Hi all

Am starting to think about breeding a bitch in either the autumn, or next spring. The stud I am looking at is on the mainland, and I am not. I will need to book a ferry and travel to the stud dog, and wondered what people recommend for knowing when the optimum time to travel would be - premate, bloods etc and roughly at what point you would travel?

Hi -

We face a similar situation, as our stud is on the continent. 

We plan to use the Idexx blood test and, when we get a result which implies that ovulation is either immediate or in 2 days, we will book travel (chunnel) and accommodation asap and go straight to the stud.   Depending on which stud we use, it will be either a 5 hr drive from Calais, or a 13 hr drive.  I believe we have a window of up to a week from the date of ovulation, so even if we get there just after, it will still be ok.

No idea if that is the best solution, but it's what we plan to do so far.

Thanks, that makes sense :) I will look into Idexx

I think I will be looking at an overnight ferry (or 4hr fast ferry) and then about an 6hr drive, so can be with the stud in a day give or take! I am not sure how short notice I can book the ferry, so I will look into that too.

If the travel needs booking in advance (and usually to get a reasonable price it has to be) then ovulation testing is pointless as regards using it to choose a travel date.

On the two occasions I have done this , interestingly both times with maiden bitches I have waited to first day of season dn then booked the trip.

With Lexi I decided to go on day 12 and return on day 19, and happily she was mated days 15 - 18 though she was standing from day 13.

Her daughter from that mating turned out to be a late ovualtor with both her litters mated days 18 - 20/21.

So with Inka I thought I had best give myself more leeway and Flew out on day 10 and flew back day 22, matings effected days 14 - 18.

I was put up by the stud dog owners on both occasions, both males were proven experienced studs, both would not mate the bitch until they thought she was ready, and I continued for as long as the bitch seemed keen.

Had I experienced difficulty getting the bitches mated given the above I would have arranged for progesterone testing while at the studs, just in case timing right out.

Sounds OK, but surely you would want several matings, so a stay would be needed, better to be early so bitch can settle, perhaps meet the stud before she is ready?

I know there was no way a wham bam thank you Mam approach would have worked with Inka, she had to build up to the idea of allowing the dog to mate her.

Thanks Barbara, I was hoping you would comment as I know you travel with bitches in season a bit :)

Would your advice change for a maiden bitch and stud? I am lucky that I only work for 1/2 a week, and can swap or take holiday for the other half, and can afford a little bit more leeway in booking at short notice

Just seen your second reply. I wouldn't be back home the same day, I would be over for a week or longer, its just when do I go thats confusing

If I was able to travel at short notice and only stayed a  day that would e OK for a bitch that had been bred from before and was a bit of a slapper, wouldn't; take the chance of pushing things so with a maiden, so woudl aim to get there before the bich was likely to be ready, so the tests would be redundant.

Both mine were pretty long distance trips requiring flying (Finland was two legs, international and Local flights, and US was longer flight) so advance booking the only option.

Hi Barbara

With the Chunnel, it's possible to book for the next day at reasonable prices.  For eg, travelling tomorrow, I can buy a return for about £140.  This might change in the summer, when prices go up and are peak - it's something I'm keeping an eye on.

Both dogs for me will be maidens too.

Of course we plan to stay there 7-10 days, to cover a range of time, should things not work immediately.

I just would rather know where we're at with the progesterone before we leave - definitely for one of the two studs we're considering - because they live in a country which possibly doesn't have reliable access to advanced veterinary procedures and where language difficulties are also likely to be an issue.

Do you think that is ok?  Given that situation, what do you think we should do?

With maidens I would want practise time so if your going to start progesterone tests I would want to leave as soon as they think ovulation imminent.  Of course the journey can throw them off a bit too.

Thanks :) Given me more to think about :)

Thanks.