Worried about my dog

[Angelboddy]

This may sound alittle disgusting but i have been concerned about my dog. I can go as far back as to when she was a pup. Now my vet says she is fine but i though i'd get some opinions from you guys. Well, ever since she was a pup her pee-pee has been such an abnormal size. Like she is in heat 24/7. But she is not. Because it looks as if she were part male when she goes in heat. It just sticks out soooo much from her back side. Also when she turned a year old, after her first heat her tittys hang down alittle as if she has had a litter of pups, but she has never. Everyone ask if she has had pups before because it looks like it from her pee-pee and tittys. now don't get mad at me please, but i don't want to fix her because i was thinking of having one litter. I just need to find the right male lab for her. Do you think i should be worried? The vet said she was fine, and that she is just different down there. Should i get another vets opinion? Please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cry: :cry:

[Carolk9s]

I think you should spay her. As soon as possible. Think of all the labs looking for homes or being sold for $50-$100 a pup because someone wanted 'just one litter'. I am NOT trying to flame you or sound like I am jumping down your throat about this. Labs are HUGELY overbred, while most make good pets, some make good hunting dogs, some good show dogs, far too many simply make it to shelters and pounds and all to often, to the disposal room. Sorry if that sounds blunt but you must understand the truth and if you are going to assist in creating life, you must take every precaution to help create a healthy living being that will be loved and looked out for all it's life.
If you decide you simply must breed her, will you be having her hips
x-rayed to check for hip dysplasia? If her hips are less than excellent, will you breed her anyway? How about the male? Will you require that his hips also be x-rayed? Will you accept a male that has less than excellent (or even good) hips? Do you have any idea how painful, debilitating and life shortening hip dysplasia can be for a dog? This is just ONE of the many genetic tests you should do before deciding to breed two dogs together.
How about having her eyes CERF'd? The males too?
How about having her elbows x-rayed along with the hips?
There are other genetic faults present in labs that you should test for, why would anyone possibly want to breed puppies that may grow up with health conditions that will cause them distress, pain, and a possibly far shortened life span?
What if those puppies are then bred as well, just to have one litter?
Well I could go on but I hope you will read this with an open mind, perhaps read it a second time as well.
There are many things in life that we CAN do, there is a percentage of those things we should NOT do.

[Rosebud]

:wink:

I agree with Carol.

Are you currently exhibiting her in Conformation classes, even if you acquired your bitch from a proven line you should still have her evaluated in this setting to assure that she has the proper structure and movement to achieve what the breed was originally bred for. Have you consulted your breeder for his/her opinion as to whether breeding your bitch would better the current gene pool.

Breeding is a serious committment, are you prepared to take back every pup in the litter if it's neccessary to keep them out of the shelters and give guarantees against health defects and temperment.

:angel:

[Sanvean]

I agree with the others -- definitely think long and hard before you breed. Labs have HUGE litters, and they're honestly a dime a dozen nowadays. Can you find homes for as many as 12 puppies? Can you take those puppies back if the owners can't keep them for any reason?

As far as her girly parts, I noticed this on Macy as well. A vet student friend said that's her vulva, and that sometimes things come outward, especially after the dog has had a litter. (Macy had two litters before I got her.) I don't know why her breasts might be saggy, though.

[Sanvean]

K napisał(a):

I can't bear droopy boobies on dogs....

LOL! I have to admit, I'm very happy Macy doesn't have saggy boobs! We had a very pretty pit mix in my rescue group once, but she had the MOST obviously boobies of any dog I've ever seen -- you just couldn't help but stare at them!

[Guest Anonymous]

Dogs "privates" can be all different sizes. I have a bitch like yours that looks like she is in heat all the time and when she is...woooweee!! I also have one that is so small you can hardly tell even when she comes in heat.
Have you taken her to the vet when she is in heat. I would worry a little about her prolapsing.

[Guest Anonymous]

Right after we got Goo, she came into heat. After that she had a false pregnancy, and as soon as that was over with, we had her fixed. She had milk and everything, and that coupled with my nephews always yanking on her "extra legs" :o led to her being a little droopy :roll: . I agree with the others about getting her spayed, she's a beautiful dog, but unless she's got something that makes her stand out as a superior lab, there's absolutely NO reason to breed her.

