I have a five year old bitch that I am thinking of breeding again but am worried because she had a slow labor her last litter and lost a few of the pups. This was her second litter, her first being a healthy litter of 9. This past whelping I should have brought her to the vet because she was having a hard time pushing the pups out and several ended up being stillborn. My question is if anyone has had similar circumstances and if so have they successfully bred a bitch that had problems previously. Thanks..

Do a scheduled c section.

I have a bitch that i have bred 3 times. Her first litter was a disaster. She started reabsorbing puppies after her ultrasound, around day 40, and only showed spines in her xray so they couldn't tell. Almost the whole litter was still born and i was a wreck about breeding her again. I tossed and turned on it,and thought about a scheduled section as the first litter was a c-section to take out one of the puppies that lived. I bred her and ultrasounded her several times to check up on the puppies and hteir heartbeats until birth, and progesterone tested her towards the end of the pregnancy to make sure her hormone levels were normal. She went into labor and had 7 healthy puppies on her own. I went to a very well know reproductive specialist on the east coast before breeding her a second time, and she thought that my bitch may have contracted a bacterial infection or something, they never really figured it out. She monitored her second litter very well, checking her progesterone frequently after day 45, and ultrasounding every 10 days after day 30. Her third litter i didn't do as much progesterone testing, but i did ultrasound her frequently to make sure puppies were okay, she delivered 7 healthy pups. Good luck, i hope her next litter is a success.

How is her weight and conditioning?

http://www.justanswer.com/questions/14a5y-why-do-puppies-reabsorb

This link is for those of you with repro problems mentioned in this thread or others.

Why a c-section? The first litter was a healthy litter of 9. Perhaps the positioning of the pups was problematic, there are many reasons 1 litter can have a few stillborns. If it had been both litters, I would say the same thing or suggest not to breed her again.

OP, have you thought of speaking to Dr. Hutch via phone consult? Are you using a repro vet? If so, what did the specialist say? If not, I suggest you consult with one, either by phone or office visit.

Your 2nd litter maybe have just been unlucky or poor positioning as your bitch had no problems the first time around. She's 5, well under the maximum age to breed. If you're going to breed her, I would do it before age 6 and as soon as possible.

Women sometimes have an easy labor the first baby and a difficult labor the 2nd or 3rd time. Who knows why?

I hope you get some good veterinary-repro advice before proceeding. I am not a breeder to jump into c-sections as a cure all.

I hope the 3rd litter works our well. I would supplement folic acid before the bitch becomes pregnant and during but discuss any advice given to you by breeders with your repro vet first.

Thanks for the feedback, I think I am definately going to see a repro vet for advice, this bitch is always kept in good body condition and not overfed while pregnant. She just seemed to push a long time to pass each pup this past litter, they were pretty big pups. I have never had a problem like this, all my bitches have alwaysbeen easy whelpers.

Were the puppies large? if so consider breeding to another male. I would scheduled a C-section, and not risk it. I'm actually doing it for one of my girls I just bred. She lost 4 out of 6 pups. They were very large puppies.

Wouldn't doing xrays prior to whelping give an idea on the size of the puppies?