Last Modified: 1/16/08

Health starts at puppyhood. Do not assume you can take any dog that has not been altered and breed it. I made the mistake of breeding a bitch that I bought in her later years. I had assumed she had been well cared for, but after two litters, it was obvious she had not. I had to retire her younger then normal. Unless you are getting the dog from a family member or friend you would trust with your life, do not do it. I also do not suggest breeding your dog, because you have not taken the time to alter him/her. Not all dogs should be bred. If they have not been born of very healthy parents without genetic defects, you are in for a dangerous and terrible ride. It is possible to get lucky and have a healthy litter, but why take that chance? I will not sit here and berate those of you who have already done this or are going to anyway, just know you have been warned. One more little warning I must make; do not breed you female for the first time if she is over the age of four. The chances are heavy that she will either not produce, miscarry, or will not have healthy puppies. I have been through a lot of heartache over my litters and I will write as much as I can to try to stop you from causing yourself unnecessary pain. Dogs still die in labor and it is possible for a dog to birth a dead litter or such an unhealthy one that the whole litter slowly dies. It just is not worth it to hurt yourself that way.

Another issue in first time breeders is sickness. I have noticed that females who have been subjected to surgery or disease are more likely to take longer to heat or produce. Many times I have heard from owners who feared for the health of their bitch, because they had tried to mate her after a disease or surgery once or twice without results. If your bitch is heating, she is porbably fine, but her body will not likely produce pups if sher body is not up to it. I would give her at least a year before you even try, so you are not wasting money or time on unsuccessul matings.

Once you have whelped and sold your first litter you might figure you are set. I wish that were true, but there are still so many things to worry about. Maybe you are planning on breeding your female once she is ready and you want to ensure she is healthy. Maybe you want to ensure the best health for your stud. With each breeder the best way to ensure the health of your kennel varies. One of the first questions is "How often can I mate my bitch?". Stud owners always ask how often they can stud their boy. The answer depends on different situations. If your female is perfectly healthy you could breed her as many times as she has heats but this will severely decrease her life span, decrease the amount of puppies she will whelp and increase the amount of sickly puppies. I, personally, breed two heats and then skip a heat, but again this varies on the female. Some do not recover from previous litters fast enough to mate the next heat.

Males can breed with a female everyday of their lives but the stress and work involved with mating wears him out very fast. Over- mating also tends to decrease his fertility and the chances for good litters or any litters at all. The best rule is to try to keep him at no more than one or two females a month. It is very rare for a male to be this busy, but should yours be a different case you want to be sure he has ample time to recover his fertility for the next female. You may breed two females in the same week with good results, but give him ample time to recover. If your male is rarely used be aware that a male that is not allowed to mate with any female on a regular basis, every six months or so, will start to go crazy. They may show signs of aggression, depression, hypoglycemia (yes, this happens to adults too), developing genital problems or minor to severe misbehavior. Some dogs will refuse to remember that they are potty trained or will start to destroy anything in your home that is within his reach. It is also possible for males to develop cancer if left unaltered. If you do not have plans to breed him in the future, neuter him. If you are unable to give your male the chance to mate, at the very least once a year, you will need to have him neutered before you find yourself ready to send him away. For some males, a year between mating is too hard for them to handle. There is no rule of thumb, I'm afraid, the only way to know if he is having trouble is to know his moods and question what activity is not normal for him. If you own only the one female and you notice your stud having problems you may want to start studding him out, buy another female, ask your vet if your female can handle more matings, or neuter him and use another stud. If nothing else, a good vet may be able to give you some other ideas.

