Hi Everyone!  I own a spaniel bitch and her 2 1/2 year old son who I bred from her.  I also have 2 other unspayed bitches.  All are kept as pets in the house, not kennels.  The mother of my male has not yet been spayed as I am hoping to have one more litter from her.  I notice that when mum goes into season, she never allows her son to get too close to her, even during the prime mating days from day 11.  She will actually have a real go at him and snap at him if he gets too friendly, and she won't flirt or flag with him, though she will flirt and flag with the other females in the house.  Her son is interested in sniffing her, but never gets excited to the extent he gets when the other bitches go into season, and he doesn't try to mount her.  This is nice from the perspective that I can actually trust to leave the mum and son together when mum's in season, though of course I always separate them just in case when I have to leave the house.  On the downside, my male isn't the best indicator of when his mum is ready for mating.  A vet I spoke to said he was not surprised at this behavior, but other breeders I have spoken to thought I was bonkers that any bitch would refuse her son when she was in heat or could tell any difference from male to male.  My theory is that since my male has lived in the house since birth with mum, mum knows he is her offspring and there is some natural instinct in her which knows mating with him would be a no-no. I also suspect her discharge during heat must smell differently to her son since they're related, which is why he doesn't get nearly as excited with her as when the other bitches go into heat. I'm just wondering if any other breeders have had this experience, or is my bitch just unusually clever??

It might be that she just doesn't fancy him. I have 3 intact males but one of my bitches will only let one of them near her when in heat. Two she keeps at a distance and gets very cross with if they so much as come close to the baby gate separating them. The other one is a different breed and considerably smaller than her.  She adores him and will stand for him from day one of her season. she will also try to get him to stand on the settee so he is tall enough to mate her. It is very funny to watch but  I don't let them together at the crucial time as I don't want puppies from them.

Hmm, well she definitely doesn't seem to fancy him in a romantic way.  However, the interesting thing is that after after she snaps at her son for getting too friendly or in her space when she's in heat, she often starts licking his face like crazy as if he's still a puppy.  It's pretty touching, like her saying to him sorry for snapping, but I still love you cause you're my baby! The licking really seems to calm him down, he loves it and just closes his eyes and settles down to let her lick his face when this happens. And it's interesting how he doesn't get overly excited about her either when she goes into heat but often goes nuts when the other females go into season.  He'll sleep in the same room with her as if she's not in season at all!  Nothing wrong with my girl either...she's usually a real hussy around the boys when she's in heat.

I have two entire males here and the daughter of one of them is in season. They are more than eager to get to each other but Willow is kept well out of their reach. However, I've been much amused by the behaviour of one of my older spayed girls who is flirting outrageously with one of the boys -courtship dance/ posing and posturing etc. He gets quite excited too. Must be that special something in the air. Willow spends a lot of time flirting with my old boy Tag . He was neutered a couple of years ago . He is still top dog in spite of general decrepitude and is eager to respond to her flirtations. Does wonders for his arthritis !

My old boy (15 years) who was castrated 4 years ago is doing his best to get all tippy-toed and debonair with my in-season girl. He doesn't realise he's a geriatric!

Not quite the same thing, but my older girl always washes her daughter's 'bits' when the daughter is in season, but never does it for the other young bitch I own, same breed. Clearly she knows which one is hers!