could i have soom advice please first of how do you spot when your girl first comes into season? we think that our girl is on day 7 and are planning to take her to the stud on day 9 and leave her there for a week, her bleed is getting heavier what are the signs she is ready to mate she is a maden bitch when we stroke the base of her tail she already bends it over does this mean she is ready?
thanks

Personally I would never leave my bitch with the stud dogs owners, but others may do differently. Why don't you go to your vet and ask for blood tests, then you can take her when she is ready to be mated, and bring her home with you?

As to when she first came into season, you could already have missed a few days. So she may be further on than you think, unless you are 100% certain of the day she came in. Bitches will also ovulate when they feel like it, not on any set day, so she may already have ovulated.

ETA: my bitches will turn their tails at any time of the year, not just when in season, so that isn't a foolproof way of finding if a bitch is ready. ;-)

If a bitch of mine was flagging I'd be off to the stud dog that very minute or no later than the next day. When a season is near I check mine every single day with a piece of white tissue to ensure I don't miss the first day. It can be awkward with a first season as you can have months of daily checking (as I have had to do with one of mine recently) but as you don't mate on a first season it isn't AS vital (unless you own an entire male), and it will be easier in future as you will have an idea of when she is due in.

> Personally I would never leave my bitch with the stud dogs owners,

Why do you say this? 

This is what I prefer and in my breed where possible is the norm, and from what I have read was the norm in days past.  We are an old fashioned lot in our breed to some extent so maybe that is why we still prefer this way.

Also being a numerically small breed it is most unusual to have a stud dog locally, in the USA bitches are shipped to stay with the stud too.

The advantages are that you can have the bitch at the studs from before it is crucial, they can get to know each other, your more likely to cover all the fertile period,a and best of all the males learn when a bitch is just right, by being able to court at their leisure.

If it is a matter of trusting the stud dog owner, I wouldn't' use a dog of someone I couldn't trust, as what else might they have been less than forthcoming about regards their dog?

bitches can be ready at all different times in the season, the books all say between 10-14 being normal but that is just a guide. I personally have not mated any of my girls before day 13 but thats just my own experience with my latest being day 20.

Can you not take her to the stud to test their reactions and then take it from there, i dont think tail turning is any concrete evidence at all as my girl i took to stud a couple of years ago was flagging like mad and mounting my other girls too, so off we went on day 13 and it was a completely different reaction to the stud, a very definate no, we went back everyday until we got a tie on day 17, just that one mating resulting in 12 puppies.

The dogs are the best judges of when to mate i think, is the stud a proven male too?

> Personally I would never leave my bitch with the stud dogs owners,

>Why do you say this? 

Cant speak for everyone when i say this, but I wouldn't leave my bitch there, not because i don't trust the stud owner, but because if something went wrong i'd want to be there. just for my own peace of mind :-)

It's really interesting that what is a relatively common practice in one breed can be regarded as being rather dubious in another :)

Personally, I have never left my bitches with another person and I don't think I would. In the past - days before routine blood testing - I've just stayed near to where the dog is until the mating has happened.

>> Personally I would never leave my bitch with the stud dogs owners,
> Why do you say this? 
>
> This is what I prefer and in my breed

Perfectly normal here!!   I actually have a girl with me, the owners came on Sunday, and I told them that they would be daft to take her back home, as my boy more or less told me that it wouldn't be long.

I treat girls as my own (this one is actually coming to bed with me!) and people can see for themselves whether they think I am experienced in handling maiden bitches.

The bitch had time to play with my boy, without him pestering, and she is relaxed and eating well.  As we had the first tie tonight, I am happy that I listened to my boy, and I am very sure that the bitches owner will be happy.  They trusted me with their precious girl, and I take my responsibility seriously.  I am more than sure that I was better placed to decide when their girl was ready.  They were new to it, and didn't really know what they were looking for.

> Personally I would never leave my bitch with the stud dogs owners,

>Why do you say this? 

When I have had to travel far I stayed with the stud dog owners. My bitches are just that, my bitches. They trust me, and wouldn't be happy with anyone else, in a strange environment. If anything happened to them I would feel so guilty at leaving them, and the stud dogs owners would be so upset too.

I have a numerically small breed, too, so tend to know the owners of the stud dogs I want to use. I still wouldn't leave my bitches.

