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TellTail’s Learning Center contains valuable resources for both responsible dog breeders and curious pet buyers. Sniff around and discover something new!

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Health and Nutrition, Pregnancy and Whelping The Functional Dog Collaborative Health and Nutrition, Pregnancy and Whelping The Functional Dog Collaborative

Factors Affecting Reproductive Performance

Researchers were interested in studying reproductive success in female dogs (bitches) after artificial insemination (AI). Artificial insemination refers to the deliberate introduction of semen into a female by a veterinarian. No natural breedings were included in this study.

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Caloric requirement for pregnant and nursing dogs

A lot of breeders don’t understand the caloric requirements of a nursing mom. During the last trimester of pregnancy, her caloric needs are two to three times her normal caloric needs. During nursing her caloric needs can be as much as six times her normal caloric needs, depending on her litter size and metabolism. This will get a little math-y and just a little technical. I think it’s better if we can understand a little of the why before we learn the how.

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What is a Guardian Home?

Consumers have become increasingly aware that the best puppies come from reputable breeders whose dogs are part of the family. This leaves reputable breeders in a predicament as to how to make sure their animals have the best possible lives while also maintaining diversity and high standards for their breeding program. One solution many breeders rely on is the use of Guardian Homes.

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Pregnancy and Whelping Midwoofery Pregnancy and Whelping Midwoofery

Weaning your puppies

There’s no single way to wean successfully. Weaning is as much art as science. You will be most successful if you understand the basic principles of weaning and understand how to apply those to each litter. Each litter is different, even those from the same pairings, and weaning can differ from litter to litter.   

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Health and Nutrition, Pregnancy and Whelping The Functional Dog Collaborative Health and Nutrition, Pregnancy and Whelping The Functional Dog Collaborative

The Impact of Inbreeding on Litter Size

Inbreeding refers to the breeding of related individuals. Inbreeding depression is the reduced biological fitness (an animal’s ability to survive and reproduce) in a population because of inbreeding. For example, scientists researching the Australian Thoroughbred horse population found that inbreeding led to reduced racing performance.

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How often to breed and when to start breeding

Back in the day, best practice for breeding was to wait until a dog was at least 2 - 4 years old, had at least 3 heat cycles to breed, and also to skip at least 1 cycle between litters. Like many other things we used to do, when science is finally applied to our profession and we get information from good data, we realize that we could be doing better.

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