A best practice is 4-6 litters per dog
Most reputable breeders will cap even their fittest, best mothers at around 4-6 litters so that she can be spayed while she is still young and at her healthiest. Reasons that a reputable breeder may have to retire a dog sooner would be difficult deliveries that may require C-sections or other common reproductive related difficulties such as recurrent mastitis or uterine infections.
However, most well-bred dogs are able to have a good handful of litters with no health concerns. Remaining active during pregnancy and whelping and being able to maintain a healthy weight during nursing are signs that your dam is feeling good and able to continue producing litters.
Physical health is one factor that breeders should be highly aware of, but a dam’s emotional health matters, too. A breeder should always be in touch with their dogs and show a high degree of concern for their wellbeing. Some dogs seem to really enjoy being mothers and spend extra time with their pups and actively choose to play with them, bring them treat/toys, etc.
Other times, a dog may not seem to jive with motherhood. A breeder should be willing to retire a dog early if they simply do not seem to enjoy being a mom. This can look like a dog not wanting to spend time with her puppies, seeming particularly anxious during the whelping process, etc. A breeder who is in tune with her parent dogs will likely retire some earlier than expected for reasons such as these.
Besides actual number of litters, there are other questions to consider when it comes to the ethics of breeding your dam. When and how often your dog should be bred are also questions that every breeder must grapple with. And similar to the topic of number of litters, the answers to these questions do vary based on size and breed of dog as well as other factors.
Even reproductive vets tend to disagree when it comes to the answers to these questions. As an example, previously, skipping heats between pregnancies was strongly encouraged in the breeding community. However, newer research has suggested that the more heats a dog has in her lifetime, the greater the risk of pyometra and other health concerns.
Research shared by Dr. Claudia Orlandi PhD, suggested that a breeding female should not skip any heat cycles until she is retired. The study involved dissecting the uteri of retired females. The uteri that had the most scarring and “damage” were from those who had skipped a number of heat cycles.
So some breeders feel strongly about breeding their females back to back, while others insist that skipping heats allows their females to completely recover physically between pregnancies. Regardless of their answer, your breeder should be able to tell you why they breed their female as often as they do in a way that shows concern for their dog.
How Many Litters Can a Dog Have?
Based on empirical evidence, it has been discovered that female dogs can have at least 3-4 litters in a year. A litter of one female dog can have up to seven puppies on average. Consequently, if your dog lives up to the age of eleven, it could have about thirty litters in 11 years.
However, this figure might be unrealistic for adult dogs that have gone through excess breeding. Contrastively, there is no limit to how much litter a male dog can have.
I would be less worried about how many puppies a certain bitch had and more concerned with does the breeder conduct health screenings on her breeding stock before planning a litter, research pedigrees, and have loving homes waiting for them after they are born. Certainly, the quality of the pups does not diminish with the number of litters a bitch has whelped. In fact, one of my top winning dogs came out of that fifth litter from my foundation bitch, and it was a repeat breeding of a really special stud dog.
Dear AKC: How many litters are too many for one dog? I met this lady yesterday who has her female on the 4th litter. Granted, the dog is old enough to have this many litters, but I am curious if there are any noticeable characteristics in a puppy from the 3rd or 4th litter compared to one from the first litter. I want to purchase a stud dog from her and need to know if this is a problem. – Selecting a Stud
Dear Stud: Canine reproduction is a wonderful thing. If dogs weren’t meant to have multiple litters then Mother Nature would have not created the bitches that way. My first brood bitch had five litters in her lifetime. After conducting all the appropriate health screenings for my breed, I bred her annually from the time she was two-years-old until she was six-years-old, each time selecting breeding stock for showing and making sure all puppies were placed in good homes.
By doing your research ahead of time, you can find out what tests are routine for your breed and inquire if the breeder tests for these. By working with a breeder, and making them your mentor, you will find yourself in good hands when it comes to selecting a stud dog for your breeding program. For more information about our Mentoring program check with the parent club as many of them have breeder mentoring programs that can help. https://www.akc.org/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php Get Your Free AKC eBook
How many litters can a dog have legally AKC?
Dog breeders have been urged to cut the number of litters bred from individual bitches over their lifetimes in an attempt to improve animal welfare.
The Kennel Club has told members it will not normally register more than the first four litters bred from one animal and wants the government to lower the legal limit of six in line with its new guidance.
The club said the move should not mean financial hardship for responsible legitimate breeders, but hoped it would lower the incentives for illegal puppy farms.
Bill Lambert, health and breeder services manager, said it wanted to “ensure that all breeders put the health and welfare of their puppies and breeding bitches first and foremost.
He added: “While the law allows bitches to have six litters in a lifetime … the vast majority of responsible breeders feel that this is too high. Very serious consideration has to be given to the matter if a breeder wishes a bitch to have more than four litters but the Kennel Club may grant permission for this to happen if it believes that there is good and justifiable reason for doing so on a case-by-case basis.
“Of course, this decision will sadly not impact on those people who do not register their litters with the club, in particular puppy farmers who breed purely for profit and tend to show little consideration for an animals welfare. Legislation needs to be tightened so that these people can be brought to account.”
A club spokeswoman said that exceptions to the four-litter limit would take only be allowed on advice from a vet and his opinion on the bitch in question. These could include cases where there had been only a one-puppy litter. The club had looked at its existing membership and concluded only a few still bred more than four litters from one bitch.
The club also called for other aspects of its breeders code to be made mandatory by the government. This would include all breeders having to give their dogs required health tests for their breed and ensuring that potential buyers saw puppies with their mothers and in their home environment.
The clubs changes will take effect in January 2012. The club was severely criticised in a BBC documentary in 2008 which alleged that physical traits required under the clubs breed standards such as short faces, wrinkling, screw-tails and dwarfism, had inherent health implications. Disputes over the inclusion of certain breeds led to BBC television not covering the clubs Crufts show the following year.