>> Personally I would never leave my bitch with the stud dogs owners,
>> Why do you say this? 
> When I have had to travel far I stayed with the stud dog owners. My bitches are just that, my bitches. They trust me, and wouldn't be happy with anyone else, in a strange environment. If anything happened to them I would feel so guilty at leaving them, and the stud dogs owners would be so upset too.
>
> I have a numerically small breed, too, so tend to know the owners of the stud dogs I want to use. I still wouldn't leave my bitches.

Totally agree with you here. I have never left my girls with the stud dog owner.
I happened to stay with the owner of the stud to my first litter. Otherwise I would not have been able to go into the main ring, at Crufts to challenge the other group winners of the KCJO stakes. But I wouldn't have left her there without me.

There can be some very honest folk but there can be some very dishonest folk too.

In one of my breeds it's virtually unheard of to leave a bitch with the stud dog owner, in the other it's very common. Totally different breeds, different temperaments, different sizes, cannot be treated the same. I'd leave a Papillon with a stud dog owner but not a Malinois -simply because of how they are. I doubt very much it would even be possible to mate one of my Mali bitches unless I was present. They are one person dogs.

I have never left a bitch with a stud dog before, but when I took one of my girls to be mated last Sept, (blood tested, so apparently ready), she just wanted to play and as it was one of those really hot days, studs owner suggested she stay a couple of days so she could mate late evening/early morning when it was cooler. 
I have visited this kennel before and considered it an honour for my bitch to be asked to stay! My dog has never been in kennels or away from me, so I was a little worried, but she appeared very happy to be left!!!!
We kept in contact by email - letting me know when they'd mated/how long tie etc - naturally too - under the apple trees!  Collected her after 2nd mating and we had a good sized litter from her.
Its not something I would routinely consider but if stud dogs owner suggested it, I would happily do it again.

I've never left any of my girls with stud dog owners, but had distance been an issue (especially as I don't drive so have to rely on my OH to take us) then I would have been happy to leave them with 'most'  of the stud dog owners we've used.  Thankfully we've been very lucky, I can tell when my girls are ready, never had one miss and only used a blood test once which told me to come back in 3 days for retest, but I felt she was ready that day, went to stud had one mating with an hour tie she went on to have 8 healthy babies 63 days exactly from mating.

Sadly one of my friends dog died when she was at the studs.  Owner of stud not to be blamed etc. but I will never leave mine with someone. Luckily this person now allows you to stay on the grounds so that's a help, but sadly, very rarely devastating consequences can occur.

When I had my last girl mated last year I stayed for 3 days in my old VW in the driveway, we had a great time LOL!

I have never left a bitch with the stud dog owners. Not because I wouldn't trust them. But because my breed is not the kind you just leave and collect when it's done. They are far too attached to me to be happy on their own in a strange place. And they would probably be very difficult to mate, my reassurance is very important to them. If I'm happy about the situation,then they are fine too.
We stay in a hotel, and visit the stud dog daily, until it's time to go home. I've even spent the whole Christmas alone in a hotel in a strange town, once. Everything was closed, not even McDonalds was open. The lonliest X-mas ever. Worth it, though ;-)

I leave my girls at the studs because I want them to be comfortable with the stud dog, not rushed, and be ready be to mate. I would not leave them with people I do not trust to look after them, and a happy normal mating under natural circumstances is far preferable to a forced, stressed  and rushed occasion that can happen when a bitch's owner has travelled a considerable distance and is under pressure to get the "deed" done.
So leave her there and have piece of mind that she is going to have a happier experience.

I am sure it does depend on breed. 

My breed are generally very sociable and adaptable. 

The world does not end if Mum or Dad are not there,a nd they are easy to board away, happy to see you when picked up but quite unconcerned and happy to fit in with their holiday home. 

They are also rather natural creatures and an in season bitch will usually have other things on her mind ;)

I have had stud dogs visit with me (I do not drive) and I have also had stud dog and in season bitches come to stay (where stud owner couldn't accommodate the bitch or oversee the mating), both being perfectly happy visiting with me.  I have taken it as a real compliment being entrusted with someones stud dog, even if I had joint ownership with one and bred another.

Of course one thing to consider regarding whether a bitch is left with the stud dog or not, is whether it takes one, two or more people to manage a mating, and does the stud dog owner have anyone else to hand if needed! I can mate Papillons without help, no problem -but with Malinois it takes two or sometimes three people to hold the dogs still during the tie.