56 
The Shepherd or Police Dog 
A question that is argued pro and con among 
the breeders is the advisability of breeding a bitch 
at every season, the majority being against it, and 
for a long time I counted myself a member of this 
majority, though recently I have come to the con¬ 
clusion that I may have been wrong. 
Those who argue against successive breeding 
contend that it is too great a strain on the bitch, 
that it tends toward a weakening of the bitch and of 
successive litters, and that the brood life of a bitch 
is shortened and her normal existence also. The 
breeders in favor of successive breeding assert that 
Nature intends the bitch to bear when young, or she 
would not come in season. If for some reason the 
bitch does come in and is not in condition she usually 
misses and then conceives on her next heat. They 
also contend that a bitch having successive litters 
is usually in excellent health, and another very im¬ 
portant argument on their part is the fact that a 
bitch that is held over may become irregular in her 
seasons and may run a year or eighteen months 
before again coming due. 
Personally, I have found the latter to be very 
true, and one of the healthiest and most long-lived 
bitches I have ever owned had eight consecutive lit¬ 
ters, so I am beginning to put a lot of confidence 
in the testimony of the other side. I really do believe 
that the essential factor with the brood bitch is not 
so much in the matter of breeding, but the care of her 
aftei she has done hei part. She should at all times 
have the best of care, the best of food, and it is not 
