Hi there,

First post on here and wondering what your opinions are on the Idexx readings and mating my girl had. I have read a few posts on here so know a few people are experienced with this test.
We had her Bloods sent away on a Monday day 7 and they came back Tuesday to retest being low reading at 1.2. So as per Idexx info we retested Friday day 11 as advised and the result came back on Saturday being 11... Idexx report said to mate ideally from the following Tuesday being day 15, vet said ideally tue/thur.
So i traveled to the stud (very experienced boy) and on the Tuesday he wasn't at all interested in her, and she wasn't ether although she is a shy bitch who didn't present herself last time she was mated (18 months ago she took at day 13 and had a litter day 59 after mate so must of ovulated there abouts) We let other males near her to see there reaction and they were not at all bothered with her ether... The stud owner has a draminski and the reading came back on the Tuesday very low at 200. So we left her and tried again on the Thursday (the 2nd date Idexx said)and the stud mated her straight away, no messing around he was straight in and had a 15 min tie. Before the mating on the Thursday she draminski tested again and only read 300...
I know science cant be wrong (blood progesterone testing) and i know that Draminski can be way off... But im really baffled at Idexx saying from the tuesday yet the stud wasnt interested in her until the thursday,.I thought Idexx would of suggested retesting the Monday day 14 but they never? I have heard of some girls staying at 14/15 reading for a while before peaking and being ready to be mated. Should of mentioned we took her back on the Friday after the mating on the Thursday and again the stud wasn't interested at all! Only interested the one day being Thursday. Also her colour stayed really red until her season stopped it never really went off as such.

I suppose just a waiting game now I hope Idexx was correct and i didnt waste a 18 hour round trip!!. Has anyone else experienced something like this before?

Readings are in nmol/L i believe.

The dates are usually estimated going by average bitch progesterone levels rising, however not all bitches follow the 'average' rule which is why its sometimes best to retest either just before or just after mating to either make sure the bitch is heading in the right direction towards the mating date or  retesting afterwards to confirm that she ovulated on the estimated date.

Thanks for your reply :) Frustrating as you would think Idexx would suggest that rather than just giving a date to mate from. At least i know now for future! 

I only know from past experience but it is definitely a useful tool. We used it recently and have four little darlings as a result

Until you get a reading that actually shows ovulation has occurred it is only guess work as to when they are likely to reach that level. 

For accurate mating dates for example when doing AI you need to take several tests, you need a pre ovulation reading and one after.

Some bitches can stick at pre ovulation levels so you definitely need a reading above ovulation concentrations.

Some dogs and bitches will happily mate early from just before ovulation. Some will only mate once th3e eggs are ripe, at two days past ovulation, when they remain viable for about two days.

Her previous whelping date would suggest she is a bitch that mates tail end of the fertile period, as most bitches whelp 62+/- a day from Ovulation.

>Also her colour stayed really red until her season stopped it never really went off as such.

I find this perfectly normal.  My bitches are still bleeding as normal when mated.  And continue to bleed right up to the end of their normal cycle.  I have never understood why people find it odd.  (And don't get me started on the 'straw coloured'  discharge.)  LOL  In all my many years I have never, ever seen straw coloured.  :-)

Thanks for all your replies :) as I said its the first time I've ever used this method as i don't usually have to travel this far for the stud.
Jean I suppose everyone has different experiences, in my experience over the years in 3 different breeds I have always had a change in blood colour. The bitch I was asking about also went completely off when mated last time to, that's why I mentioned her bright red colour until the end of her season.