The age of the dog when breeding plays a key role in the size of the litter. The older the prey, the smaller the litter, especially in larger breeds. Mothers raised 2 to 5 years old tend to have the largest litters. Despite the age of the prey, the first 2 litters will generally be smaller than the later ones.
The breed of the dog makes a big difference in litter size. In general, it is known that the smaller the breed, the smaller the litter size and the same goes for larger breeds, the larger the breed, the larger the litter. Rather, you are in control of several factors responsible for the size of the dog litter, but you may not know it. Determining litter size can help breeders know if the mother dog has given birth to all puppies and recognize early signs of possible complications, such as large puppies that may be difficult to transmit.
You may be planning a breeding and wondering how you can increase the litter size, or you may have already bred and wonder how you can figure out the litter size ahead of time. If a pregnant litter contains a very large number of puppies, more than the mother's body can physically support, it is likely that some of the offspring will not be born, but may be resorbed by the mother's body or born dead along with the rest of the litter alive and healthy. The first four to five litters of a female dog are generally larger than the litters produced after the fifth brood. I think that the timing of reproduction also matters in the factors that affect the size of the litter, as well as the case of the absorption or abortion of some fetuses by the mother and I would not know if the size of the litter can really be hereditary, I would like you to research more on this.
A mother who is fit and healthy before mating and throughout her pregnancy will be able to give her offspring the best possible start in life and will have a greater chance of having a larger litter of larger offspring relative to breed standards. A mother raised between 2 and 5 years old and fed a quality diet, with perfect health and optimal nutrition, is more likely to have a larger puppy litter than a malnourished female. Larger litters will most likely occur when the male dog is less than 5 years old, since it is easier for sperm to enter the female's eggs and most sperm are of higher quality. Usually, the size of a dog litter is mainly based on the size of the dog's body simply because biologically, larger bodies are capable of carrying a larger litter than smaller bodies.
A younger stallion is more likely to produce high-quality sperm, which in return can result in a larger litter size. The bottom line is that influencing the size of a puppy litter is almost impossible if you want to do it precisely. This study found that litter size was influenced by breed size, mating method, and dog age. Although the results are relative, it clearly shows that the more inbred the puppies, the lower the puppy count.
The number of puppies your mother will have is not just a coincidence, depending on how the stars are aligned on the day of mating. Like the dog's age, the first analysis of the data showed no significant change in litter size according to the mating method.
