hello all, been trying to breed my bitch to a stud but in vein! she keeps turning at him and snapping.. Today is the 13th day since the discharge began. last season she was ready on day 9 and allowed the stud to mount her on the 13th day.. any ideas?

Does the stud and his handler know what they are doing. Is the stud keen, may be that the bitch is not ready or she just does not like the dog. If you hold your bitch and the stud is keen there should not be too much of a problem but watch you hold on tight so she does not harm the dog, let the stud owners deal with him that is their job.

Just noticed you say she was mated at the last season, I take it she missed so perhaps she was not ready after all.

> last season she was ready on day 9 and allowed the stud to mount her on the 13th day.. any ideas?

Yes she isn't ready, or has gone over. 

Just because she was on day 13 last time does not mean she will ovulate the same time this time.

I do hope I have misread your post and you are not trying to mate your bitch on the season following her last litter, at least one season should be left between litters.

She was bread last season but it was a slip mating wich did NOT result in  pregnancy :)

Some studs will mate whether the female is ready or not which can be painful, other bitches just don't want to be mated so need to be held to keep them steady so they don't bite or damage the stud dog, I found my girls were fine once the tie took place and be giving "kisses" to the male.

As has already been said the day of ovulation can vary from season to season so no hard and fast rule.

Hope you get pups this time around.

Well you then really ahve no idea when she ovulates, as seh didn't concieve last tiem.

I would be looking at progesterone ovulation testing, if the bitch is reluctant as I would not encourage and restrain a bitch in mating unless I knew she was ready for mating.

Most of my bitches are ready and eager around day 15, but I have one that doesn't even ovulate until after day 17, and has been mated days 17 -19 and 18 - 22 with puppies resulting..

is it a good idea to let them loose in the stud's premisses? she gets much calmer on the loose! she woud play and flirt with him but not let him mount! but she gets more edgy on the leash. the stud owner suggested we leave them together loose for a day or 2? thank you

I would never leave 2 dogs together without supervision for fear of injury, how can the stud owner sign the papers to say a tie took place and when so you know when to expect pups.

I would seperate them for a while and then put them together, she shouldn't need a leash [my dogs are not happy with being on a leash if the other dog is loose]as she should trust you to hold her if needs be but would be closely supervising them.

The stud owner has always organised the matings with me sitting watching which helped me learn what to expect.

> stud owner suggested we leave them together loose for a day or 2

A resounding NO!  That would be asking for trouble, and the chance of serious injury.  I have never known a stud dog owner that would be happy to risk their boy!

> is it a good idea to let them loose in the stud's premisses? she gets much calmer on the loose! she woud play and flirt with him but not let him mount! but she gets more edgy on the leash. the stud owner suggested we leave them together loose for a day or 2? thank you

If this was my breed most certainly yes, but under close discreet supervision, separated when not supervised.

With my breed it is usual to stand discreetly by until the dog attempts to turn,a nd to calm a bitch during the tie (some of mine really hate the tie).  sometimes a steadying hand on the bitches chest will stop her moving just as the dog gets in position, or a hand quickly under the tummy to stop her sitting.

Ours is a natural and medium size breed, and the males prefer minimum interference.

I heard a speaker at a talk once say that dogs who were allowed to behave naturally and court each other actually had larger litters. So I would allow the dog and bitch to be loose together so they can flirt and play chasey games if they want but obviously be on hand to supervise and assist with the bitch staying still during the actual mating/the tie etc. It would be a very sad day for me if a bitch had to be restrained and mated against her will - how clinical and un-natural, more like rape imo. 

I would say loose is ok but 100% supervised..to just 'step in' when he is/has mounted & a tie starts to occur(this would be a t the early stages).

>is it a good idea to let them loose in the stud's premisses? she gets much calmer on the loose! she woud play and flirt with him but not let him mount! but she gets more edgy on the leash. the stud owner suggested we leave them together loose for a day or 2? thank you

I don't think there is any harm at all in letting them have a 'play/flirt' with each other 'unrestrained', before they get down to business. If the bitch is nervous or inexperienced, it may very well help to take the stress out of the situation. You do need to be present though, incase you need to intervene if/when required.

thank you all for the useful and beneficial tips! will do what you suggested and keep you all posted. fingers crossed!

well it seems that she was not ready after all :) today after 10 minutes of foreplay things went perfect and they tied for a good 15 minutes :)))
Now, would it be best if they mate them again tomorrow and the day after? or every other day for 2 more times?   i am so exited :))))

Excellent news. Most people go for 2 matings in alternative days, 3 at most, or it's too hard to work out when the litter is due. If you haven't got the Book of the Bitch yet, get a copy, it's a real bible for any bitch owner or breeder. :-)

If she missed before from too early mating I personally would allow her to be mated for as long as she is willing to stand, as that normally occurs at the end of the fertile period, approximately 5 days after ovulation, so you can count back to likely ovulation date, and whelping is calculated 63 days from ovualtion)..

Yes there will be the issue of knowing if she is really overdue when whelping, but a bridge I would cross when I came to it.

Thanks for the tip Brainless :) will do that, hoping the stud owner doesn't mind! oh should we breed her every day or every other day?

Lucydogs, I ordered the book from Amazon! Can't wait to start reading it. Thank you :)

If the dog is not getting distressed at not being able to get to the bitch (so wearing/stressing himself out) then every other day would be best. 

On the other hand if it's a young dog getting worked up, and he isn't due any other lady friends shortly then every day won't hurt.

From what I have read if a dog is being collected for AI they collect alternate days over a week to get a viable sample for storage.  Then the dog would be rested for at least a week.

If you think about it in the wild a dog wolf, coyote, fox etc, would mate with his mate every day over the receptive period (about maximum 5 days to a week), and then not mate again until the next season.

thank you brainless :) the dog is 3.5 years old and is being so restless trying to get to the female! so i guess will do it every day since there is no harm. Just wanted to be sure the semen quality would not be minimized by this..
all the best!

Semen quality will only go down after about a week in a young dog according to the repro stuff I have read.

this is great! you have been so helpful :) thank you!

babe was bred again for the second day in a row with a 12 min tie! it went smooth as well :) will keep you all posted.

Just a bit of a warning- I mated my bitch every other day 3 times, after the third tie she was extremely sore. For this reason I would never mate again after two ties have been achieved.

I have ahd bitches mated once, and had them mated every day over 5 days (proving a young dog on a tarty girl for her secodn litter. 

None have shown any discomfort after the event, adn several have to be held firmly as they dislike the tie.

If the bitch is willing (not forced or restrained until the tie), then I can't see how she could be any more sore, no more than us humans.

babe was bred again yesterday for the third day in a row. the tie took longer than the first 2 times "about 40 minuts".. today she did NOT allow the very eager young stud to do his job! I respected her wish ;) do you think we should try again tomorrow? it could be that she is over with it, mind you she stood for 3 days only!

No if she refused today then that is it her receptive time is over.

she is back home safe and sound! fingers crossed :) will keep you posted... any advice of any sort is most welcome :) thank you all for the great help!