My five year old male was mated to a bitch two weeks ago, we had tried two years ago but the bitch was not interested and my dog was crazy for her. We assumed that we had missed the right day, even if she had those tests that tell you the right day for mating.
So now we decided to do it just by counting and they succeded.... Only that the tie was formed for just maybe 30 seconds. They were together three days and they repeated this like seriously and not exaggerating... Ten times, there was always a minimum tie of 10- 30 seconds  and they separated and when they were finished the bitch would go crazy and be all happy and playful with my dog. They would rest for a few hours and go on again. I once hold the bitch because she always moved but they separated either ways so I decided to let nature do it's thing.
Do you think she is pregnant? Would that be considered slip mating even if there was a minimum tie?
Thanks for the help and sorry if my english and grammar are bad...

Although breeders prefer to see a tie, it really isn't necessary.   One of our boys never managed a tie, but he only missed to one of the few bitches we allowed to use him, and she came back next season, missed to our other stud dog and then next time, went to another dog in another kennel.  She missed again.   Clearly it wasn't the males!!   However, we only did one (slip) mating one day with his bitches, and then if the people wanted to come back next day, or even the following day for a second mating, they did.   I don't do leaving the male to keep on because frankly it's not necessary.

Time will tell whether she's pregnant, or not!

Thank you so much!! In this forum it is the first time that I hear that it is not necessary to leave them together a couple of days!  It surprises me so much! Maybe in two weeks will see.

Slip matings can certainly result in a good sized litter, but there may be a reason the dog can't achieve a tie with the bitch which could be important in terms of the safe delivery of any puppies--a stricture could mean a C-section later on. Also, there is no point in allowing a dog to continuously mate a bitch--2 matings, two days apart, would be just as effective

> but there may be a reason the dog can't achieve a tie with the bitch

Ahhh, clearly somebody who has never been involved in a Basset-mating (and don't come at me re man-made breeds - at least they were bred for a specific reason, unlike a lot of 'breeds')

"Also, there is no point in allowing a dog to continuously mate a bitch--2 matings, two days apart, would be just as effective"

I would prefer to let the bitch decide when she wants to allow mating and when she has had enough, so a honeymoon period for my girls. More natural, in my opinion, even if it does involve more work for the humans lol

Whether it's more natural, or more or less work for the breeder, was not my point. My point was to do with the likelihood of conception.

Why assume I would "come at you," MamaBas? Most breeds are able to mate naturally, and without knowing the breed in question it doesn't seem unreasonable to mention the possibility of a stricture.

> Why assume I would "come at you," MamaBas?

Why assume it was YOU I was talking to?    I wasn't!!

Okay I should have made it clear that I didn't want anybody 'coming at me' re man-made breeds  

I assumed it only because I received this as a reply to my comment :-)

"Whether it's more natural, or more or less work for the breeder, was not my point. My point was to do with the likelihood of conception. "

Surely the dogs are more likely to conceive when they are doing what feels natural for them though?

A fit male should be able to mate every day or even more often.

In nature a dog and bitch would mate as often as they wished over about a week (from the LH surge at earliest, about 2 days before ovulation, and to when the ova die off about 4 days after ovulation).

The only reason tom restrict mating that I can think of in the situation where dog and bitch are happy to do so, is where the dog is needed to service another bitch within a short space of time, so time would be needed to replenish reserves.

http://www.labbies.com/reproduction4.htm

".......Since frequent ejaculation (daily collection of semen for 5 to 7 days) can cause a reduction in sperm output, studs in high demand may experience less than optimal fertility at certain times throughout their reproductive years. For this reason, it is recommended that sperm from valuable studs be collected and cryopreserved in sufficient quantities early in the male's career to ensure future availability. To this end, collection of semen on an "every other day" basis typically allows time for replenishment of sperm reserves............

........The amount of reserved sperm will depend on the frequency and interludes between ejaculations. Total sperm counts in a sexually rested male encompass sperm reserves plus daily sperm produced by the testes. Sperm reserves are reportedly depleted by once per day ejaculation for 5 to 7 days."

Of course multiple matings are not necessary to achieve pregnancy if timing is good, but multiple matings do generally improve chances of conception and litter size, and generally supervised properly will do no harm, and are probably better than having a male witter after the bitch by having restricted access.

When I have had stud dogs to stay, I have only separated them from the bitch when I have been out and at night, and even then the bitch was crated in same room as the male.  Mot have chosen to mate the bitch after morning ablutions and then just be part of the gang of girls.

A male I bred came to do all his stud work at my home where his chosen ladies came to stay too.  He was first used at 6 years and mated 6 bitches and all became pregnant.