Just prior to the next heat watch for bald patches in the female's coat, sagging back (this may still happen in show quality dogs), or a lack in return to her usual activity level. Her coat quality is your best sign. If her coat is back to health she is probably fine. In an older dog, 6-7 yrs, you may want to skip every other heat to allow her more time for recovery. If you feel it necessary, take her to the vet for a pre-breeding checkup. If she failed to become pregnant on her last mating it is possible she miscarried. A vet visit can sometimes help or you can guess when one year later she fails to go into heat. If you are certain your dog did not mate during the last heat you were intending to skip and still waits a year to heat again don't automatically think miscarriage. A good breeder's body will know when it needs time to recuperate and will wait accordingly (If your dog does not naturally wait this does not label her a bad breeder). Be patient, she will heat when she is ready. Should you decide to mate her only once a year or every other year be aware of the threat of cancer and ulcers. Females not allowed to mate and not spayed can develop cancers in their uterus and teats as well as many skin problems. You may discuss a good schedule with your vet or anyone else you may trust, but be prepared to change the schedule should you feel it necessary.

If you were feeding your female a less healthy diet prior to her pregnancy, I do not recommend switching back. I have fallen on hard times like many and I realize that sometimes it is hard to afford what you would prefer to feed your dog. The great news is that there are several affordable brands of dog food that are very healthy and will keep your dog in good shape until you can revert back to the brand you prefer. If you find you need to switch please remember your dog's stomach is sensitive and will need a slow switch to the new food. So always try to think ahead. If you plan on breeding your dog more than once, I recommend a permanent switch to the puppy formula of your favorite dog food. The puppy formula will help your female to regain the weight she lost after delivery and will help to strengthen her for future litters. Puppy formula is very high in much of the nutrition that a pregnant, lactating, and recovering bitch will need. A permanent switch will ensure she always has what her body needs.

Just as your female's diet is important, so is your male's. A male needs a good amount of nutrition to be able to produce healthy sperm and to keep him strong enough to stand up to the aggressive behaviors of a female in heat. Especially first time females can be very difficult for a male to deal with and he needs to be in good shape. Toto, one time, worked himself into a faint with a first time female who made it very difficult for him. He spent many hours relentlessly trying to reach her and when he finally tied with her, he just fainted away. If a healthy male reacts this way, think what will happen to an unhealthy male.

This is a much easier question to answer. As I said above, if ypou are breeding a bitch for the first time, four years is too old and you are too late. If you have bred a younger bitch, have taken good care of her and do not mate her more often than is healthy for her, she should be able to breed to the age of eight. She might be able to continue longer than that, but I would quit at eight. If you start to get an unhealthy puppy at least two litters in a row and she has not been bred too many heats consecutively it is time to retire her. Let her live her old age out in peace! Don't rule out her inability to become pregnant if you mate her twice in a row and she fails to become pregnant. This, in my opinion, is the best age detector, because then you would not have to put down a sick puppy.

Males are another story. As with the females, watch the litters produced by your male. If you are seeing certain deformities often enough to note and they cannot be easily blamed on the bitch or if they show up in many litters with different bitches, he has an underlying gene that is causing the deformities and he should be neutered. Even if the problem only shows up once in a while, do not continue to kill puppies by continuing to breed your stud. The only way you will be able to tell if it is the bitch or your stud is to keep accurate records of all his puppies, I realize that there is only so much you can keep track of and you have to rely on other owners to tell you if you stud him out, but do the best you can. If you have become aware of a problem, it is your responsibility to have him neutered. Be aware that a male, as he ages, is capable of changing his routine. He may have started out as a picky stud and then suddenly decides every female is game at any time. Others may be the opposite. Change is not a sign of old age, only another another level of maturity.

If you use your stud for the next several years and you never notice any health problems that can be blamed on your stud, then when is he too old to stud? I am sure I will be changing my words here as time moves on, but at this moment my heart is heavy. One of my best friends learned about aging studs the hard way. She had a wonderful dog named Wickett who is related to most of my females. He had the activity level of a puppy and was a perfect breeding dog. When he failed to impregnate a female the owner did not think too much about it. It happens. The second time she began to worry. The third time, he would not pay any attention to the female so she brought over another stud, just in case. About a week later she found, one morning, he had passed. By asking around, the owner learned that studs are capable of producing litters up until death. When they stop producing litters, I am afraid to say that, death is coming. They may not have any other signs of ill health and they may act perfectly normal. They may die a slow death from a particular health problem like any other dog, but his inability to produce litters is the first sign. Wickett died 25 June, 2007.

