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Does repeated dog mating reduce space for puppies or litter size?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

"So my irrisponsable sister in law dog went to heat and she is a small breed dog well she originally didn't want them to mate the male is alittle bigger but she now she is just letting them tie when ever and said well she is probably alreasy pregnant so why not let them mate and have less room and more puppies" she is under the impression that the more they mate the less amount of room for puppies to grow and cause harm didn't make sense to me o thought that was the dumbest thing ever

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on November 1st, 2016

You are right that what she is saying is incorrect. The more they mate, the more likely it is she will be pregnant, but mating multiple times will not make more puppies. That simple depends on how many eggs are fertilized when she ovulates. The more they mate doesn't mean less room for puppies to grow.

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 1st, 2016

    Unfortunately this is a quite irresponsible behavior especially if you cannot take care of the puppies properly. If the dogs mated multiple times, it is possible that she is already pregnant. Abortion can be potentially induced in early pregnancy stages, please contact your local veterinarian to discuss that.

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