Hi all, we have been following this forum for quite some time trying to educate ourselves as we are first time breeders. Have came a cross lots of helpful info & have decided to register and ask for your expert advice. We have a gorgeous bitch who is a bull breed and we decided to mate her on this her third heat after having the vet confirm she is very fit & healthy. We took the advice of the vets & Idexx & took blood on day 9 & dropped it off with Idexx. Larry at Idexx called after a few hours to say that her progesterone levels were at 69 & to mate her immediately. I know some of you don't have a great opinion of AI but this was done and finished within an hour of speaking to Idexx. All was fine, calm, no problems. Just wanting to pick your brains, I have saw previous charts on her showing that a level of 69 shows she is at the end of her ovulation and her eggs are starting to mature. Larry said mate today & I presume if there was no chance he would have said don't mate, you're too late! Has anyone been in a similar situation and had a positive result after a late tie? Also, do you notice any difference in behaviour once a bitch has been mated? We left our dog quietly in her bed for a couple of hours so she could rest. For the the remainder of the night and so far for all of today she hasn't left my side. She normally doesn't bother with me as much & would prefer my husbands company. But she is wanting to be on my knee, she is licking my ears and face, she seems quite clingy but just towards me. In the two years we have had her she has never licked and cuddled me like this. She is so placid and spends her time playing with our children so for her to have all this affection towards me today and clingyness, just seems out of character... Unless it's just a case of her hormones are a bit all over after her heat?

The BVA vets or your own pets vets there is a difference. Hope all relevant health tests have been done.
Can't help you sorry as haven't used them
Nessa

Yes I'd put it down to hormones.

Don't think we anti-AI on here but most of us prefer to see natural matings where possible. I'd happily import semen from another country for my rare breed but recently discovered its VERY expensive.

Can your girls breeder / stud owner advise on timings. My studs owner was very helpful and experienced and I followed their advice on timings without any testing and had a successful litter.

Sorry not very familiar with bull breeds but thought they had loads of testing to be done for hereditary conditions , did the vet take a blood sample for analysis ?

The eggs arnt ready to be fertilized straight away. If the result was too high he would have said yes. We had that not last season the one before. Long story short send bloods off later on in her season around the same time she was ready the season before and idexx called and told me the result was like 90 something and I've missed her however if I wanted to try it would have to be that day but he wouldn't bother as the eggs would have started to die off.

> having the vet confirm she is very fit & healthy.

A general vet check is not the same as health screening of breeding animals which would normally at the least involve Hip scoring and eye testing for signs of hereditary disease, then there will be breed specific DNA tests for many breeds, Elbows for heavier breeds found to be predisposed to Elbow Dysplasia.

Most Vets will have no idea if a dog is suitable for breeding, and most testing is done by specialists in a given area (Orthopaedic specialists on the BVA panel asses Hip and Elbow scores, and there are specialist Eye panel vets, and labs that carry out DNA testing).

The above is written for anyone reading this thread I am sure you have done the relevant health screening advised by your breed club?

Sorry should have clarified that both the bitch & stud are health tested, HC & DM tested & clear. Our girl is only of a very slight frame. There was probably no need for me to mention all of the above & getting into vets etc. Was just curious regarding people's experiences catching a late ovulation.

Our stud owners advised like Larry at Idexx that yesterday was the day to mate. However she is towards the end of ovulation. And so we went ahead, just the one attempt as there would be no point carrying out a second attempt because she would be no longer ovulating. There's a chance she may fall. Just curious if anyone had been in this position also. Particularly with a progesterone level of around 69 upon mating? Thanks for the input!

65 - 90 Nmol or 20.4 - 28.3ng ova mature but ageing, decreased fertility. Breed at once