Doc one more thing, I think the older bitches who'd never been bred weren't likely going to get pregnant because of going through so many cycles and not being bred. The heat cycle in a female dog is a pretty violent process in a bitches uterus, and the longer you skip when they age the tougher it is on their uterus.

The bitch sent to me appeared healthy, but went through a detox really bad. Puss in her eyes, her coat was rough, her stools were off and she didn't have a lot of energy. After the pyo and just getting her back to health you wouldn't know she's the same bitch. She's a fucking brute, a freight train. Energetic and kind of an asshole and bully. The folks that sent her here said she never acted like that. They just fed some shitty feed, which they discovered later.

Moral of the story, start with healthy and recovery is improved greatly and relapse is reduced.

S_B