[Angelboddy]

Thank you for all your replys. I have done all the test necessary for her breeding ability. And they all came out great :D . I am not sure if i want to breed her quit yet. I've been doing alittle research on labs here in missouri. So far it seems that pure breed labs come at a great demand down here. There are a lot of hunting and bird hunting going on. In fact we have one of the largest hunting stores right down the street from us called "BASS PRO" I still have more research i want to do before completely deciding on this. I volenteered for the humane society for awhile and saw soooooooooo many mixed labs. That made me think some more. I don't want to see any of my dogs pups haveing pups of a mix and ending up in the pound. I've got so many freinds and family that really want a pup from her. But i need to think about everyones best interest. Mostly my dogs and pups. Thanks for your help!

[Guest Anonymous]

Your dogs pups being purebred may not guarentee that they will never see the pound either. Breeding is serious business and is best left to the pros but if you do decide that is what you want to do, do it right. Read up and know how much work goes into puppies. that means cleaning their area 3-5 times a day Puppies go a lot!!, making sure they are all eating properly and watching to make sure they are all healthy, the EXPENSE of feeding all the extra mouths and the NOISE who would have ever thought something so cute sould be so loud....Oh and the SMELLS there is so much more to breeding thatn finding to good looking dogs and letting them go at it. Puppy placement is the number one thing that goes overlooked. do you know people that are interested for SURE in a puppy when you breed them. are these people going to PROPERLY raise and train your puppies, or are they going to love them as a puppy and when they start to grow are they going to not have time, space, or the patience to see it through and send you lovely little pup to the P_O_U_N_D!!!

Are You Sure?

[mouseatthebusstop]

K napisał(a):

I agree with the others too..please spay your doggy as soon as possible...there is no need for her to go through the stress of having a litter and what if the litter you dream of having the 3rd pup gets stuck and she dies and leaves you?..it has just happened to someone on another forum and the two pups are now at the vets fighting to live :( ....it is all too sad to think about :cry: ...another good reason in my "K is shallow and vain books" to spay your dog is no droopy boobies...I can't bear droopy boobies on dogs....

I AGREE WITH THE OTHERS BEST TO HAVE HER SPAYED

[courtnek]

Angel, I too think you should have her spayed, but if you decide to breed, you absolutely MUST do a thorough check on her and the male's eyes. Labs have a slew of eye problems that are genetic, including juvenile cataracts and retinal separation.

I suspect Freebee may have juvenile cataracts, and she is a lab mix.

[Rosebud]

Angelboddy napisał(a):

Thank you for all your replys. I have done all the test necessary for her breeding ability. And they all came out great :D . I am not sure if i want to breed her quit yet. I've been doing alittle research on labs here in missouri. So far it seems that pure breed labs come at a great demand down here. There are a lot of hunting and bird hunting going on. In fact we have one of the largest hunting stores right down the street from us called "BASS PRO" I still have more research i want to do before completely deciding on this. I volenteered for the humane society for awhile and saw soooooooooo many mixed labs. That made me think some more. I don't want to see any of my dogs pups haveing pups of a mix and ending up in the pound. I've got so many freinds and family that really want a pup from her. But i need to think about everyones best interest. Mostly my dogs and pups. Thanks for your help!

Where the tests certified by the OFA? What were the results on her parents and grandparents? Were her parents/grandparents AKC Champions? How many ROM's are in her pedigree? Did her parents/grandparents hunt and master the field trials? Are you prepared for the worst-case scenario, losing your bitch and having to bottle-feed and raise a whole litter, trust me on this I've already been there, it's impossible to do if you work, it takes 100% of your time 24/7 for 6 weeks.

I'm not trying to make you feel bad it's just that I know what it takes to breed a bitch and it's hard work, there are so many things to consider, all of those questions should be answered for both the bitch and dog that are being considered to breed, and just because your around a bunch of hunting people does not mean that you will be able to sell to them, they usually stick to their own lines that have mastered the hunting club trials (I work with alot of serious hunters).

A truly responsible breeder will have a waiting list with deposits on hand before the breeding takes place with a refund guarantee if it doesn't take or if the litter doesn't produce the traits they are looking for.

