Tips for Breeding Your Female Dog

The decision to breed dogs should come out of love for the breed, not as a means of making money. Every effort should be made to breed high quality animals that are then placed in good homes. Always put the animal first. If you want to breed your dog, the following tips will aid you as you go through the process.

If you are planning to breed your bitch, the first thing you must do is check her health. A clean bill of health will ensure that she has an uncomplicated pregnancy, delivery, and increase the likelihood that her puppies are also healthy. The prepare your bitch for breeding, you should wait until she's an adult and feed her a quality diet.

Document when your bitch first goes into heat. Typically females go into heat around age one and every six months after. If you have failed in the past to breed your bitch, it is likely that poor timing was a primary cause. Keeping records of when your bitch goes into heat and using hormone tests will give you a better idea of when you should breed your dog and increase your chances of success.

Choose a mate wisely. Ideally, your bitch should be free of any flaws you don't want passed to the offspring such as problems with the hips, eyes, and ears. Know the specific problems associated with the breed and find a mate also free of flaws. Both dogs should be free of genetic problems and have good temperaments. If you are breeding for specific traits, make sure both dogs have the characteristics in common that you'd like to see in the puppies.

You should consider how you want to breed your dog: by in-breeding, line-breeding, or outcrossing. In breeding is mating two dogs of close relations such as brother and sister, half siblings, or a parent and offspring. Line breeding is mating two dogs that share a common ancestor, but are not of close relation. Outcrossing is mating two dogs that do not share relation at all. In breeding and line breeding are used to breed for traits within a common ancestry or line. Outcrossing is used to correct flaws in the line.

Most females are likely to become pregnant 10-12 days after being in heat. You can have a veterinarian check frequently with hormone tests to indicate the optimal time to put the two dogs together or you can put them together early and additional times while the female is in heat. If the breeding was effective, you should be able to tell about 22 days after the breeding. Your veterinarian will also be able to examine her and tell you if she's pregnant.

The gestation period for dogs is approximately 60-64 days. In that time you should keep your dog safe and healthy. Her nutritional needs will change in the first 3 weeks, and after that she should be fed puppy food which has a higher fat content. She should be fed puppy food until the puppies are weaned at about six weeks. Once the puppies are born, suitable homes should be found for them.