Breeding from Crossbreeds - good for the bitch's health?

*hic*

*hic*

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I was stunned the other day when the proud owner of a small multiple crossed dog told me that when she went to get it spayed the vet advised her that it should have a litter of puppies first to protect its health. Is that indeed modern day thinking - breed an indiscriminately bred (and very small) dog before spaying?
 
Great, that's pretty much what I said. I also wondered whether it would be a nice little earner for vet - worried owner of small dog, first time breeding for owner and dog . . .
 
Never mind slapping, the vet needs shooting. The majority of vets now tend to go the other way and want to neuter rather earlier than I would prefer, but I have never heard of a vet saying it is better for a bitch to have a litter before spaying. Vets often have to deal with unwanted animals needing homes (most vets will have taken on at least one dog or cat that the owners no longer wanted) so I really find it strange that a vet would encourage such breeding.

To add, I cannot think of any way that having a litter will protect a bitch's health, and that is speaking as someone who has had many litters from her bitches over the years.
 
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I've got a Yorkshire Terrier and when she was a puppy was given the 'hard sell' that if I wasn't going to breed from her I should have her spayed. I wasn't (going to breed) so I had her spayed after her first season.
 
I was told that R had to have one of her 'monthlys' before she was spayed, however it was a disastrous one... and had to have a urgent op :(

Never heard of having to have a litter though.. that doesn't sound right...
 
I have heard that spaying too young can lead to incontinence issues in later life, but never heard it suggested that a litter improves health!
 
NellRosk said:
OP are you sure the owner isn't just saying this to justify breeding a litter off it?? Really doesn't sound like something a vet would say!
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No, the owner was distraught at the thought of the possible issues with pregnancy, plus the worry of rehoming pups and the realisation that she was likely to end up keeping them all.
 
I have actually heard people say it a few times, never a vet (I haven't had a breedworth animal in a long time so it's never come up in conversation), a couple of old school breeders perhaps. I know one that believes you should let a bitch prone to phantoms have a litter as that will 'flush her out', bleurgh!
 
I have a vague memory that it is helpful if a cat has reached puberty before being spayed and perhaps the same applies to dogs? (Note the question mark!).

That would contain a grain of common sense as apparently it is easier to distinguish an oviduct from a piece of intestine when they are mature as the former is better supplied with blood vessels so is darker in colour!

I think I remember that from at least fifty years ago so it may not be true or may have just been an old fashioned idea.

There was an old lady of the same era who kept dogs who was convinced that Canine Distemper could be cured by passing a needle and thread through a dog's ear. It was years before the penny dropped and I realised she was referring to an early form of inoculation -- but had got confused along the way! Passing the needle through the ear of an infected dog and then through the ear of one to be inoculated could very well work because Distemper is not necessarily a killer. Once a dog has had distemper, it is usually immune from repeat infections.
 
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