She's too old.

 

I agree, in fact the vet visit for her spay could save her life. I had a friend delay a spay on their senior bitch and not only did she almost die from pyrometra the bill from the vet ended up being almost $2000. Scary time and they were lucky she made it.

 

Don't breed her, she's too old.

 

Good thing you did ask for advice first. Sadly, most people don't.

 

If you love your girl just go back to your breeder! Its important we support responsible breeders by going to them and enable them to keep up the good work!

Have you seen this -->>http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/choosing-breeder/137533-things-look-responsible-breeder.html

 

We just pulled an 8.5 y.o. dog with great genetics into rescue....and she had life-threatening pyometra too. The spay saved her life too. Our bill wasn't as high as MaggieRoseLee's friend's bill, but it was still a lot (nearly $900).

Risking an old dog's life seems like far too big a risk to me, esp. for a dog who's been good and loyal her whole life. These last years are the years to cherish her, and let her enjoy her 'retirement.'

 

Yes, she is too old.

Spaying is not a bad suggestion. Friend dealt with pyo in too older females. Very expensive and very scary.

 

In human years, your GSD would be 55 years old.

 

****, I'm glad I just got Jasira spayed and she's only 3 but the vet said she had over-large odd shaped ovaries. He doubted she could ever get bred anyway. I wouldn't have because she came back with mild hip dysplasia after I had her x-rays done. I won't pass that along.

 

Aside from the obvious reasons, do you know what you are doing as far as breeding? Not trying to offend, I just don't know your background? Do you have decades of experience and have successfully bred gsd's for the betterment of the breed and have you had them in dog sport, titled... I mean I'm just not sure if this would be your first time or if you are a long standing hobby breeder or what? Like I said, I don't know your background BUT if this would be your first time, I would stay away from it and leave it to the professionals, plus your dog is older, these are her golden years. Just love her and leave her be as far as the breeding.

 

So the prerequisite to breeding a litter of dogs...is decades of experience breeding dogs?

 

I would not breed an 8 year old for the first time, no.

 

Not if their breeding stock is 8 years old maybe.

 

Well stated WolfyDog.

Though I think there are some minimum standards which most could agree on, the rest is very subjective and really open to free market influences.

 

If the OP isn't just a whelp wanting to stir the pot, then he has gotten his answer and is long gone.

8 years old is not too old to produce a litter, but having a first litter at 8 is way too risky. The problem is, that she can and probably WILL get pregnant if she is given the opportunity.

It is then, that you have to decide whether to spay abort, or try to let her go through with it. And the chances of complications skyrocket after the age of 5 or 6 for first-time litters. A large-breed bitch is closing into geriatric at this point, and the chances that she will not have the required stamina to produce a litter, the chances are very good that it will be very small, meaning much larger puppies, labor may not start, my start and stop, and she may not be able to push the large pups out.

Possible C-section. Will the instincts of motherhood kick in as strongly in an older bitch? Maybe. If she did not have them naturally? Maybe. Will she bounce back from a c-section? Maybe -- lots of maybes.

What you have to really ask yourself is whether you have the stamina to raise a litter if the bitch rejects them or is lost in the process. If you are ok with that, well, no one here is going to condone what you are doing. Read up on the process and pay special attention to when to call in the vet and get your bitch help if she is having trouble.

 

She has been bred several times. And she turns 9 this June.

 

Then it depends on the bitch and her current health.

I got a litter of seven out of Jenna 11 months ago. She will be 10 in August. She delivered naturally, and had no problems. Her previous litter turned 2 January 29. She is an excellent dam and has never had a still born pup, nor has she lost one after birth.

She is retired now, only because she is 9.5 years.

It will depend on your bitch.

If she hasn't had a litter for a number of years, that also can be an issue, like, if she had a litter at 2 and 3 and now 5 years later you want a last litter out of her, that would be harder on her than if she had a litter each year. Also could be tougher for her to conceive.

 

She had puppies last year and she looks great. I think I will breed her in the next 2-3 months.

 

If you are really firm on this decision I would get a really good vet check done, complete with blood work to make sure she is able to deliver a healthy litter. Tell your vet that you have a planned breeding so he/she will look for the appropriate things. I assume you have done your homework on hips, etc for the sire you have planned. Eight is no longer a young dog so be prepared to help with the litter, possibly bottle feeding, cleaning the pups, etc. She may need more help as the pups get older too as she will get tired of being pulled at and nipped by those sharp little puppy teeth. It isn't an easy job but if you know what you are looking at going into it then you will be more prepared.

 

If I were to breed my dog, I would only do so after all the health checks and with the consent of her breeder, let him find the match and go from there under his supervision. By then I will be a new breeder with knowledge on how to raise good pups (physically and mentally sound), which would mean to me "reputable", even though it would be my first bred litter.

