Golden Retrievers are very energetic, adorable, and working dogs. They are very friendly with their owners, kids, and even strangers. Golden Retrievers are medium-sized and known for their thick golden Coat. So, If you are eagerly waiting for your Golden Retriever’s blessed event, you may be pondering that how many puppies do golden retrievers have.
A healthy Golden Retriever will have 4- 12 puppies in a litter. That means the average litter size for Golden Retriever is 8. However, we have seen 14-15 Golden Retriever Puppies in a litter and sometimes less than 4 puppies in a litter.
Actually, there are N number of factors associated with this which directly or indirectly affects the litter size of your Golden Furry Friend. We will shed some light on those factors later in this post.
At What Age Do Golden Retrievers Give Birth?
Most Kennel Clubs in the USA, won’t breed a Female Golden Retriever if she is 8 years or older than that. Actually, they stop breeding when they are 5-8 years old. Most experienced breeders start breeding Female Golden only when they are at least 2 years old. The ideal age is however in between 18-24 Months. The reason behind this is, before breeding they try to perform all the necessary health testing so that any genetic disorders won’t pass to their offsprings.
Female Golden Retriever becomes sexually mature when they are 6 months old. When they become mature, it is natural for them to go into first heat when they are 9-15 months old.
Most Breeders will skip the first heat as their body is not well-equipped to tackle pregnancy, as they are still growing. So, they will start breeding from the second or third heat. Experienced Breeders will also skip one heat cycle before each litter.
How Many Puppies Do Golden Retrievers Actually Have?
Experts recommend not to have more than 4-6 litters from a Female Golden Retriever.
Here is an example Calculation that you can use to estimate the number of Puppies that a Golden Retriever can have.
If a Golden Retriever Mom is going to have on an average 8 puppies in a litter, so during their lifetime it is going to have at most 8×6 = 48 puppies.
According to the Guinness World Records, the largest Litter Size was 24.However, in almost all cases you will get less than 24 puppies in a litter.
How Long is the Pregnancy of a Golden Retriever?
You can guess whether your Furry Golden is Pregnant or not by looking at some signs. The Fetal Development Period (Gestation Period) of Golden Retriever is much shorter than human beings. For them, it is just 9 weeks or 63 days, whereas for humans the gestation period is 280 days or 40 weeks. A lot of changes will occur when she is pregnant. First, the fertilized eggs reach the Uterine Horn( Point Where Uterus and Fallopian Tubes Meet). After entering into the uterine horn, they get embedded in the womb, and Fetus Development Process Started.
Nearly after 45 days of your Golden Retriever’s pregnancy, you can arrange an X-Ray to get an idea about how many puppies you are going to get.
When your Furry Golden’s Pregnancy period reached 4-5 weeks, if you touch her Uterus Area, you can actually feel the presence of puppies. If you try to watch closely, you will be able to see puppies are moving. This is Just Amazing! Isn’t it?
A healthy and well-balanced diet is extremely important for both Golden Mom and to have healthy puppies. You can consult with your Vet to create a proper diet chart for your golden retriever mama.
Additionally, there are other factors as well which affect the litter size of your Golden Retriever.
Factors Affecting the Golden Retriever Litter Size
- There are multiple reasons why you got fewer puppies. The reason behind that is maybe the time of mating was not optimal. The slip matting can generally result in lesser puppies as there is slightly less chance that the sperm will stay enough time to reach the eggs and even if it reaches there, all eggs may or may not be exposed to sperm. If the mating time is optimal, then you may get the ideal litter size.
- Another factor is low sperm count and has low motility. The male Golden’s age should be taken into consideration here.
- If the female Golden Retriever has Thyroid Hormone Issues, then it is most likely that she may not be able to maintain the pregnancy. So Thyroid Hormone Test and STD test should be performed before mating.
- There is a common myth that the size of a dog plays a role in estimating the litter size. Smaller Dogs normally have a smaller litter and Larger Dogs will have Larger Litter. However, size is not a big factor, often plays a little role, whereas Genetics, Diseases, and mating practice are the crucial factors in litter sizes.
