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Maltese having babies
I have a Maltese that just turned one year old. I was thinking about breeding her, but I've heard it could be dangerous. Do they usually have to be delivered by C-section? She has never gone in heat, at what age do they do this?
Bev, I am so PROUD of you! :-D Thank you so much for reading Ghilly's comprehensive information on the state of the dog world and doing the right thing for Miss Lacy. I hope other people reading this thread will come to the same conclusion that you did.
We found our dalmatian, Doc Holliday, through a group on Petfinder. That site really points out the dreadfully high numbers of dogs who need a home. The group we found is at http://recycledcanines.org/
Doc is our 4th dog, all of which were rescues. I can't begin to describe the feeling of adopting a dog who is doomed to certain death only because he's homeless. :-)
We found our dalmatian, Doc Holliday, through a group on Petfinder. That site really points out the dreadfully high numbers of dogs who need a home. The group we found is at http://recycledcanines.org/
Doc is our 4th dog, all of which were rescues. I can't begin to describe the feeling of adopting a dog who is doomed to certain death only because he's homeless. :-)
Bev, things have changed so much in veterinary medicine,even over just the last 10 years. You'll feel so much better after you talk to your vet about it.
Also, you said that the very beautiful (I LOVE her picture!) Miss Lacy has not yet had a heat cycle. That is REALLY great for her, because if she is spayed before she has that first heat cycle, it almost completely removes any chances of her developing mammary cancer as she ages. Even if she had had a heat cycle the chances are still greatly reduced by spaying, but before her hormones change, it's a better than 90% chance that she'll never get mammary cancer. And it's 100% certain that she will never develop pyometra, which is a life threatening infection of the uterus which, if it developes, mandates spaying at the cost of the dog's life in many cases.
Don't be afraid to ask the vet questions. You wouldn't send your child off to have surgery until and unless you spoke at length first with the doctor who would be doing the surgery, and this is no different. Vets know that people adore their pets, and most of them are more than willing to sit with you and explain anything you want to know beforehand to put your mind at ease. If something about the vet puts you off, find another one. There are many out there, and you're hiring them and putting your loved one's life in their hands. You need to feel that you can trust them completely.
Ghilly
Also, you said that the very beautiful (I LOVE her picture!) Miss Lacy has not yet had a heat cycle. That is REALLY great for her, because if she is spayed before she has that first heat cycle, it almost completely removes any chances of her developing mammary cancer as she ages. Even if she had had a heat cycle the chances are still greatly reduced by spaying, but before her hormones change, it's a better than 90% chance that she'll never get mammary cancer. And it's 100% certain that she will never develop pyometra, which is a life threatening infection of the uterus which, if it developes, mandates spaying at the cost of the dog's life in many cases.
Don't be afraid to ask the vet questions. You wouldn't send your child off to have surgery until and unless you spoke at length first with the doctor who would be doing the surgery, and this is no different. Vets know that people adore their pets, and most of them are more than willing to sit with you and explain anything you want to know beforehand to put your mind at ease. If something about the vet puts you off, find another one. There are many out there, and you're hiring them and putting your loved one's life in their hands. You need to feel that you can trust them completely.
Ghilly
Thank you, I am going to the vet tomorrow and talk to him about getting Lacy spayed. She has been such a joy for us. She just turned a year old in Dec and I can't imagine life without her. After reading Jaybay and Ghillys post I have been looking at petfinder.com and have found so many adorable puppies. I'd like to take them all. We also have a 3 year old Boxer, Bruno. He's my big baby. I bought both Bruno and Lacy from breeders. I did not know these kinds of dogs were available through adoption. I feel so bad for not researching it more.
Hi Bev. I love the picture of your sweet Maltese. While I'm here typing this, my precious Maltese, Ms. ChrissyBelle is on my lap. She was 4 yrs. old in August & weighs 3 1/2 lbs. I had no intentions of breeding her. My Vet & I discussed the safety of having her spade. He said yes. I was so afraid putting her under anesthesia but I did. I'm so glad that I made the decision. I hope you will not breed her & think about spaying her. It is up to us to take care of our pets.
I will mention that we rescued a cat, Ms. Pumpkin, from the pound, about 6 yrs. ago. We love her so very much. She was on her last day there. When I think of all the laughter & pleasure she has brought to this house. I'm so thankful that we stopped in the pound that day. Oh yes, she was 5 yrs. old when we rescued her.
Enjoy that little ball of love.
Seagirl
I will mention that we rescued a cat, Ms. Pumpkin, from the pound, about 6 yrs. ago. We love her so very much. She was on her last day there. When I think of all the laughter & pleasure she has brought to this house. I'm so thankful that we stopped in the pound that day. Oh yes, she was 5 yrs. old when we rescued her.
Enjoy that little ball of love.
