[Woogie Man]

Originally Posted by wildcard

I am guessing the issue with Scotties is one of large head size at birth versus a narrow birth canal (like bulldogs but on a lesser scale). You can breed for a larger pelvis span if that is the issue, so I can see how as a breed you can work on that problem. I don't see why that cannot be an emphasis in toy breeds as well, only breeding girls that have a wider pelvis (i.e. I have no intention of breeding my girl with the narrow pelvis). But that is not going to eliminate other issues such as malpresentations (true breaches, two puppies trying to exit at once etc).

This probably answers my question most directly. Thanks very much but I have to say that the responses from all you very experienced breeders are MUCH appreciated. Thank you all. I don't believe I've ever seen this issue fleshed out so much before with you all giving so much detail on the variety of whelping problems, the approach you take when confronted with it and the reasoning behind those decisions. This has become great reference material and will remain a 'sticky', in my head at least. I've always tried to play it safe by having a larger dam to sire except in one case and fortunately all have been free whelps. In the one case I used a 5 pound female with a good rear and a 6 pound male. I knew the lines, however, and felt confident as I knew the male was from a smaller line. As it worked out, the dam free whelped 3 healthy pups that range at 6 months from 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 pounds. I never would have tried that had I not known the lines of the sire and dam. Someone posted earlier about the 'genetic size' of a dog and that particular breeding would be a good example of that. It was about as much of a risk as I'm willing to take and only did it because I really wanted to bring the 2 pedigrees together and the male grew a bit more than I had expected and it was a borderline decision even then. If he had gotten any bigger, I don't think I would have attempted it. I do think that playing it safe early on gave me the experience and confidence to consider more desirable pairings. It's so true when you all say things about what an experienced breeder knows; I feel I'm finally at a point to truly understand that. There is no substitute for experience and thanks for sharing yours here.