Breeding Ethics

Is it ethical to breed your bitch everytime it comes into season?

No, in my opinion it is not ethical to breed a bitch every season.

IMO, no. The mother needs a chance to rest and build her strength and resources back up. It's hard work whelping and raising a litter!

What if the breeder got a certification from a vet that the dog is fit for breeding even though it was only 4 months ago when the bitch whelped its last litter will that change your answer?

No. A dog being fit enough to breed and the breeder being ethical about giving the bitch a cycle off are two different things. Back to back matings will wear out the dog significantly from what I understand and may lead to problems later on.

I've heard of people breeding a bitch back to back, then spaying her. Not sure what to think of it. It seems to me like it'd be a lot of stress on the bitch, though, and I personally wouldn't ever do it.

What if the breeder argues that he has made an excellent breeding and that there is a high demand for his puppies will that justify his act?

If there's a truly high demand, the potential puppy buyers will be willing to wait an extra 6-8 months for the bitch to have a heat cycle off.

I've been studying breeding and its effects on a bitch quite a bit lately because of my interest in breeding someday. To me, the question of breeding back-to-back cycles can't be answered with a simple "yes" or "no".

According to some canine reproductive specialists, breeding a healthy bitch in back-to-back cycles is not necessarily a bad thing. If you google Dr. Robert Van Hutchison you will find some transcripts of seminars that go into that. The uterus of a bitch deteriorates with every heat cycle. Breeding her doesn't create any more deterioration of the uterus than not breeding her would.

Of course, the bitch needs to be healthy, maintaining weight, and be a good mother to start with. Bitches carry their puppies for approximately two months, puppies are generally weaned by six weeks old, and that gives her a couple of months to recuperate before being bred again. Some bitches can do it, some can't.

There are a lot of other things to consider besides the current health of the bitch. How old is she? How easily did she whelp the first time? Did she produce dead puppies? How easily did her milk come in? Did she enjoy the puppies? Was she bred the previous heat cycle too? Is she of a high enough quality that she should even BE bred? What kind of health testing did she have prior to breeding? What about the stud dog? Is he health tested?

If the motivation for breeding again is a quick sale of puppies, then I would say that's absolutely unethical. The current puppies are only four months old - WAY too young to truly assess for quality and health - so there's no way of really knowing if this is an "excellent" breeding.

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

I personally would never do it and I know a lot of top breeders that don't. More than anything, reputable breeders don't generally breed more than 1 litter per year.

For those that do want to do it, I think it depends on the age and health of the bitch along with the emotional and nutritional support she is given.

I would not do it. It is hard enough on toys having one litter let alone two in one year. And I agree, most breeders I know have one, maybe two litters a year on occasion. (In my breed that's about 2-5 puppies a year)

any breeders who do that are almost byb's to me. They are forcing their dog to be almost constantly carrying puppies. Imagine how stressful that is on her,plus she will have to give birth to all of them which hurts which some people seem to be oblivious to, not saying that you are or even if you are the one that is breeding since I don't know but I think the dog deserves a break ad to feel normal again. The more someone breeds the more they are risking the life of their dog and all the puppies. Imagine if you were the dog, I don't know if you are a female or have ever carried a child but most people are VERY glad to finally get that baby out! Well all I know is that when I look at a breeder I look at the health screenings (OFA), number of bitches, show or work championships, and how many litters they have each year, along with what the environment the puppies are raised in look like. To me a breeder that breeds at every heat is a red flag.

I wouldn't do it. But I wouldn't go so far as to say their unethical without first looking at the situation.

Responsible breeding is not about fulfilling a market demand, it's about improving the breed.

High demand - I get upwards of 150-200 enquiries a year for my puppies. Doesn't mean I'm going to even attempt to fill it ...

I know a few people that have bred back to back cycles, witht he health of the bitch and the quality of the puppies in mind. It's not something that should continue for the reproductive life of the bitch or with all bitches, but its not that unheard of, if done with health of the mother in mind, can be done safely with positive outcomes.

:yikes: I've NEVER known a good breeder to do that !!!!

Not a simply Yes or No.

Some bitches look HORRIBLE and take 6 months to get back into shape pregnancy.
Others expecially working dogs can get back into shape in less than 2 months.

Breeding a YOUNG bitch age 2 back to back is NOT good .
Because she needs to understand what whelping and recovering is about ,and to mature a bit more mentally.

Breeding a OLD bitch back to back can KILL her, age 7 Years and up.
SOme breeders breed as old as age 8 or 9 ( I do not)

In between some of the top breeder vets state breed back to back a 3 or 4 year old and then give them a year or two off.

Have not done this YEt cause so far 3 out of my 4 breeding bitches do NOT recover quick enough to breed .

The time can vary for breeds: somel cycle within 30 days of giving birth which I think is horrible to breed back.

I also spay by age 7 years old so in my opinion if I had a choice of breeding a 8 year old dog taking time off or a 5 year old dog back to back.
I would pick the back to back and spay by age 7 years or so.

Also I have LOST stud males to accidents in new homes by co owners.
Hunting , car accidents etc I have almost LOST a entire line i breed because
I do not breed enough , I spay earlier than most, I neutered dogs sold as working pets..

I will continue to do all the above but after becoming a breeder vs a novice.
I do not neuter young any more, I still spay bitches early, and I wont breed too much - cost too much time and money.

But I would breed back to back a bitch that could handle it if .
I needed to preserve the bloodline and I had buyers waiting.
On contingent on the HEALTH of the bitch.

My Vet would of found my older dog "healthy" but I could tell she got WEAK after carrying a large litter, and I as a owner know better than my Vet.

So the Vet "says its ok" is often a common ploy by backyard breeders to justify breeding allot of dogs that can not whelp naturally or dogs with health issues that they want to " get a vets ok to breed".

Most Vets are NOT qualifed breeders their job is to treat sick dogs not to breed dogs. So heh the dogs get sick, teh mom needs 911 emergency care or c section. they will be there to HELP.

NOt thier job to qualify breeders decisions thou some what lame at times.

i wouldnt do it. even if the bitch looked great shortly after her last litter.

I personally wouldn't do it, even if the bitch was recovered completely from the last litter and was doing wonderfully.

To me waiting 6 mos. won't ruin a line or break the hearts of those on the waiting list .