Four litters, dam's possible health problems?

We just lost our 16 y.o. Havanese and will be getting another one. But as we are now retired, we are going to forego bringing up a puppy and want to get an older female Havanese that has finished with breeding. Although we will be only looking at females that have been bred by reputable breeders (allowing us to assume that the dog has been well cared for and properly bred,) we have some questions about how these dogs fare after having multiple litters

We have an appointment (in 5 days) to see a 6 yo that is now pregnant with her 4th litter, and will be ready for us in April. She was a champion and had her first litter just after the age of 2. And, as she is now in her forth pregnancy, and we know this is a reputable breeder, we can assume the dog has always been healthy and she has not been bred more than once a year. Ideally, 1-2 litters would be perfect, and although 3-4 litters would be OK, we do have some concerns about how 4 litters may effect the dogs long-term health. Certainly would appreciate your thoughts; and if one has more that just an opinion, but has some scientific rationale, we'd love to hear from you.

 

Welcome to the forum! Hopefully someone will be able to help you with your query here. I know that the Kennel Club will not register pedigree puppies if the mother has already had four litters, I don't know whether that affects your decision.

 

Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware that the AKC limits breeding to 3 litters...if that is what you are implying. However, as we won't be breeding and only want a pet, we're fine with this bitch after she has her last litter. But, I'd like to say that responses from another dog forum have indicated that as long as the bitch has been well cared for pre-post&during pregnancy, all should be well after the fourth litter. Then again, these responses may have come from breeders that are looking to make adoption of their retired breeding bitches less of a hassle...so they claim that 4 litters should not lead to later health problems. This is only conjecture on my part...

 

I am too hoping that someone will come along with experience in dog breeding to answer your concerns. Capone is a mix dog and is my first, so I am in this forum to learn more. I rely on my gut instinct a lot, just like raising a child

 

Well, Gucci has delivered 5 pups and is doing fine. Hopefully, we'll have her by the end of April, or so.

 

That's great news! You'll have to share a photo of her with us when you have her at home

 

Big change in plans. We figured out that having to train a 6 yo dog to change its well developed habits (no leash training or being asked to go out training) may just be harder than starting anew with a puppy. Sooo, we've decided to get one of Gucci's puppies or take from another recently delivered litter.