Seagirl
Bev, thank YOU for understanding what I wrote in the spirit in which it was intended! I am so glad that you realized that I was not trying to tell you what to do with your own dog, that I just wanted you to go into whatever you decided to go into with your eyes wide open, and aware of what all the implications, both known and unknown, would be. I congratulate you on your decision and can't wait to see pics of your rescue Maltese! You will never be sorry for this decision! You rock!
Ghilly
Ghilly
Thank YOU for reading! And we want pics of Lacy and the lucky new Maltese you adopt. :-)
I want to thank you both for helping me see what a mistake it wound be to try and breed my precious Lacy. I will be calling the Maltese rescue to find Lacy and our family another little sweetie. Thank you for your knowledge.
There is always a danger that something could go wrong during whelping, no matter how carefully you plan things. Toy breeds are even more prone to difficulties during whelping just based on their tiny size. However, there are many other important things that should be considered before breeding your dog. This could get wordy, but I believe that it's extremely important for anyone considering breeding their dog to know as much as possible before attempting it, since there is so much to consider, and since we're talking about living, breathing beings and not inanimate objects.
There are three main types of breeders. The first is hobby breeders. These are the people who have dogs that are excellent examples of the breed. They spend their lives going to dog shows, proving their dogs to be fine examples of their chosen breeds, and only after the dog has been judged against other excellent specimens and has proven him or herself to be of top-notch quality does the hobby breeder consider that dog to be a candidate for breeding. Further to that, the dog is bred only after a series of genetic tests are done to make sure the dog is not carrying the gene for any of the problems associated with that specific breed.
Next are the puppymillers. ALL of the puppies that are offered for sale in pet stores come from puppymillers. The store owners or salespeople will use fancy words to try to sway you off your guard, telling you the puppies came from "professional breeders" or "commercial breeders", but they're not breeders at all, they are people who mass produce puppies for profit without one thought as to whether or not the dogs they are breeding are healthy, genetically or otherwise. Some puppymill puppies, as cute as they may be, are such bad examples of their respective breeds that they look like OTHER breeds, or mixes of the breed they are said to be. While we all want to be heroes and save animals, buying them from pet stores "to get them out of there" doesn't help the situation, because neither the pet store owner nor the puppymiller cares why the person bought the puppy. All they know is that now they have an empty cage they have to fill, so they make more puppies to fill the empty cages.
The third type of breeder, and probably the most dangerous, is the backyard breeder. These breeders are responsible for 75% of all the puppies produced every year, not puppymillers as most people would expect. The majority of these backyard breeders are what is referred to as "unique breeders", meaning they will only ever produce one litter of puppies in their lifetime, but there are so many of them that they produce millions of puppies a year! These people breed their pets without knowing anything about breeding, or genetic problems, or health issues, or temperament issues. They breed their dogs because they think their dogs are pretty. They breed their dogs because they "want another one just like her". They breed their dogs because "I love the way she tilts her head when she hears a funny noise! It's so cute! I want puppies that do that!", they breed them because they want their child to "see the miracle of birth". The list goes on forever. For every action a dog does, or characteristic it has, there is a backyard breeder that wants a litter because of that action or characteristic.
Let's, for argument's sake, use a round number. 100,000. Of 100,000 puppies born in any given year, 15,000 of those puppies come from puppymillers. 10,000 come from hobby breeders. 75,000 come from backyard breeders who have bred their family pet just because they wanted a litter of puppies. Now, between the puppymillers and backyard breeders, that's 85% of the puppies born in a year without thought to genetic problems, temperament or health issues.
I realize that you said that you don't want to sell them, that a friend has a male and you would share the litter. Do you really need what could amount to three or four more dogs? If you want three or four more Malteses, why not contact Maltese rescue and give a home to three or four that are at risk of being put down because they don't have a home rather than risking the health of your own dog to breed her? Please understand, I am NOT lecturing you here. I just want you to be aware of the situation with regard to breeding, and, more importantly, with regard to the already horrendous overpopulation problem. I know how someone can get to love a breed. I love my collie. I will probably never again have anything but a collie now that I have gotten to know the breed. But I won't breed a whole litter of collie puppies to get another collie, I will go through collie rescue and give a home to one that needs a home. Believe it or not, it's not just old, decrepit dogs that end up in rescue. There are puppies in rescue as well, so if you want another puppy, I'm sure you can find one through Maltese rescue. I rescued my collie and she was only 10 weeks old when I got her, so dogs of ALL ages are in need of help.
Please don't risk your girl's health just to breed a litter. If you love the breed and want to help them, contact The American Maltese Association, which is the parent club for your breed, and they will put you in contact with a regional manager in your area who can hook you up with a rescue, and from there you can go on to find MANY wonderful Maltese who need homes. You'll be doing SUCH a good thing!
