false preg. question/request for information

Pit_Pointer_Aussie

In your potential breeding dogs, what health and repro stuff do you watch for? What are your biggest worries/concerns? Is it common for bitches with false pregnancies to be bred earlier (say two and a half)?

Anything else I should know?

     JMHO, but I don't get very concerned with false preggos anymore ... however the first times I went through them with my bitches, I was off the walls nervous about them, just so sure they were going to have some kind of terrible hormonal/thyroid problem! False preggos don't phase me anymore ... some bitches are highly maternal, and I have one who had a false preggo EVERY single heat cycle until the day she was bred for the first time @ 2.5 yrs. After that, her hormones calmed down. She's now 5yrs and has not had another false pregnancy since. Now, I wouldn't necessarily breed earlier only because of the tendency for false pregnancy, though if they get to be sever, I might breed a little earlier than originally planned. All my bitches have their first litter between 2-3 years old, on average. My reason for this ties in with my main concern regardign keeping intact bitches ... it's not healthy to be bred too young, of course, but it's equally unhealthy for the reproductive system to wait too long to do a breeding (i.e. 4+ years old before the first litter). The more cycles that pass without the bitch being bred does slightly increase the risk of pyometra. Besides that, as the bitch ages, so do her eggs. 
     I might add there is no definitive preventative method for pyometra, however, you might want to consider keeping her genital area clean throughout her heat cycles, which is when bacteria enters and infects the uterus in the first place. I use mild soapy water and clean my bitches daily during their cycle and do not use those doggie sanitary pads - I'm worried about staph infections/pyo as a result of using them ... but then again, I'm anal :)
     Other than some extra attention to hygeine, you'll want to have her checked by a competant repro Vet or a Vet who is familiar with breeding. Before she is to be bred, have her checked for vaginal strictures, lumps in the mammaries, and just run a blood/thyroid panel to be sure everything is A ok. 

HoundMusic

the first times I went through them with my bitches, I was off the walls nervous about them, just so sure they were going to have some kind of terrible hormonal/thyroid problem!

 

Uh, this is totally me right now. We've been to the vet one a week for the past three or four weeks just to be sure there isn't anything bad happening. I am totally neurotic when it comes to my dogs' health, so this has me totally stressed out. Honestly, I don't know how breeder's do it -- I would be a stress case all the time if I had more than one intact dog.

HoundMusic

Now, I wouldn't necessarily breed earlier only because of the tendency for false pregnancy, though if they get to be sever, I might breed a little earlier than originally planned. All my bitches have their first litter between 2-3 years old, on average...

 

This is Luna's breeders approach as well, for all the reason you stated. Our most recent conversation was that Luna might be bred at two and a half if this continues, but her next heat cycle will tell us more, so let's wait and see what July brings.

HoundMusic

      ... you might want to consider keeping her genital area clean throughout her heat cycles, which is when bacteria enters and infects the uterus in the first place. I use mild soapy water and clean my bitches daily during their cycle and do not use those doggie sanitary pads - I'm worried about staph infections/pyo as a result of using them ... but then again, I'm anal :)

 Luna was really clean during her heat (as in, maybe one or two drops of blood in three weeks of bleeding), so we didn't use pads. With a bitch who cleans herself a lot, do you still wash her daily?

Also, she will have all sorts of health checks before being bred, but thank you for adding those. They are now on my official list! We are fortunate to have a vet familiar with repro health, and to be a stone's throw from Cornell and Colonial Vet Hospital.