:angel:

[Aroura]

Oh and everyone has seemed to mention all the other costs - worming, vaccination, registering all the pups, stud fees. Does she have papers? I'd have her spayed - I know how much of a hard decision it is, having made it myself. I paid big $$ for Lily, she has champion bloodlines and even the breeder who sold her to me said she'd love to see Lily have a litter of pups under her supervision (she wanted to be sure I picked the best stud etc).
As it turned out, Lily picked up a few aggression problems, and that, coupled with the realization that even though I could sell each pup for close to $1000 I still couldn't afford to breed her, I had to make the hard decision to desex her.
Besides, if you think her vulvas and titties are big now, wait till she has a litter! I don't really like the sounds of it when I hear people say that they want to see "just one litter"... to me that sounds that they are breeding for their own reasons, other than that they have a perfect dog that will produce excellent pups. I find in most cases it is a case of people want to see a litter of gorgeous little pups running around their house, which indeed is very indeering.... until you think of those pups sitting in the pound a year later about to be put down, or with scars of abuse chained up in somebodys yard, just because someone wanted to see "just one litter" from their darling dog.
I'm not putting you down at all, I'm just saying that there is ALOT to think about before deciding to breed a dog, and if you do think it is still worth breeding, try to gain her a champion title first, if she's not good enough for that she's probably not good enough to be bred from.

[Rowie-the-Pooh]

Aroura napisał(a):

Oh and everyone has seemed to mention all the other costs - worming, vaccination, registering all the pups, stud fees. Does she have papers? I'd have her spayed - I know how much of a hard decision it is, having made it myself. I paid big $$ for Lily, she has champion bloodlines and even the breeder who sold her to me said she'd love to see Lily have a litter of pups under her supervision (she wanted to be sure I picked the best stud etc).
As it turned out, Lily picked up a few aggression problems, and that, coupled with the realization that even though I could sell each pup for close to $1000 I still couldn't afford to breed her, I had to make the hard decision to desex her.
Besides, if you think her vulvas and titties are big now, wait till she has a litter! I don't really like the sounds of it when I hear people say that they want to see "just one litter"... to me that sounds that they are breeding for their own reasons, other than that they have a perfect dog that will produce excellent pups. I find in most cases it is a case of people want to see a litter of gorgeous little pups running around their house, which indeed is very indeering.... until you think of those pups sitting in the pound a year later about to be put down, or with scars of abuse chained up in somebodys yard, just because someone wanted to see "just one litter" from their darling dog.
I'm not putting you down at all, I'm just saying that there is ALOT to think about before deciding to breed a dog, and if you do think it is still worth breeding, try to gain her a champion title first, if she's not good enough for that she's probably not good enough to be bred from.

I agree! :wink: Does anybody have that virtual breeding site? After I looked at it I was SURE I would NEVER breed! :o

My friend once bred her Dalmation(thier really popular and common here). I asked her a million times not to, told her what could happen, showed her sites, even showed her Dogo! But she wouldn't listen, she said her dog was "Pure Bred" and that she deserved to have pups! :x I asked her if she ever had her dog checked at the vets, she said no. My friend was ONLY 14! :o Well, she found this guy who wanted to breed his dog(a dal) and they mated and bla bla bla. 2 Months later, the dal was in labour, she had to have her puppies in the garage! :x All those toxic fumes! :o Anyway, all was going fine, when suddenly one of the pups got stuck or something like that, my friend didn't know what to do, and she had never heard of C-section for dogs! So the mother and all the puppies in her stomache and the one that got stuck died! :cry: The two pups that came out nicely died the next day. :( I couldn't bear to tell my friend "I told you so", because she suffered enough.. :(

Things like that happen too often... :cry:

[Aroura]

Thats a sad story Rowie :( The possibilitys of things going wrong are endless. I HATE it when people say their dogs "deserve to have pups"... how do they "deserve" the pain, even the possible death, of having pups? What good do they get out of it? I really don't understand some peoples reasoning.

[Kiger]

I find it hard to believe that Missouri has a demand for any kind of dog seeing how it is the puppymill capitol of the world. And as much as I hate to refer you back to Petfinder, you will notice that there are 8549 labs listed on it.

So you want to be a breeder

ANNOUNCING "THE MIRACLE OF BIRTH" VIDEOTAPE

Breeding, Whelping, and Rearing Puppies

[Carolk9s]

Kiger napisał(a):

I find it hard to believe that Missouri has a demand for any kind of dog seeing how it is the puppymill capitol of the world. And as much as I hate to refer you back to Petfinder, you will notice that there are 8549 labs listed on it.

I agree Kiger, I am also going to say, I've had doubts about this poster from the start but wanted badly to keep an open mind. I must admit my doubts are growing. Perhaps they are not as they seem.

