Ad Hoc Notes (1)
Breeding Tips
for Beginners
This piece of - hopefully – wisdom (!) is aimed at the absolute beginner, so please don’t take offence if you
already know it. It is, of course, just one opinion and should not be taken as rigid gospel. You have to be flexible
in dog breeding as no two animals do the same thing!
Young Stud Dogs
The first thing to understand is that these dogs are not easy to mate. You cannot just put two together and it will
all happen (occasionally it does – in which case you are very lucky). Hands on assistance is definitely usually
required, especially with unproven dogs and bitches.
With that in mind, if you have a young male and intend to use him for stud it is very wise to get him used to being
handled from a young age. That is when you stroke or pat his tummy run your hand over his genitals also. There
is nothing worse than trying to mate a couple of dogs and the male just gets down off the bitch the minute you go
to ‘assist’ him.
Bitch’s Season
As a rule of thumb a bitch’s season lasts an average of about three weeks – this can be divided up pretty much as:
1)
bleeding starts – she will not take a dog for a week, she will snap and whirl around and sit down if a dog is
really getting a bit too serious – though she will flirt and play with him.
2)
A week where she will stand for any dog at all and may indeed run away to find one.
3)
A week where she has ovulated and is now going ‘off’ and will again snap at a dog.
That is a very rough guide – all bitches are different, some ovulate early and some ovulate late. Always lock up
your bitch or have her totally supervised once her season has started. Do not think that an open yard which has a
6 foot fence will keep out a determined kelpie male etc!
Mating
Never just let the female and male just run together. They should be kept separate once she is in season and
introduced for mating only under supervision. I would introduce the male to the female on around Day 8 of her
bleeding – that is usually actually too early but sometimes it is hard to have noticed exactly Day 1. Be guided by
the bitch – if she is snapping round, sitting down she is not ready. Also a proven old hand male will often only be
really keen when she is ready to take a dog.
A bitch that is ready to mate will ‘stand’, put her tail to one side, and her vulva will ‘twitch’ up. If she is not ready
take her away and reintroduce them the next day and so on until she is ready. (Unfortunately you do get young
unproven girls who will never stand and play the idiot the whole time!!). If you are absolutely sure she is ready
sometimes you have to get firm with a young bitch – no mollycoddling!
Ad Hoc Notes (1)
... Page 1
Once she is ready - and normally you would look to mate them on Day 9, 11 & 13 or Day 10, 12 & 14 (Day 1 is first
day you noticed bleeding) - the best way is to have at least a couple of you to do it – three is even better!! Best
way is let them have a short play/flirt then have one person sit on the floor, put the bitch over their legs, prop one
knee up to support the bitch (otherwise she will often collapse under the weight of the male), either that person
or a third should also hold on to the bitch’s collar firmly. Once the bitch is secure let the male have a go, most of
them are appallingly clumsy at it and will prod away in their excitement at heads, sides -everywhere but the right
spot!! So whenever he is anywhere near the target the person who is attending to the male should either move
the bitch’s vulva to make it easier for him and/or take hold of the dog’s sheath/penis and put it in as he thrusts.
Once he is in it helps to put an arm tightly round his backside to stop him pulling out between thrusts.
Remember to take into account any height differences – i.e. if the bitch is taller for instance make a hollow for
her to stand in or put him up a hill a bit.
Told you it wasn’t all that easy!! Some of you may get lucky though.
If you get a ‘tie’ – when they are stuck together - allow the male to turn round if he wants to (so they stand back
to back). Do not let them start roaming all over the place as they can damage each other – hence supervised
matings! Again if you get a tie you do not need to mate them again until two days later. Really one tie should do
it, two is good and three is even better!
If you are only getting ‘slips’ – i.e. he has gone in, but pulls out keep trying every day and try and hold him in for
as long as possible. Ordinarily a dog doesn’t start pumping out sperm until he has ceased thrusting. So if he
pulls out too early the likelihood is that all those wrigglers will end up on the floor!
Basically, if you can get help from someone experienced in dog breeding it will be of great assistance to you –
otherwise look on it as a real learning experience.
If it is just impossible and you are getting nowhere for whatever reason you can get the couple AI’d (artificially
inseminated) at a vet. However, it is much better if you have a dog breeder who really knows how to AI, because
(a) they have done it a lot more often than a vet – some of which are just not good at it - and (b) they may be
willing to teach you (it is not that hard) (I can do another note on that if anyone thinks it would be helpful).
How Do We Know If The Bitch Is Pregnant?
For the first six weeks or so it is hard to tell – but there are some helpful signs:
a)
Her vulva does not reduce to pre-season size but stays slightly enlarged.
b)
Her nipples become prominent (though most bitch’s show this after a season even if not mated at all).
c)
She may go off her food for a few days in the first few weeks – I always think of morning sickness in
humans.
Ad Hoc Notes (1)
... Page 2
d)
She will get cranky with other dogs and very sooky with her owners.
Most of them will start showing a ‘bulge’ by five weeks or so. I always think that if you are still staying ‘is she?
Isn’t she – I’m not sure’ at 6 and a half weeks then she more than likely isn’t.
It is true some dogs have full phantom pregnancies, but they are much rarer than is thought in my opinion and in
Australian Bulldogs - very rare indeed.
You can get her ultrasounded at the vet (more expense!) to find out at about 4 – 5 weeks or so, but basically if she
is you will find out soon enough and if she isn’t you will find out too! A bitch is usually pregnant for 63 days –
this can vary by a very few days. If I have done three matings over six days I would count 63 days from the middle
mating as a rough guide, but be on the look-out anywhere from 58 days from the first mating – they all vary.
Worm your bitch two weeks before she is due to whelp. She may show a clear discharge for about two weeks
before she whelps.
At least a week before she is due introduce her to where you want her to have pups – a nice, quiet, draft-free,
room/shed whatever preferably with a whelping box in it and lots of newspaper!!! Lock her in there every night.
Nearly all bitches when they refuse their dinner will go into labour within 24 hours. They will also go a little crazy
digging, digging, digging and scratching up newspaper in their whelping box. Often they will try to hide in tiny
little dark places and start panting heavily. If they are doing that get them into their whelping box and don’t let
them out for a pee unless constantly supervised. I have known one go down a tiny rabbit-hole –only her nose was
showing - she had to be dug out!
They can fuss and carry on panting etc and scratching nests for hours and hours – even 24 hours – in early labour.
Once they start straining – usually only every now and then at first – (and you simply can’t mistake it) – they will
have a pup within one or two hours (as a rule of thumb). Once one pup has arrived, usually they are every half
an hour or so, or two quickly and then a break till the next two. Remember they are doing what comes naturally
and they are much, much tougher than humans. Usually even new mums will know exactly how to open the sac,
eat the placenta and wash the baby. But you should be there in case help is needed. A real green discharge can
mean a dead pup. If she is constantly straining hard to no avail, well you may need veterinary help.
Australian Bulldogs are pretty good at sitting on their pups and suffocating them, but we will deal with that in
another Ad Hoc Note “CARING FOR PUPS”.
Dog Breeding is not easy and always remember worst case scenario: c.sec & dead pups! But it is a wonderful
challenge, a lot of fun, will bring out all sorts of talents you didn’t know you had and when it goes well – is deadset addictive!
.P Nobes (March 05)
last modified 2011
Ad Hoc Notes (1)
... Page 3