|
Custom Search
Mating DogsIf you are planning on mating dogs, it is important to understand that the actual mating of your bitch with a dog will take place when the bitch is in oestrus (on heat). However she will have been very attractive to male dogs for around a week, when she has been in pro-oestrus. During pro-oestrus, the bitch will not stand and allow a male dog to mate with her, but most bitches will ‘flirt outrageously’ during this time. If a male dog does try and mount a bitch in pro-oestrus, the bitch can respond quite aggressively sending a clear message to the dog that ‘no means no!!’ When the bitch comes into oestrus (on heat) she will be happy to stand for the male dog to mount her and will even ‘flag’ her tail to one side – exposing her vulva to the male. The courtship process can vary from a fairly long involved process, including playing and frolicking around with the bitch with some male dogs, to a simple lick of the bitch’s vulva before attempting to mount her with other male dogs. Below is a video of 2 German Shepherds undertaking a normal canine mating.
The Act of Penetration
Once the male has mounted the female he will attempt to penetrate her. Male dogs have a bone in their penis called the os penis. This rigid bone in their penis means that they do not need to have an erect penis in order to achieve penetration of the bitch. (Note: erect canine penises look absolutely revolting – they have a large bulb towards the base of them called the bulbous glandis and I have had many clients that thought that their dog had something wrong with him when they saw his erect penis).
A normal canine penis
Custom Search
Erection, Ejaculation and Coitus
In mating dogs, erection does not actually occur until the dog has penetrated the bitch, when blood flows freely to the penis and the bulbous glandis becomes engorged with blood and very erect. Once the penis has become erect, the male will begin thrusting movements from the pelvis and can sometimes bite the female on the back between her shoulder blades or on the scruff of her neck. During this phase the male will ejaculate prostatic fluid (this fluid does not have much sperm in it – but it does have some; the sperm-rich fluid will be ejaculated later). The dog will remain penetrating her after the first ejaculation, but will reposition himself after this initial ejaculation. He will lift one of his hind legs over her so that they are in a tail-to-tail position. This position is often known as being ‘tied’ or ‘coitus’.
Because the bulbous glandis (the big lump at the base of the erect canine penis) is engorged whilst inside the bitch, it acts as a locking mechanism – stopping the dog from being able to remove his penis from the bitch. While the dog and bitch are ‘tied’ the dog will continue to ejaculate, but now the fluid will be rich in sperm. This ‘tie’ phase can last for anywhere between 5 to 60 minutes, during which time the dog and bitch will pull each other around. The ‘tie’ usually ends quite suddenly when the male dog loses his erection. It is best to leave mating dogs alone during the 'tie'. It is important to note, that the ‘tie’ is not essential to canine pregnancy – I have seen bitches get pregnant from the briefest penetration from a male dog, so if you don’t want your bitch getting pregnant, it is very important to keep her well away from male dogs during her season. For some pictures of mating dogs, click here.
Table 1: Summary of Events in a Successful Mating
|