Before you get depressed or very worried over a stud that is not producing, please keep reading. If you only have the one female not becoming pregnant, try studding him to another female. If he still fails to impregnate her than he is ready to retire. If you think he is too young to retire than you may want to go back to your female and give her another heat to try to become pregnant. If you stud him out, please know there is always the possibility of getting more than one female in a row with the inability to get pregnant for a season.

The breeder's first responsibility is always to the existing breeding stock. Earning money from them should be very low on your agenda. If your dog is having problems, be humane enough to make any changes necessary to ensure your dog grows old well. I understand that you may have had certain hopes or you had planned on a litter, for any specific reason, but you are controlling a life and how you take that control will determine how well you can be trusted.

What do you do when your dogs can no longer breed? For many people, age and death are subjects they do not want to think about and cannot think about until the time comes. There is nothing wrong with that. When your dogs are too old to breed it tends to make us feel like death is a step closer, I am afraid that for males that is way too true. For our females it really isn't, but when mine reach an age that restricts them from having puppies it is always like a punch in the stomach for me. I see them as so young before and then I am brought back to reality.

Dogs do not live as long as we do. When most females stop breeding, half of their life is gone and these days even less than that is left. I am so sorry if this is morbid, but it has to be said. I have had, surprisingly, only one hate email in the 6 years I have been breeding. I do not mind them, if someone feels I am wrong, I would like to hear it and have the chance to either stand up for myself or change. This email addressed the fact that I adopt my babies out when they are too old to breed. It brought up a good thought, especially since Wickett died. My decision was difficult, but I know that if I keep every single one of my dogs until death, I will have to stop breeding. When one of my animals has a health problem that could lead to death, I become oblivious to everything else. I am incapable of caring for tiny puppies and a dying pet at the same time and I know this from an experience in which I ignored and lost a puppy that could have lived, because I was obsessed and worried for an sick, aging pet.

I am sure that most of you know what you can and cannot do. If you are going to breed full time you have to be prepared to make hard choices, whether or not you ever have top make such a choice. Some of you may have to stop breeding when your babies are too old so that you can care for them, if you cannot let them go, or you would have to find them other homes who would love them as you have in order to keep doing what you love. Some of you may have the capacity to care for all at the same time; caring for a dying dog and still giving your new litters the required attention. You have my respect. They may be able to financially care for 10 or more dogs, as could happen if you choose to keep all your dogs until death while still breeding. You may start out with three dogs, one male and two female, and then one of your females reaches an age past healthy breeding, so you spay her and then buy a puppy to replace her as a breeder. So now you have four dogs. If I had kept all of my dogs, still living, once they could no longer breed and still continued to breed I would now have 9 dogs, very soon to be 11. That is within 6 years.

Many full time breeders have been doing this for over twenty years. I believe that when I can no longer care for my dogs, without help, I have too many. My point is that at some point you will need to make a choice. Not everyone is capable of the same feats and others may have more resources. As always, I strongly urge you to make the choice that is right for you and our dogs. There is no wrong choice here unless you are trying to do more than you are capable of or do not care for the well-being of your dogs. You may not agree with me and that is okay and you may not understand how it is possible to make such choices until you or someone you know is faced with it. My goal has been not to tell you what to do, but to help you to make a better choice. Do not feel that you have to decide right now, because you don't, but when you must I hope you will now feel better prepared to do so.

My hope is that the information I provide is helpful. If so please sign my Guestbook.
*For questions or comments on this site, please email me at The Georgia Shih Tzu