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Pups


wigeon jim
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3-4 is a good age for a working bitch as they have their training under their belt by then and are physically mature if you want them to have one litter only. Not too old to put them at risk being too old and they recuperate better.

A first litter is normally bred from a bitch earlier if more than one litter is wanted.

If they have their season early enough in the year to be past the shooting season before mating and give you 9 weeks for pregnancy then 8 weeks to wean the pups and then time to build the bitch up again and refresh training. If you rough shoot in the Spring/Summer you are going to be without your shooting companion for quite a few months.

You have to think carefully about why you want a litter and can you provide the facilities and time they need to have a litter. Is it worth the risk to your shooting companion if things go wrong.

Its a lot easier to look around and buy another pup with simiiar breeding if you want another gundog and just as likely or not to make the grade as a gundog as a retained puppy from your own bitch.

Edited by loriusgarrulus
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If you really care for your dog do not bread her at that age, My wife and I have bred dogs all our lives, ability to cope with puppies depends on the breed but at 9 she is too old, there would probably be health complications during pregnancy even if she is still fit, but her ability to cope with a very demanding litter of puppies diminishes with age.

Also it would take a severe toll on her health post pregnancy and could have some long lasting effects.

My advice for what its worth is keep her working and buy in a new pup to train on ready for when she retires.

If in doubt ask a vet, but I am sure his advice will be the same. :no::no:

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