Even though I have been breeding dogs for 35 years, I, oftentimes, feel like the maid in “Gone With Wind” who exclaimed
” I don’t know nothing about birthin‘ Miss Scarlet”.
After years of foaling out mares and studying Equine Reproduction, I feel like I know a little about broodmares but brood bitches … help..
I frequently search the internet for birthing information
For those in the same shape as I offer the successful fruits of my internet search.
RX for Whelping and Ceasarians by Barbara J. Andrews is full of good advise. Ms. Andrews also provides an insight into the natural needs and behavior of the whelping bitch.
Timing Is Everything: Breeding Strategies and the Estrous Cycle, Part 1 Part 2 written by Arliss Paddock is also full of good information for the breeder. It is available on the American Kennel Club website.
I think both these articles dispel the notion that you can pre-determine the breeding date for your girls. I still get calls from folks that want to breed their dog on the 11th and 17th day after they come in heat.
It just doesn’t work like that.
Interestingly, some horse folks think the same way. They think they are going to breed their foaling mare on the 12th day after foaling. That only works if she is ovulating on 1th day. It is all about the individuality of the female.
In horses, we are lucky because we can watch the egg on the ovary and see when it is going to ovulate. In dogs, we have to follow our instincts just like we used to have to do with horses.
Listen to the stud dog. He is the best indicator of when the girl is ready to bred. I breed my dogs very much like we bred horses.
I give the male the opportunity to breed the female. Sometimes this is quite a while because some stud dogs like some stud horses only want to breed under certain circumstances. For example, some males doesn’t want to bred when people are around or they only like to breed at night.
If the male covers the female, I skip a day and try to bred her again. I continue this program until they no longer are interested in breeding.
If she doesn’t accept him the first day, I give them the opportunity to breed every day until the first breeding, then I skip every other day till the end of the breeding period.
Ultimately, it is about knowing a lot about the breeding attitudes of your stud dog and the breeding females.