The dog is the mother of these puppies and these puppies are brothers of each other. The noun litter is not only used to refer to a number of puppies born at the same time. A litter can be used when talking about many different animals, such as a litter of kittens, a litter of puppies, etc. A litter is the live birth of several offspring at a time to animals of the same mother and usually to a single group of parents, particularly three to eight pups.
The word is most often used for mammalian offspring, but can be used for any animal that gives birth to several offspring. In comparison, a group of eggs and the offspring that hatch from them are often referred to as a clutch, while young birds are often referred to as offspring. Animals in the same litter are called littermates. Talk to a member of our team for more information.
While part of a dog's personality is inherently related to its breed, for example, doodle breeds of sheepdogs are known for their intelligence and high energy, there is still a wide range of personalities among the same breed and even among litter mates. The average litter size of a species is generally equal to half the number of teats and the maximum litter size generally coincides with the number of teats. Temperament testing: Many quality breeders will conduct a temperament test on their litter of puppies before placing them with their respective families. In the wild, only a small percentage, if any, of the litter can survive to maturity, whereas for domestic animals and those in captivity with human care, the entire litter almost always survives.
Waiting until your dog has had a litter not only exposes them to all the risks of pregnancy and childbirth, but it can also reduce the protective effect that castration has against some forms of reproductive cancer.