Ghilly
There are three main types of breeders. The first is hobby breeders. These are the people who have dogs that are excellent examples of the breed. They spend their lives going to dog shows, proving their dogs to be fine examples of their chosen breeds, and only after the dog has been judged against other excellent specimens and has proven him or herself to be of top-notch quality does the hobby breeder consider that dog to be a candidate for breeding. Further to that, the dog is bred only after a series of genetic tests are done to make sure the dog is not carrying the gene for any of the problems associated with that specific breed.
Next are the puppymillers. ALL of the puppies that are offered for sale in pet stores come from puppymillers. The store owners or salespeople will use fancy words to try to sway you off your guard, telling you the puppies came from "professional breeders" or "commercial breeders", but they're not breeders at all, they are people who mass produce puppies for profit without one thought as to whether or not the dogs they are breeding are healthy, genetically or otherwise. Some puppymill puppies, as cute as they may be, are such bad examples of their respective breeds that they look like OTHER breeds, or mixes of the breed they are said to be. While we all want to be heroes and save animals, buying them from pet stores "to get them out of there" doesn't help the situation, because neither the pet store owner nor the puppymiller cares why the person bought the puppy. All they know is that now they have an empty cage they have to fill, so they make more puppies to fill the empty cages.
The third type of breeder, and probably the most dangerous, is the backyard breeder. These breeders are responsible for 75% of all the puppies produced every year, not puppymillers as most people would expect. The majority of these backyard breeders are what is referred to as "unique breeders", meaning they will only ever produce one litter of puppies in their lifetime, but there are so many of them that they produce millions of puppies a year! These people breed their pets without knowing anything about breeding, or genetic problems, or health issues, or temperament issues. They breed their dogs because they think their dogs are pretty. They breed their dogs because they "want another one just like her". They breed their dogs because "I love the way she tilts her head when she hears a funny noise! It's so cute! I want puppies that do that!", they breed them because they want their child to "see the miracle of birth". The list goes on forever. For every action a dog does, or characteristic it has, there is a backyard breeder that wants a litter because of that action or characteristic.
Let's, for argument's sake, use a round number. 100,000. Of 100,000 puppies born in any given year, 15,000 of those puppies come from puppymillers. 10,000 come from hobby breeders. 75,000 come from backyard breeders who have bred their family pet just because they wanted a litter of puppies. Now, between the puppymillers and backyard breeders, that's 85% of the puppies born in a year without thought to genetic problems, temperament or health issues.
I realize that you said that you don't want to sell them, that a friend has a male and you would share the litter. Do you really need what could amount to three or four more dogs? If you want three or four more Malteses, why not contact Maltese rescue and give a home to three or four that are at risk of being put down because they don't have a home rather than risking the health of your own dog to breed her? Please understand, I am NOT lecturing you here. I just want you to be aware of the situation with regard to breeding, and, more importantly, with regard to the already horrendous overpopulation problem. I know how someone can get to love a breed. I love my collie. I will probably never again have anything but a collie now that I have gotten to know the breed. But I won't breed a whole litter of collie puppies to get another collie, I will go through collie rescue and give a home to one that needs a home. Believe it or not, it's not just old, decrepit dogs that end up in rescue. There are puppies in rescue as well, so if you want another puppy, I'm sure you can find one through Maltese rescue. I rescued my collie and she was only 10 weeks old when I got her, so dogs of ALL ages are in need of help.
Please don't risk your girl's health just to breed a litter. If you love the breed and want to help them, contact The American Maltese Association, which is the parent club for your breed, and they will put you in contact with a regional manager in your area who can hook you up with a rescue, and from there you can go on to find MANY wonderful Maltese who need homes. You'll be doing SUCH a good thing!
Ghilly
Thanks Jaybay, I'm not wanting to sell them. I love the breed and wanted to add to our family. A friend has a male and we would share the litter, but if it could be dangerous I don't want to risk it.
Please don't breed her. Understand this is only my personal opinion, but with so many unwanted dogs getting euthanized every day, it's just not right to bring more into the world. If you're only wanting to breed a litter of puppies for the experience; that's not enough of a reason to possibly put your dog in medical danger.
If you think you might make some money from puppy sales, think again. Breeding any animal is not only expensive, but an art and science so as to avoid problem DNA accidents that might crop up. You'll need to have your vet give at least the first round of vaccinations before the pups go to new homes, and that can be a big chunk of change depending on the size of the litter. Breeding is a serious business, and top dollar pups come from top-dollar, verifiable, champion blood lines.
I can't answer your question about average age of first heat, but my vet always recommends waiting for two heat cycles before attempting a mating.
If you think you might make some money from puppy sales, think again. Breeding any animal is not only expensive, but an art and science so as to avoid problem DNA accidents that might crop up. You'll need to have your vet give at least the first round of vaccinations before the pups go to new homes, and that can be a big chunk of change depending on the size of the litter. Breeding is a serious business, and top dollar pups come from top-dollar, verifiable, champion blood lines.
I can't answer your question about average age of first heat, but my vet always recommends waiting for two heat cycles before attempting a mating.
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