What affects the size of a dog's litter?

Answer by  Zaka (2315)

Its breed. Large dogs, like great danes will have many pups, upto 15 in a litter as opposed to other breeds, like boxers which will have litters of upto eight.

Answer by  karenbichon (18)

litter sizes are dependent on several factors including genetics, breed , diet of dam and timing of conception. Poorly managed bitches have poor litters both size and quality.Litter size can be increased by using selenpet and maca both improve sperm quality and ova quality .

Answer by  Monica44 (224)

Smaller dogs can have smaller litters, as to bigger dogs have bigger litters. Age can differ also. Litter size will increase with each litter through the fourth litter,the number of puppies decrease. If a dogs small like Yorkie s or Pomeranian's, the litter would be up to 4. If the dog was big like Rottweilers then it could have up to 8.

Answer by  Justbarb (98)

Age, health, breed, and how many time the dog mates are major affects. One breeding, after the fourth heat should give you a healthy, correct sized litter.

Answer by  Roland27 (16334)

Basically it's the size of the dog. A larger dog is more likely to give birth to more puppies than a smaller dog is. Dogs like Labrador Retrievers can have 8 or more puppies per litter while dogs like a Maltese or a Yorkie usually only have two or if you're lucky they could have four.

Answer by  dcrusher59 (590)

Generally the size of any litter is directly related to the size of the dog that is being bred. Most smaller breeds have smaller litters. Bigger breeds, more puppies.

Answer by  Jolie (1227)

It just depends on the size of the dog and what kind of nutrition it has had throughout the pregnancy.