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How many litters should a weim have and how often?
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Hi guys
Great to see someone has taken the initiative to create a new forum instead of whinging about it since the loss of the other one!!
I have had my male weim for 3 years or so and as we all know some/most weims suffer from separation anxiety. Tobi would stress every single day I left for work howling and crying, then when I got home I felt like a rock star as he would be that excited!
I had decided that perhaps a companion would help him settle, as he has a frantic energetic type nature and I came across a lady who was selling her female weim Maya as she could no longer care for her since she had a severe illness (brain tumour)
Since Tobi wasn’t desexed (the breeders had requested not to, as the had originally wanted to possibly collect sperm for a future litter) and neither was Maya I had initially thought of getting one desexed but then thought well I have always wanted a litter of pups I will let nature take it’s course and see what happens.
Maya had her 1st litter of pups in June 2013 (I picked her up in Sept 2013) and Maya became pregnant pretty much at the start of this year for the 2nd time with my boy Tobi and she had her 2nd litter (I will post up some pics) at the start of March 2014 (the pups will be 8 weeks old tomorrow!!)
So sorry for dragging the story on, but my question are:
Q1 What’s the ideal rest period in between litters (I’m guessing 12 months?)
Q2 A work colleague told me that she use to breed boxers and it was detrimental to her bitch’s health from holding her back when she was in season (I can’t recall exactly, but by memory the vet had said she wouldn’t have had the complications she had if she had been allowed to mate?)
Q3 How many litters should a bitch have in her lifetime, I have heard around 4-6 litters
Q4 My two weims are pretty well inseparable, they follow each other around everywhere and if I take one to the vet and leave one at home Tobi stresses out big time! So how am I suppose to separate them when she comes in season again next time? I have a large area underneath the house (which is secured/fenced off with a gate) which I had originally built but my weims love being on the back deck peering in through the glass of the french doors to be close to me.
Q5. With a canine ‘pill’ the vet advised against the use of such drugs as they have severe side effects?
I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole puppy experience, and Maya has been such a fantastic loving mother I certainly would love to do it again in the future when of course after she has been properly rested and at her peak condition wise also!
NO more litters, unless you screen for OFA and any hereditary problems, are a member of good standing with the WCA as well as the local club and participate with your weims in an AKC event albeit show, field or performance.
The rescues are full of weims produced from backyard breeders. Please leave it to the people who do it for the betterment of the breed. Please educate yourself and no more litters. I help with weim rescue and it is full of weims from backyard breeders. Please don’t take any offense. I just want you to understand the reality of what happens to so many weims. Just out of curiosity, why do you want to keep having litters?
I’m located in Australia and things are quite a bit different here!
The weimaraner is not very common and thus there ain’t many puppies that come up. She had 6 pups from this litter but unfortunately quite a few prospective owners missed out as they were already accounted for and went in a matter of days.
I can understand your stance, albeit from my perspective whilst I’m just an amateur I do love the breed and do wish do become involved with learning more about the breed. I’m sure a lot of others breeders start from similar humble beginnings, and I have provided my weims and pups with utmost care.
At the end of the day I had a lot of interest in this litter, as it seems a lot of existing weim owners wish to acquire another pup or have had weims in the past and would like another.
To me it’s about sharing the love of these beautiful dogs, and having them go to homes who understand the reqt’s of owning a weim and the companionship, joy and happiness that they do provide for their owners. Having witnessed Maya go through the birth and raising her litter was also a beautiful experience.
That’s why I would like to eventually have another litter, and if I was an irresponsible backyard breeder I wouldn’t be online trying to determine what’s ideal for my girl and seeking advice from other knowledgeable breeders.
Whilst I didn’t take your comment personally, to some extent it’s difficult not to 😉
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This reply was modified 10 years ago by
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This reply was modified 10 years ago by
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This reply was modified 10 years ago by
There are plenty of good breeders in australia, so bullsh*t
I can get so angry about this..You dont just put 2 weims together and let them go at it.
You go to shows, you pick out the right male that makes a right match. Do all the health test, only breed if your dog has a good pedigree etc etc… Not just your own male and girl and then again and again. And so quick the next littler, poor poor girl.
You really have no idea what breeding is about, what you are doing is not for the love of the breed… breeding this way destroys the breed..
The good thing to do is get your girl spayed and leave the breeding to people who know everything about it and know what it takes to improve the breed.
And i hope NO good breeder starts this way, that is just you talking it right for yourself..
While I commend your good intentions and I’ll take your word for it that you take good care of your pups (they certainly seem happy and healthy), I do agree that this is a little naieve, and not the proper way to go about it.
Bluntly put; any decent breeder has a long standing pedigree. Not “humble beginnings”. They start with championship winning dogs. They have piles and piles of documentation, official certificates, records of health and family history, and so on. It takes training, and not practice to become a registered breeder. Two very different things.