[Rosebud]

Carolk9s napisał(a):

Kiger napisał(a):

I find it hard to believe that Missouri has a demand for any kind of dog seeing how it is the puppymill capitol of the world. And as much as I hate to refer you back to Petfinder, you will notice that there are 8549 labs listed on it.

I agree Kiger, I am also going to say, I've had doubts about this poster from the start but wanted badly to keep an open mind. I must admit my doubts are growing. Perhaps they are not as they seem.

Carol - I understand your doubt, but I think Angelboddy still deserves the benefit of the doubt, she is obviously concerned about her baby enough to ask our opinions, hopefully she is mature and responsible enough to accept it as honest opinions and not an outright attack on her.

:angel:

[Rowie-the-Pooh]

Kiger napisał(a):

And as much as I hate to refer you back to Petfinder, you will notice that there are 8549 labs listed on it.

:o :o :o Oh the poor babies! I'de adopt all of them if I had the time and money, and if I lived in Missouri! :cry: Poor babies! :cry:

[courtnek]

In Angels defense, although I dont agree with breeding unless you are truly a professional at it, alot of those "labs" on Petfinder are mixes - I'm been looking thru them trying to find a companion for Freebee...There seems to be a tendency to list any dog that looks even slightly like a lab as a "lab mix" -

Unfortunately, they also have a number of dogs there that are Pit Bull/lab mixes, and they mostly listed as lab mixes...(depending on the shelter keeping them)Which is dangerous if the adopter doesnt understand the dog-aggressive possibilities of a Pit.

This goes back to my continual rant about breed standards. They list the dog as a lab mix, because more people will be interested since Labs are such "good family dogs"....it just makes me crazy....

However, they are leaving out the possible side affects of the "other" (non-lab) dog, which is NOT safe under any circumstances.

AND the side-affects in general of a mostly lab - they arent perfect by any means. I own a lab mix - she is a handful sometimes.

[spiritsmom]

I know that I just gets my feathers ruffled a bit when there is talk of breeding more Labs. I work for a humane society and we ALWAYS have Labs or Lab mixed available. Right now we only have one purebred Lab and about 6 or so mixes. But a little while ago we had 3 purebred Yellow Labs, 2 impounded from a puppy mill and the other an owner turn in. 2 were adopted and one was euthanized. The county shelter ALWAYS has at least 2 or 3 purebred Labs, too many mixes to count. I believe there is a saying that big, black dogs are always the last to be adopted and the first to be killed. Here's something to support that:

"There are 2 adolescent black lab females who are being put down at Wayne County Humane Society tomorrow 5/30/03 for no other reason than they are black dogs.....and it is harder to place black dogs.....any ideas...." These dogs are in Ohio and are purebred black Labs.

There have been as many as 13 ads in the paper for purebred Lab puppies. In Ohio they seem to be everywhere and impregnating everyone (along with Chows, they also are busy populating the world with their offspring!).

I have a friend who has a show quality yellow Lab female that is almost finished, she is OFA'd and everything. She spent alot of money getting a dog of show quality, showing her and training her but, she isn't sure she wants to breed her because of all the Labs already here. She may end up being spayed soon after she gets her Ch.

There are plenty of purebred Labs everywhere I look that I just don't see a need to be adding more unless they truly are being created to better the breed.

Just because some friends want a puppy from a dog isn't a good enough reason to me to breed a dog. But that's only my opinion and it would be the same no matter what the breed of dog. I would just tell those friends to go to the shelter and adopt a Lab or Lab mix. There's no guarantee that all the puppies in the litter will be just like the mom. And with them having huge litters I don't think I would even know enough people to each take a puppy without having to resort to selling to other people.

But that's just my take on it. If it were a rarer breed and she was a finished champion and had all the necessary health clearances and would be contributing a great deal to the breed then I would feel better about it and wouldn't see anything wrong with her being bred as it would be done for positive reasons that were beyond just what the breeder wanted.

[courtnek]

Thank you Spirit -

[Bensam]

While I totally agree with all the above answers, I would also be concerned about the enlarged vulva on this bitch. The Vet. has said that there is no problem but it does suggest some abnormality which may have no visible effect unless the bitch is mated. I would be having internal examinations and possibly xrays done before even thinking about pups.
Anything out of the ordinary should always be viewed with suspicion.