 

If the health checks are clear and you are going to breed her- it is a good idea to notify your vet of possible c-section as a backup plan if there are any complications. Make sure your vet or a vet will be around in the days close to her due date- in case if needed you will know where to go.

 

Even for an older bitch, it is better not to need a c-section. I think I would just wait until day 56 or so and get an x-ray to ensure that we have a regular sized litter, not just one or two huge puppies. Also having an accurate count of the pups in there, can help you know whether or not she is done. When they are older, they may get tired out sooner, and if a pup doesn't show up, that can be fatal. Also, I would make sure the gal gets regular exercise, and plenty of healthy food to give her the stamina she will need to get through whelping.

Keep vanilla ice cream, carnation condensed milk on hand to give her a boost in the middle of the process, maybe a couple of boosts.

Good luck. Hope all goes well.

 

This is super ridiculous, I mean... OP why? Like why do you want to breed an 8 year old dog? What is your purpose? What is it like is it the money? Is it because she is some super spectacular show or protection sport champion that you feel the need to pass down her genes? Everyone else, can shut it. I don't want anyone else's responses, I just want to hear from the OP. That's all. OP: Dogs shouldn't have to go through all of this for our pleasure or our finances. Dogs never asked to be forced to be bred at 8 years old. I doubt she wants this. How about just love her and care for her in her old age and let her be. Darnn!

 

Actually, assuming she's still going into heat, that's nature saying "breed me." If the dog didn't want to be bred, she wouldn't go into heat.

You seem to know a lot about how this dog feels without actually meeting her.

 

My female's dam was 8 when she had her last litter. 8 puppies and a healthy delivery.

 

Troublemaker.

 

If she's been bred before, it's a different scenario than breeding for the very first time at that age, but still not sure why the OP would come here and ask. If you're going to do it and you think it's fine, then why ask. I've seen and heard of dogs bred even older and been OK, but they were already experienced brood bitches being bred by very experienced breeders (experienced as in having bred or helped whelp dozens of litters, seen just about everything there is to see and know what to do when things go wrong and how to recognize trouble). It's not a black and white thing, but the decision depends on way more than just a general question/vague information so I'm guessing the majority of this board are going to err on the side of caution and say no.

 

You know what... I was just thinking about what martemchik said and... I mean, can bitches really choose to come into heat if they want to get pregnant that bad? Lol... I might be really ignorant on this. Maybe this is why I feel so against this/ breeding because I always thought, dogs don't necessarily want this, it's just what humans want, BUT!!! if a dog CHOOSES to go into heat because she really wants to be pregnant then shoot! I STAND corrected! I will apologize to everyone supporting breeders and go on about my merry way and just focus on other threads. I just sincerely, honestly, have NeVER heard of this phenomena !?,I didn't know bitches could choose this. That's kind of amazing! Haha! You learn something new everyday! Female humans got the short end of the stick :-(

 

Against breeding? Then why do you have a purebred dog?

 

Because I rescued him?. Or I guess I could have just left him wasting away, starving, in someone's backyard the rest of his life? I think not... I have rescued other dog breeds... This dog is a gsd. And what? If there were no more gsd's in the world, I would move on to the next breed of dog that needs help. There will always be dogs that need help. Good question though!! Thanks sunflower

 

Having puppies is natural. Bitches will breed to dogs given the opportunity and get pregnant on every heat cycle, if they are healthy and not restrained.

Their reproductive cycle goes through the same process whether they get pregnant or not, which is not quite the same for humans. The progesterone hits their parts and does a number on them whether or not they are bred. Sometimes false pregnancies are so like to the real thing that the bitch has milk and goes into a false labor.

With excellent nutrition and good longevity in the lines, a bitch can be quite young at eight, while another is losing a step at five or six. It depends on the bitch.

Really the whelping process is hard. It is the only discomfort the bitch goes through. And by the next day, she is generally back to herself. Once the puppy is out, you wouldn't know she was in any pain at all, save occasional tearing up of papers. Whelping can be dangerous. But most bitches make it through whelping fine, even the older bitches.

With a c-section, there is pain from the surgery, and the puppies will be right down there digging where the stitches are. That is tougher on a bitch than natural birth.

 

Thank you for the explanation. What I really want to know is, do bitches choose to go into heat because they like/want to be pregnant? And by the same token, can they choose to not go into heat if they don't like being pregnant? That statement martemchik posted really was so thought provoking!! I never even knew it was a possibility for females of any species to choose to go into heat? I think people have sort of answered this? But it just didn't seem like a direct/ literal yes or no answer so Im still unsure?