If you are serious about bettering the breed, get registered. If you are not, then your pups cannot get registered either. Which … well. Makes you a backyard breeder.
Forever Weimanamanama
i am sad that this topic comes up again and again.
people have the best intentions, but do not have the necessary information.even though i agree with the above posters, i think it is very important to explain things in a very calm way, so people can hear you and be educated.
i understand anger and exasperation ( we have a rescue dog), it does not help to educate people. it will scare people away from the forum.
education takes patience patience patience.and shane, get all the education you can get, maybe a registered breeder in australia can be your mentor?
do your research, register your dogs, get their history, get them tested and certified etc.
your puppies are beautiful but the breed needs protection. so do all future puppies.
Yes there are plenty of good breeders in Australia, but as I mentioned weims aren’t quite so common here and we don’t have rescue shelters full of weimaraners.
TBH I searched rescue shelters for months in hope of rescuing a weim and none had popped up (I’m sure the do exist but are very rare) and was almost considering another breed of dog for a companion when Maya popped up for sale.
I had joined the australian weimaraner rescue FB page, and also they rarely pop up on there also.
I can also understand your stance regarding breeding from champion bloodlines, and being associated with various clubs but I guess as a newcomer the condescending manner certainly isn’t the right way to attempt to ‘speak sense’ into a newcomer.
I have put a lot of love and care into the litter and my bitch, but hey if you just wish to vent your anger on a newcomer rather then educating someone in a more appropriate manner well I guess this place isnt for me!
We dont have many rescue dogs here..doesnt mean i’m going to be a backyard breeder;) Your reason for doing this makes no sense..
If there were already a lot of weimaraners out there that need homes, yes i can understand why it’s detrimental to oversupply with future litters.
Since there isn’t where I reside, and I really love weimaraners I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to provide potential owners with a companion as beautiful as the weimaraner.
But it seems no matter what I say, you’re out for an argument and have branded me as some type of opportunist who is forcing my weims to have puppies. On 2nd thought’s I can see why this thread could create such drama as the title insinuates that I wish to start a puppy factory, but this isn’t my intention.
I am going to become a registered breeder and seek help in my area before the next litter (I will be fortunate enough to attend the weimaraner nationals held in Sydney Australia in a few weeks time also) but I’m not going to argue with someone such as yourself.
Cheers 😀
Well good you want to do it the right way the next time, but you shouldve done the research before you had the first litter.
Go to shows with your dog, i hope she has all her health tests, else go do that. And go search for a good male for a next litter. You should not just use your own male again and again. At this moment yes you sound like a back yard breeder that doesnt have a clue what he is doing and that is not good for the breed.
There are amazing breeders in Australia, also the best longhaired Weims come from Australia. So get to know the breeders, look at their dogs and figure out the type you like and what way you want to go with your breeding. Find a male that improves the flaws your girl might have. We travel to other countries for a good match, not just go the easy way. In my country there is only one breeder who only breeds an all american type, so no good studdogs that are that type over here.And dont have 4 to 6 litters..poor girl
Alot of breeders do max 4 litters, i think 3 is enough…and then go on with the next generation.
Shane sounds like he is taking advise and looking into becoming a registered breeder. We all know weims are a very sensitive breed. We can’t change the past but it looks like advise for the future is being accepted.
Weimanamanama Weimaranermama
Shane, I think the reason why topics chafes a little bit with Weimaraner owners more so than other breeds, is that a good number of us (myself included) have dogs either from backyard breeders, or rescues. So we are acutely aware of the consequences of an imbalanced dog.
That doesn’t mean we don’t worship the dogs we have, but while we might be used to dealing with some of the issues of non-selective breeding (like temperament) many dogs aren’t so lucky and end up in foster care or worse.
So while you might take the utmost care with the pups, you won’t really know how they turn out as adults and how they do in their new home.
It does sound like you have the best of intentions, and I wish you good luck getting registered and procuring all the required certifications.
Forever Weimanamanama
Hi Shane,
The first thing that popped out at me from your post is that your male has separation anxiety. That’s a tough thing to deal with. And it’s hereditary. Breeding a dog with separation anxiety will produce pups with separation anxiety. I’ve had some fantastic dogs in my life that had just one problem that was so difficult to deal with, many people would’ve given up on them. But in my family we are committed to our dogs no matter what. However, I would never want to pass those problems along to other dogs through breeding and therefore make another family deal with undesirable issues. The best thing you can do when breeding is to start with the best possible parents so you get the best possible puppies. This doesn’t guarantee that puppies will be free of medical or behavioral issues. But it lets you start with the best chances of having healthy, good natured puppies with good temperaments. We all love our dogs immensely and understand the desire to have puppies just like them. But having puppies really isn’t the best way to love the breed nor to better it.
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