Hello,
This past weekend we sent our 2 year old [large breed] female off to the studs house to be mated. She was there for 3 days. This is her first time mating but not the studs.
When we picked her up she seemed very lethargic and once we got home she refused to eat or drink and was having trouble pooping. its been 2 days that she has been home and She is still having trouble pooping, only small amount comes out. She wont drink much water and eats very little. I have also noticed that she is bleeding more than she was when she left for the studs. Before she left her bleeding was light and the color was light red/ straw colored. Now it is bright/dark red and a lot of it. She still somewhat lethargic but not as bad as when we first got home.
Is this normal? Could she be traumatized from the whole experience? It was her first time...  maybe it stressed her out?

> Before she left her bleeding was light and the color was light red/ straw colored. Now it is bright/dark red and a lot of it.

She will continue to bleed for another week to 10 days depending how far into her season she is...this is normal.

If you are worried you should get a vet to check her out...Depending on how well you know the owner of the stud dog..your bitch may well of not settled at all whilst there & is very glad to be back home, where she is now catching up.

Re the bleeding - most of mine would go to the expected light straw colour by the time they are ready to mate and stay that colour, gradually decreasing, through the final week.    However, we had one who I had to leave with the owner of the stud dog I wanted for her - she was with him for a couple of days and rather alarmingly when she came back, she had a far more coloured discharge through the final week to the point that although she was well in all other respects, eating and drinking, I was thinking she'd never taken.

As it happened, after a totally uneventful pregnancy, although she needed a C.Section, she had 9 of what were probably one of our best litters, which included one of the two bitches and a dog we kept, becoming a UK Champion - the first for a Canadian-bred - and her sister achieving her Stud Book quali.  The boy was shown a bit in the UK but his bite had gone edge to edge while in quarantine so he wasn't as successful as he might have been.   I allowed one breeder here to use him, with the full knowledge of his bite and she was so please with his first litter, she did a repeat.   He's back of a number of UK hounds.

If your bitch's discharge is very dark coloured and copious coupled with not being well and not eating or drinking as usual, I'd not see this as 'normal' and I think I'd involve my vet.   Thinking pyometra?

Lethargy with the other things would worry me. As mamabas queries I was thinking pyometra as well .vet check ? If all is well after that maybe she is generally upset at bring away and maybe the mating wasn't easy for.her

Personally, I would always want to be there whilst my dog is being bred.  Unless I really really trusted the stud owner (and even then I think I'd like a video of the process).  I want to know what my girl has experienced and what exactly happened.

Sadly there are people who will do anything to breed a bitch, including tying her mouth shut with something, holding her still, muzzling her etc etc - which is why, unless I really trusted the stud owner not to do any of that and I knew we had the same training philosophy, I just wouldn't risk it and I'd want to be present to be her advocate in the process.

I have been very lucky in tat when my girls have stayed away it was with people I know would only do what I would do, and that is supervise unobtrusively matings as natural as possible.

With the pair being allowed to make friends and live together under supervision nature would be allowed to take her course and time.

I have also had stud dogs to stay, which of course I prefer as I am the one supervising matings.

I have also had studs to stay to mate other peoples bitches, as often those owning males in my breed will own more than one, and cannot accommodate a bitch.

> I have been very lucky in tat when my girls have stayed away it was with people I know would only do what I would do, and that is supervise unobtrusively matings as natural as possible.

Only twice have I not been there with my bitches.   The first left me with a very uneasy feeling re whether she had actually been mated!!  And she shook on my lap on the way home.  She had no puppies BUT I later heard that the dog I wanted had proved to be infertile, never producing puppies to any of the bitches who went to use him - he was an American Champ. bought up to Canada.   The second one, when she came back into a blood coloured discharge, she went to the vet of the owner of the stud dog as he did all his matings.   I trusted this situation and had no reason not to.   He was a well known owner with a well known vet.

It's more usual for the bitch to go to the stud dog - all too often they won't perform anywhere than on their own territory.  BUT one of my boys was difficult to mate (Bassets!!) so rather than mess around and get nowhere, we took him to an experienced friend who could mate chairs to tables (!), met up with a visiting bitch and paid her a percentage for her assistance.   She quite enjoyed the 'social occasion' I think    In those cases, there was no 'staying' for either.

Another one here would want a vet check.  Pyometra is life threatening and I would want it ruled out.

Firstly I would never leave my bitch with anyone to be mated, especially overnight let alone three days.  I hate to add to this but unless you knew them well how do you know she got mated by that stud dog?  Also did they dope her?  It might be a pyo brewing but I would certainly get her checked at the vets.

> Firstly I would never leave my bitch with anyone to be mated

Actually this is has traditionally been the way it was done.

Especially with long distances involved, several journeys may be impractical, even with blood testing travel can throw things off re timing, and some dogs and bitches can be quite choosy about when they will mate during the fertile period, some may mate fir a whole week, some only for a day or two at peak fertility.

A successful outcome, is more likely if the pair have ample opportunities to express natural behaviour and settle with each other.

I have travelled and stayed with the stud dog owner for a week ro more (including two trips abroad), had the bitch stay with stud owner for a week or more) and had the studs stay with me, but then I have always trusted the owners of the males I have used and they have usually been known to me for many years.

>> Firstly I would never leave my bitch with anyone to be mated
>Actually this is has traditionally been the way it was done.

Yes, but that was back in the days when breeding animals were livestock, not family pets as well.

I have left in the past one of my girls with the stud owner for 3 days and 3 matings, i was present for the 1st mating. She was fine there and i fully trusted the stud owner otherwise i wouldn't have done it. She did have a litter.

In terms of the person posting the original question yes 100% get the bitch to the vet and i would also want her scanned too.

Ksdk531 can we have an update on how your bitch is?

She is back to normal! We believe the stud penetrated her anus at one point as it is bruised and traumatized. That explains the pooping issues. And we believe the whole thing was just traumatic for her and she was stressed.
She is back to her happy go lucky self, eating and drinking as she should.

I am pleased she has recovered not surprised she was behaving oddly poor girl

> We believe the stud penetrated her anus at one point as it is bruised and traumatized. That explains the pooping issues. And we believe the whole thing was just traumatic for her and she was stressed

Shocking; the stud owner clearly wasn't supervising and managing the mating properly. This is exactly why most people won't leave their bitch with strangers. Your poor bitch.

OMG .... is all I can say.