The Patter of Litter Feet

You may have bought your bitch without intending to breed her, but at least one litter is fun for the family and is also good for the bitch.

Care of your brood bitch begins, not only before she whelps, but before she is bred. Make sure she is in good general health before you breed her. The bitch will come in season for the first time at around eight months. If she is well-grown, matured, above the breed's average age for the first season and in good physical condition, it is generally conceded not to be harmful to breed on the first heat. How­ever, waiting until the second period is generally wiser.

Good breeding condition means that the bitch is neither underweight nor overfat, is free from worms and any major ailment which could be passed on to her nursing puppies. If she is overweight, the chance of getting in whelp is decreased, and whelping difficulties are intensified. Thus, she should be put on a diet before being bred and prevented from gaining too much weight during pregnancy.

If the dam is undernourished, the puppies are not going to be healthy at birth, and, if they survive, will get off to a bad start, which is bound to show up later in bone, sub­stance and finish. If the bitch is infested with worms, worm her before breeding or early in pregnancy. In case she has worms the puppies are likely to pick them up at an early age from their surroundings, regardless of whether or not the dam has been wormed, so it is well to check them. Should the bitch be troubled with a skin or other ail­ment, make every effort to clear it up before she whelps, as it may infect her puppies, and will be aggravated while nursing, causing her a great deal of suffering.

Choose the stud dog to whom you are going to breed your bitch and make arrangements well in advance. He should counteract as far as possible her faults, and you will be better satisfied in the end if you choose the best dog avail­able instead of economizing. You are expected to take or send the bitch to the stud dog, and it is well to do it in ad­vance of the date when you expect her to be ready, so that his owner can supervise and choose the time for breed­ing.

When it comes to the actual breeding, time is important. Since the length of season may vary widely between bitches, a specific day cannot be chosen arbitrarily as the right one. If you have ample time and the stud dog is not in great de­mand, you can breed the bitch between the first day she accepts the dog and the time when she is no longer receptive. However, some bitches may never show signs of willing­ness and must be force-bred, while others will refuse several dogs but accept another. The vaginal smear method of determining correct breeding time, carried out by your veterinarian, will save wasted matings, misses and dis­appointments.