Everything You Need to Know About Breeding a German Shepherd Successfully.

In a previous post, we tackled the issue of miscarriage in German Shepherds and covered in great detail what could be causing your German Shepherds to miscarry. In today’s post, we will be attacking a different route and looking at how you must ensure you can mate and deliver your German Shepherd puppies successfully. So what are some essential steps to ensure your first German Shepherd breeding is successful?

To succeed on your first try at breeding your German Shepherd, you must prepare long before it’s time to mate. The list below shows steps you will need to take to succeed in your breeding journey.

1. Run Fertility and health check.
2. Choosing a diet
3. Skipping the first heat
4. Choosing a sire
5. Introducing the Sire to your female GSD.
6. Mating
7. Check of pregnancy day 30
8. Prepare for delivery
9. Delivering your litter.

Let’s now look at each of these steps in detail and consider what is involved in following these steps correctly.

1. RUNNING FERTILITY AND HEALTH CHECKS.

The success rate of every mating period is determined not by the mating itself but by the little cheks that happen before the mating period. We recommend that this test be done as soon as your female German Shepherd takes a fertility test at the early stages of your dog’s life before you try to mate it.

The fertility test may be done through Some common methods used to assess a dog’s Fertility, including blood tests to evaluate hormone levels, vaginal cytology to assess the stage of the oestrous cycle, and ultrasound to examine the reproductive organs for any abnormalities.

Once this test has been done and your dog checks out on all fertility factors, you can start preparing for the coming heat cycle.

One of the first things to ensure your German Shepherd’s breeding is a success is to plan a diet that will help maintain and even enhance your dog’s Fertility and overall health. The next section will cover some foods to include in your dog’s diet and others to avoid.

2. CHOOSING A HEALTHY DIET TO IMPROVE FERTILITY.

As important as this factor is to breed your female Greman Shepherd successfully, it must be addressed. So how important is diet to your dog’s Fertility?

A balanced and nutritious diet is essential for maintaining optimal female reproductive health, German Shepherds. We recommend including some food types in your German Shepherd’s diet to help improve its overall health and Fertility.

1. High-quality protein: Ensure that your dog’s diet includes high-quality protein from sources such as lean meats, fish, eggs, and dairy products. Protein is essential for the growth and repair of tissues, including reproductive tissues.
2. Essential fatty acids: Include sources of essential fatty acids in your dog’s diet, such as fish oil, flaxseed oil, and chicken fat. These can help support reproductive health by reducing inflammation and improving the quality of cervical mucus.
3. Antioxidants: Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and selenium can help protect reproductive cells from damage caused by free radicals. Foods rich in these nutrients include leafy greens, berries, citrus fruits, nuts, and seeds.
4. Carbohydrates: Choose complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, sweet potatoes, and vegetables, over simple carbohydrates, like sugars and refined grains. Complex carbohydrates provide sustained energy and can help regulate blood sugar levels.
5. Adequate hydration: Ensure your dog has access to plenty of fresh, clean water. Proper hydration is important for maintaining healthy reproductive function.

It’s important to consult with a veterinarian to determine the specific dietary needs of your female German Shepherd and to ensure that her diet is balanced and appropriate for her age, activity level, and overall health.

You have been feeding your German Shepherd puppy until six months, and the first heat cycle arrives. You are happy and think it’s time to have her mated. But wait, is that wise? Let us find out next.

3. SKIPPING THE FIRST HEAT.

We know you have patiently waited for your dog’s heat cycle to begin. And now the first heat cycle is here. Should you mate your dog now? Well, we highly recommend you don’t. Why?

1. Your dog is young and has an immature reproductive system. Your German Shepherd’s reproductive organs are not yet mature enough to house babies. The maturity of these organs often happens between 18 months to about two years of your dog’s female dog’s life.
2. Breeding your female German Shepherd during the first heat cycle could also lead to problems such as uterine infections, dystocia (difficulty giving birth), and other complications that could harm the dog’s health and well-being.
3. Another reason we seriously recommend not breeding your Greman Shepherd on her first heat is because of the stress it brings. Your dog is young and may not have the emotional strength to cope with the changes that come with pregnancy.
4. We also highly recommend not breeding your Greman Shepherd on the first heat because of the quality of the offspring she will produce. Again, this stems from the fact that your dog’s reproductive system has yet to develop fully.

These are just a few reasons why we recommend skipping the first heat of your female German Shepherd. Now that you have skipped your dog’s first heat, now is the time to choose a sire before the next heat cycle.

