German Shepherd Breeding Questions

[meghagupta]

I’ve got two beautiful German Shepherds (GSD) and they’ve locked 5 times, in 5 days, from day 9 of her heat to day 14. The tie lasted 20-30 minutes each time and everything went well, dogs were calm (besides the females crying bc it’s her first time) and healthy. My male has never been bred as well with the female (f is 3, m is 1.8). I’m wondering if there’s any more knotting needed to be done?
Also another question, the female had tied with another dog today, it lasted 5 minutes and I sent her to go pee right away! It was accidental and no way do I want her to have mixed litter, the dog is 6 months old,should I be worried?

 

[frederic12]

@meghagupta Okay let me give it a shot. Yes, your male should have been at least 2. If they are AKC you may want to check with them about the minimum age for the parents in order to register the litter. A mixed litter with 2 sires is very possible. As if there were any unfertilized eggs they could have been fertilized by the second male. The only way to know for sure is to DNA the pups when they are born. Most DNA companies like Embark for Breeders has litter kits you can purchase. You will want to have a pregnancy check done by the vet 4 weeks from the first time thet tied. You will want to use the first tie date for future dates, ex: day 53 xray to see how many pups to expect and the estimated due date (63 days from the first tie). I don't understand the sending her to pee part...you can't "wash away" or "push out" sperm as the male continues to ejaculate from the point of the sheath being pushed back until after tie separation.

 

[meghagupta]

@frederic12 For the “pee thing”, it’s merely some nonsense I read up on when researching the breeding process “it’s important not to let the female pee for 10 minutes-..” which at the moment of the mistaken tie I found to be my only choice at somehow removing the sperm if possible.
Now you say “if there were any unfertilized eggs” which is a response I was hoping to get, so it is very likely that after 5 days, 5 ties, that my male has successfully fertilized all eggs. Thoughts?
I’ll look into the litter tests, and am rigorously studying all proper procedures when breeding these two, such as vet checks, X-rays and ultra sounds, dates, th birthing, the follow up checks on her and her pups,
My female checks out on her health as did my male, I was incorrect he is 1 year and 11 months, registered.

Thank you for the response!

 

[frederic12]

@meghagupta Being that you had 5 breeding's..I would hope and bet he got all the eggs. However, scientifically speaking there is still a chance you have late deposited eggs. The sperm usually last for 72 hours in an active state. Now you are looking with that breed 8-13 pups on average. So the only guarantee is the DNA testing. Don't waste your time with an ultrasound. They are more expensive and have been proven many times to be wrong. We just went over it on my breeding page and we had 9 people respond who were told 3 and had 6. Xrays are much more reliable IMO because bone can not be misidentified as tissue. Ultrasounds are only as good as the person reading the screen. Keep studying. GSD's are a hardy breed that rarely require c-sections to whelp. It does happen...but it is rare.

 

[meghagupta]

@frederic12 Ok, thank you that puts my mind to ease a bit! I understand that there is still a chance there were some eggs unfertilized but that’s just how it goes. I’ll have to dig deeper into the DNA testing and discover a fast and reliable kit.
I will go with the X-ray because as you said the ultrasounds have been unreliable which is what I too have read a lot of.
You have a breeding page?

 

[frederic12]

@meghagupta Yes..I breed mini-dachshunds and we have a breeders page. But I also am on a few GSD and Mal pages because I find them fascinating and they genetically match my dogs from point of origin. They also are working dogs as my dogs are hunting dogs. It's called Dachshund Breeding Basics. Your more then welcome to join. Dog pregnancy and whelping are the same for both breeds. We also have a few people that know more about DNA and genetics then some of the doctors and scientists I have met. Lol.. These people are SERIOUS when it comes to their lines and kennels.

 

[frederic12]

Also feel free to contact me if I can help you in any way. I don't know a lot..but after 20+ years of breeding I know a little. My FB page for my kennel is https://www.facebook.com/MacLeodMiniDachshunds/

 

[caitlynlovesjesus]

@meghagupta Male is too young to be bred, as he wouldn’t be able to pass his health tests.

 

[meghagupta]

@caitlynlovesjesus My GSD is one year 11 months, as the young male who managed to tie today is much younger, 6 months, if that’s the one you’re referring to.

 

[dukedesu]

@meghagupta Both would be too young.

 

[meghagupta]

@dukedesu 6 months male dogs can produce sperm, which I understand is not worthy until they reach the age of 2. However, 2 years old or 1 year and 11 months? What is the difference between the month of age?

 

[dukedesu]

@meghagupta Yes 6 months can produce sperm, usually not the same quality/quantity as an older dog, but it happens. The difference is not so much the month in age, but the OFA results where the minimum age is 2 for the readout by 3 specialists (pre-lims are only read by one person). There are some breeds in which 2 isn't really a hard line, or that you can get around certain things if you do pennhip and none of the other breed specific tests have that as a minimum age (and there are some breeds where older than that is better still). Here are the GSD recommended tests: https://www.ofa.org/recommended-tests?breed=GS

 

[caitlynlovesjesus]

@meghagupta That’s even worse.

They need to be 2 to pass their hip tests.

 

[meghagupta]

@caitlynlovesjesus He’s been cleared by my vet, given the situation. As for the young pup, I can only imagine his sperm is not yet ready let alone his hips.

 

[caitlynlovesjesus]

@meghagupta Except, that’s not good enough. He needs to have his hips radiographed. That doesn’t account for the other tests GSDs should be getting.

 

[meghagupta]

@caitlynlovesjesus What is not good enough?

 

[caitlynlovesjesus]

@meghagupta His hips needed to be radiographed when he turned 2. A normal vet visit cannot tell you if hips have good structure. GSDs also need elbows done and a variety of genetic tests.

 

[meghagupta]

@caitlynlovesjesus Ok thanks for the input

 

[dogsforthewin]

@meghagupta No breeding should be done unless all hips and health checks have been done. Period.

 

[meghagupta]

@dogsforthewin Name checks out.