breeding Cycles? 

For female dogs or bitches, the birthing cycle (also called parturition or whelping) for their offspring can vary in length (also known as the gestation period) between 60 to 63 days, but can also range from 57 to 70 days. The estrus period (also known as coming into heat), is the period of ovulation in dogs when they can get pregnant; bitches will often reach sexual maturity between 6 to 12 months of age, and around every 6 months thereafter. Some experts say that dams shouldn’t be bred until their second heat cycle to give them time to mature. 

The first time a dog whelps should be done before they reach 4 to 5 years old to prevent developing a higher risk of getting whelping problems. On average, the length of a heat cycle should last 21 days with 7 days coming in, 7 days of the actual breeding period, and 7 days going out of the cycle. Just keep in mind that this can greatly vary from one bitch to another, from 3 to 10 days for each section of the cycle. 

The beginning of the estrus cycle is marked by the vulva’s swelling, which is followed by a discharge that may be clear or tinged red. You might also notice behavioral changes, while male dogs may also start coming around your home, so be sure to keep her inside the home to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Vaginal smears may also be performed every other day to help you pinpoint the actual date of your pup’s breeding period. 

Make sure to choose a male based on temperament, conformation, and breeding, since any undesirable traits will likely be passed on to their offspring, so select only the best dogs. For many breeds (especially larger breeds), it’s best to recommend X-rays to screen for problems such as elbow and hip dysplasia before deciding to breed any dog. Before you breed your pup, make sure she’s in good health; obesity can greatly increase the risks for whelping and pregnancy while decreasing fertility. 

Female dogs are encouraged to get a DHLP-PV booster within 6 months of breeding and some owners will also require Brucella test, which is a contagious disease in dogs that can be transmittable to humans and is often passed during breeding periods. A stud owner who requires this test is doing this to protect both dogs — to avoid injury to a male dog, both dogs should be leashed when they’re getting acquainted. Should the bitch act aggressively or try to injure the male, stop attempting to breed them immediately and try to re-introduce them again after a day or two. 

Lactation Cycles 

Once the breeding is finished and the bitch becomes pregnant, milk will start forming in the mammary glands 1 to 2 weeks prepartum; it can also drip for a day or two before giving birth. This will look and feel different from the milk of other animals, so using cow’s milk as a substitute won’t be enough to sustain the nutritional needs of their puppies. If the mother dog produces a large litter and her milk production isn’t enough for all of them, special milk replacers need to be used. 

Satisfied and healthy pups will wake up, cry for a while, nurse, and go back to sleep while hungry or unhealthy pups will cry for long periods and fall quiet once they weaken — these pups need your immediate attention! Moreover, some female dogs will experience low blood calcium, also known as hypocalcemia, during the first 3 to 4 weeks of lactation if they’re nursing bigger litters. These bitches will be restless and nervous, which will progress to whining, panting, collapsing, and incoordination. 

This is considered to be a medical emergency, and depending on the severity of the dog’s condition, you may need to take your dog to the vet for blood tests and to get the right calcium supplements during its pregnancy. As the puppies get bigger, you will need to transition your pups from milk to puppy food to ensure they get the right nutrition for their growing bodies. 

How Long Should You Wait to Breed a Dog Again?

If you’re looking to start a breeding program, it’s important to understand how long you should wait before breeding a dog again. By following the guidelines above, you should be able to safely breed your dog for the next few years while helping them stay physically healthy.

Sources 

• kentfamilyfarms.com
• onmyway2uacres.com
• alpineridgebernersandbernedoodles.com

Joe Hughes

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