DOGGIE DOG BLOG

Written and Posted by: David Harris

Recently Cindy posted this question to me and I wanted to share it and my reply with everyone.

Parker has bred 2 different females. However the dogs were brought over when they were about ready to breed.  This is the first time for a breeding where I own and live with both dogs in the same house.  My question is this:  Should I only allow Parker around Brandy (X) amount of times a day?  Is there any advantage to keeping them separated?  Or should they just be together as normal?  She allows him to lick her, and forbids any mounting, so they will just lay down/play.

Cindy,

You can allow Parker access to Brandy 24/7 if you want to prior to her being receptive to breeding.  I personally don’t like doing this simply because it drives me nutty, but that is just a personal issue and has nothing to do with the breeding.  But, once she is receptive to breeding (standing,flagging, allowing him to mount) then I would suggest separating them.  Allowing them to free breed is just asking for problems.

One possible problem is injury.  Male dogs do have a bone in their penis and it can be broken.  The physical tie that occurs with canines during reproduction can last up to an hour and this leaves plenty of time for the female to do something that would harm an unattended male that is basically helpless when tied to her.  So, I suggest you supervise all breeding’s and keep the female on lead during mating.  When you cannot supervise them they should be kept separately in secure locations.  Even the best trained male will challenge barriers that have held him in the past.

Another possible issue of allowing unlimited contact is that the male will wear himself out prior to the female actually being ready to breed.  And then when she is ready to breed the male doesn’t have the stamina to cover her as well as he could have if they had been managed better.

The better you manage your stud dog, the more control and ultimately the more successful you breeding’s will be. 

You will learn more about each of your bitches and your stud dog as each breeding cycle comes and goes.  Keeping accurate records is really important.  Do not leave the details up to your memory.  What seems very clear will be very fuzzy 63 days from now.  Keeping a journal or breeding log will really come in handy when you need to make decisions about skipping a breeding or repeating a breeding.  The more information and details you keep the better.

Good luck with your breeding and keep those questions and comments coming.David Harris
www.doggiedogblog.com
502-542-9747
Midway, Kentucky