4. CHOOSING YOUR MALE SIRE.

Choosing your male Sire is one of the most important aspects of the breeding process. There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a sire. Here are a few…

1. The male’s health must be top-notch. This means that its handler must be very thorough in ensuring that all the dog’s vaccines have been complete and up to date. Also, run a fertility test on the male German Shepherd and ensure it does not have Bresulosis, the common culprit of dog miscarriage.
2. Another thing to consider when choosing a male dog is what you want to use it for and what line your female Greman Shepherd falls under. If you have a working line, you need to find out what type of working line Greman Shepherd is. And if it’s a Show Line, the same rules apply. The most important part of this step is determining what you are breeding your female German Shepherd for. This will help you know what kennel to look into and what characteristics in the male to look for.
3. Temperament is another important thing to look for in any male Greman Shepherd you will use as a sire. This is easy; you only need to look for a balanced character and not a fearful and anti-social male. Choosing a male with a balanced temperament will help ensure your female delivers confident and social pups.
4. The final thing you must search for is a male with a pedigree rating, rank, and medals. One known for producing powerful high-ranking pups excelling in whatever fields they are working.

Once you are done selecting a male sire, you need to pick a date for both dogs to meet. Why is this important? Let’s find out.

5. INTRODUCING THE SIRE TO YOUR FEMALE GSD.

Most new breeders think this process should be done on the day of the mating, but this method needs to be corrected, especially if both male and female Greman Shepherds are very dominant breeds.

We recommend meeting several times before the female dog’s heat cycle begins. This will help male and female German Shepherds bond and become comfortable with each other.

This, in turn, will ensure your Greman Shepherds mating is successful on the first try, without the need for a dog shooter. A minimum of three meetings is okay before the actual mating occurs. Now it’s time to mate your Greman Shepherd. What can you expect? Let’s find out.

6. MATING YOUR GSD FEMALE.

Your dog’s heat cycle is here, and it’s time to mate. Your female German Shepherd mustn’t be going to allow any mating to occur between her and the male dog until about day 9 to 14, when she is most fertile.

So we recommend you only attempt to mate both dogs on those days. We recommend allowing both male and female dogs to play and figure things out themselves.

But after 30 minutes of attempting on their own, you could assist the process by restricting the movement of the female. You can hold her on a leash or chain her to a pole. You could also hold her in place so the male can aim perfectly.

During this process, one of the two people present should be experienced to ensure everything works smoothly.

7. CHECK GERMAN SHEPHERD PREGNANCY ON DAY 30.

For several reasons, you must confirm your German Shepherd’s pregnancy 30 days after mating. This is helpful for several reasons, which will discuss below.

1. At day 30 of mating, your vet could easily confirm your dog’s pregnancy through an ultrasound. This will also help your vet get a rough to exact estimate of how many puppies are on the way.
2. A check could also help your vet spot any pregnancy/ birth complications likely to occur and prescribe treatment which can help solve the problem.
3. It is also important for your vet to keep track of your female health from then on, all the way to delivery, to ensure everything works out well.

We highly recommend you keep track of your German Shepherd’s Pregnancy. This process usually takes about 60 to 65 days and is very delicate. In a later post, we will consider the stages of German Shepherd pregnancy and what behaviours to expect at each stage.

8. PREPARE FOR YOUR GERMAN SHEPHERD DELIVERY.

Now that you have confirmed your German Shepherd’s pregnancy, it’s time to prepare for your German Shepherd’s delivery. Among the things you will need to include

1. A towel
2. Cardboard boxes
3. A lantern
4. A worm blanket.
5. A Bulb Syringe

It would help if you also prepared a place where your dog can easily deliver pups with little stress. A nice corner of the house would be fine for this process. Just make sure it’s of the right temperature. You could card the place using your cardboard boxes.

Once you are done with this process, the next thing to do is puppy-proof your house. This is more like baby-proofing your house. You need to remove anything that could harm your pups, or that could be easy for your pups to damage.

9. DELIVERING YOUR GSD LITTERS.

This process should be relatively smooth except if your German Shepherd is having any delivery complications. If you feel even the slightest uncertainty about what is happening, please get in touch with your vet immediately.

Remember the Bulb Syringe in your above list? You will need it now during the delivery. If you notice your pups having difficulty breathing, use the Bulb Syringe to extract the mucus blocking their breathing from the mouth.

Once your pups have been delivered, clean them and let them suck. It is also helpful to feed your dog goat milk to help boost the nutrients the pups would get directly from their mum’s milk.

Final Thoughts

Breeding a German Shepherd successfully could be a lot of work and most time will not be successful even after following all these steps to the latter. This is why some believe that the success to breeding a German Shepherd successfully lies in what you do during the pregnancy. Understanding the German Shepherd’s pregnancy stages could really make a difference.

This is why we have dedicated a whole post to explaining what happens at each stage of German Shepherd pregnancy. you can check it out by clicking the link. We hope you find the information helpful!