When To Breed Your Dog

Knowing when to breed your dog is essential to successful mating and conception of puppies. If you are paying stud fees for the services of a male dog, you may only have a short period of time to enusure a successful mating. Timing mistakes in dog breeding can be costly and disappointing - not to mention the fact that unsuccessful couplings will mean that you have to wait another 6-9 months until your bitch comes into season again.

How To Detect When Your Bitch Is "On Heat"

“On heat” is also referred to as “in season” or “oestrus/estrus”. It is the period when mating should occur, and during this period, your bitch will be receptive to male dogs wanting to mate with her. It is imperative that you know how to identify that your bitch is on heat so that you know exactly when to breed your dog. Before your bitch comes on heat, she will go through a stage of ‘pro-oestrus’ or ‘pre-season’. In her pre-season, her vulva will swell up and there will be a blood stained discharge. Male dogs will be interested in her, but she will not stand for them to mate with her. “Pre season” lasts for an average of 9 days, but it can be quite variable and I have seen it range anywhere from 0 to 17 days. In general, the length of pre-season and season in your bitch will be about the same each time she cycles.

In order to determine when your bitch moves from pre-season into her season, it is important to keep an eye on the vaginal discharge as it will normally change from the blood stained colour to a more clear, straw-coloured discharge. Her behaviour will also change as she will be more receptive to male dog advances and will be happy to stand while they try and mount her. (Until she enters her season, the bitch will turn to face the dog and often snap at any dogs trying to mount her).

Optimal Time to Mate Your Bitch: When To Breed Your Dog

The traditional rule of thumb for mating bitches is to mate the bitch twice – the first time 11 days after the beginning of pro-eostrus (pre-season) and the second time 13 days after the onset of pro-oestrus. This method is generally very successful, as it ensures that there are functional sperm in the bitch’s reproductive tract at the time of mature eggs being produced. Canine sperm can survive for up to 7 days in the female reproductive tract, so this double mating method usually ensures success.

There is no doubt that the closer you can mate your bitch to her ovulation, the better the chances of a successful pregnancy. In today’s scientific world, many techniques are employed to ensure successful matings. As a veterinarian, there are 3 main techniques I can use to detect when a bitch will ovulate. These are:

1) Vaginal Exfoliative Cytology

2) Vaginoscopy

3) Measurement of Hormone Concentrations

Although the specifics of these three methods are beyond the scope of this page, I will say that of the three methods, my choice is Vaginal Exfoliative Cytology, as it is cheap, non-invasive and gives a good picture of what stage the bitch is at. With Vaginal Cytology, a vet will take a small scraping or smear from the wall of the vagnia. The cells can then be looked at under a microscope and analysed. The shape of the cells and the types of cells present give a good picture of what stage of her cycle the bitch is at. Vaginal Cytology should be carried out at least 3 times – starting at day 5 after the beginning of pro-oestrus – and continuing every 2 days until the percentage of cornified cells is >60%.

For more information on the techniques used to determine when to breed your dog, click here.

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