Breeding a female dog is not an easy task. However, it is exciting and full of fun to have a bunch of cute little puppies bouncing up and down around you, licking your face. Their sweet little kisses can make you burst into laughter. But at the end of the day, the process involves several risks and responsibilities that you must be aware of before making the decision to go ahead.
A female dog can have its heat cycle anytime between 4 months to 2 years depending on their breed and size. Usually, tiny dogs get pregnant earlier than adult dogs, but they should not be bred until they get their second and third estrus.
If you too have a female dog and looking forward to breeding her, then the below mentioned tips will help you do it the right way.
Tips to follow before Breeding
Follow these tips to ensure a successful breeding –
- Make sure that you have a home for newborn puppies as so many dogs are killed at animal shelters because they don’t have a home – certainly, you will not wish the same for your puppies.
- Take your dog to a veterinarian for regular check-ups to keep her hale and hearty throughout the breeding period.
- Get her blood checked to ensure that she is free from any genetic diseases.
- Get her hips and other joints x-rayed before breeding.
- Contact the owner of the male dog and tell them the approximate date for breeding.
Apart from these suggestions, the given below information will help you during the breeding period.
How to know if she is ready to breed
One of the questions that inexperienced dog owners find confusing is that how would they know which is the right time for breeding? Well, it’s not too difficult to know. Watch your dog carefully, when the spotting of her blood becomes clear, she will stand still. It indicates that she is ready to let the male dog breed her.
How often should you mate her
Now, if you are breeding your dog with frozen sperms than its important that you know the right time of ovulation. But, if you have a male dog then the process will be a little easy for you. Usually, the sperms last for 5 to 8 days inside her. Once you finish breeding your dog, she will be willing to stand that includes the chances of losing sperms. So breed her in every two to three days until she is no longer willing to mate.
At times, some female dogs do not stand to breed. There might be certain possibilities behind this – either she might not be in her heat cycle or she might not want to mate with the male. The dogs that don’t let the dogs mount on them often need assistance in breeding.
So we suggest you have an experienced breeder with you to avoid any risk. And if you do not have one, then be careful as it can be a little dangerous for you as well as your dog.
During the breeding
It’s very necessary to stay with your dog at the time of breeding. In some breeds, you might need to support the female to keep her from collapse under the male. Also, it’s natural that when the male dog mounts the female, he will be tied to her for a few minutes to half an hour.
At this point, do not try to separate her by throwing water or pouring ice or using any other cruel method, the dogs will separate themselves once they will get over. Instead, stay with your dog and keep her from rolling.
After the breeding
Once your dog is done with breeding, she might try to crouch to urinate but do not let her do so for at least 20 minutes. Instead, try to walk her around and keep her busy. You will get the puppies after 8 to 9 weeks of breeding. In between this period, take the full care of your dog – serve her the food full of nutrition, groom her time to time using a heavy duty animal hair cutting machine and keep her happy and engaged. But make sure that you are not putting pressure on her belly while trimming her abdomen.
If you are not feeling confident enough to breed your dog, take help of a veterinarian or experienced breeder to avoid any risk.
