Buster The Stud's hints

How to achieve a successful mating for your female dog. Note, this is advice from a breeder and taken from my personal experience. I have no vetinary training.

Start with a healthy bitch

Before you mate your girl, you should ensure that she is DNA cleared of any hereditary health issues that she might pass onto her puppies. It is very rare that any dog will have a 100% clear bill of health, but if she only carries ONE COPY of any gene marker, that’s fine so long as you check her stud to ensure that he doesn’t carry the SAME copies of the same marker(s).

For instance, my Buster has been Orivet checked for 180 different genetic problems and has only one copy of the gene for Macro-throm-boycto-penia. It’s something to do with blood clotting. He doesn't have the condition and not important unless the female he mates with has the Same Copy and then suddenly we have a possibility of passing this onto a puppy in an active form.

You can Google DNA dog-testing. Two of the more popular ones are Embark and Orivet.

DNA Testing – what is it and how…?

We used Orivet (and had a few problems). This is what happens. Go online. You look at what products they offer. Select Full Screening which gives the heritage of your dog (what percentage of what breeds are in its parentage) and the DNA health screening. Pay for the kit and they post it out to you. I recommend paying the fee for express delivery, or you will wait 2+ weeks.

When it arrives, you brush the inside of your dog’s cheek with the little brushes enclosed in the pack (there are 3) wait for the saliva to dry and then put the brushes into the sample packs and return them with the bar code that they have issued for Identification. This ensures that the lab workers don’t know what dog they are testing and therefore the results are ‘blind’.

Select a Stud

It’s not a bad idea to find a potential stud for your girl before she goes into season so that you are all prepared, not rushing around at the last minute, frantic in case you miss her window of opportunity and then when they meet – what if they don’t like each other? Your girl comes into season approx every 6 months so don’t waste time. She should not mate until she is over 1 year old and in my opinion 18 months is better.

We offer the opportunity for a Play Date before the girl is in Estrus. Then on the mating day, they run around the garden, they mate, and Buster cries when she goes home.

Timing is the most important thing.

Your girl will begin to bleed (pro-estrus). Try to notice when day 1 of the bleed begins. This is not always easy as they can lick themselves clean. Watch out for small blood spots.

By about day 10 from the onset of pro-estrus, she is ready to mate.

This stage is called Estrus. These are the signs:

1) Bleeding has stopped about 2-3 days ago. Instead, she may have a watery brown discharge.

2) She is flagging her tail (waving it aside to show her vulva and indicate to a stud that she is ready).

3) She becomes frisky and her vulva becomes swollen. It is a good idea to have a good look before your girl comes into heat so that you can spot the difference. (See below).

If you are still unsure or not confidant then you can book her in to see the vet who will give her a progesterone test which is supposed to ‘nail’ the best dates. In my opinion, it costs $80+ and you may not get on-the-spot results, meaning that you might miss your window of opportunity waiting for results. The dogs will let you know if they are ready.

Preparing for when your girl meets her stud…

Ensure your girl is bathed the day before a potential mating so that you don’t have to wash her afterwards. Don’t allow her to swim anywhere for 48 hours afterwards. It is probably a good idea to trim her hair around the vulva, so it doesn’t snag. I trim my stud’s penis hair for the same reason.

Make sure she is nourished. Pre-prepare her diet with high-protein foods to ensure she is in peak condition. Possibly buy some Di-Vetilact puppy milk formula from your vet or Petbarn (not supermarket) which helps her with the nourishment that she will need to grow her puppies.

Mating

If your girl is not quite ready because you have brought her to the stud too early, she will not accept him. She will sit down and even snap at him. Go home. Wait 2 days and try again.

If she is unused to a male mounting her, she will object and her ‘parent’ (you) might have to hold her head to reassure her. It hurts the first time and she will yelp. Mating only lasts about 3 minutes and when the stud has finished, they usually ‘tie’. Which means that they remain joined for around 15-20 minutes. During this time, the female must not be allowed to pull away, it will hurt them both but I find that if the ‘parents’ hold and comfort their dogs, this is not a problem.

After a few minutes, the stud maneuvers himself until they are standing back-to-back. Then suddenly, they part, and it is all over. If this has been a good tie, then the chances are that she will become pregnant straight away from this mating. But if you want to be sure – come back after 2 days. (eg: Monday, Wednesday, and if necessary – Friday). If on the second visit, your girl refuses to mate again, then you can rest assured she is pregnant. The stud will try, then give up and the couple will begin to play but not mate.

After Mating

Just care for her normally. She may go off her food or get fussier. Do not feed her raw meat. Cooked fish is high in protein and recommended. It is a good sign if she becomes dozy and sleeps a lot on her side. Nipples will become enlarged. A dog’s pregnancy lasts 9 weeks.

Vet Test and X-Rays

At about week 5 or 6 after mating (not sooner) take your girl to your vet and get them to Xray her. This is standard procedure and much cheaper than an ultrasound that some Vets will charge a lot for. An Xray shouldn’t cost more that $100. If it does – change vets.

One of Buster’s girlfriends went too early and returned a negative Xray. No Pups! But they were wrong. Mango went on to have seven healthy pups. She’s still the record holder.

Below is Sookie's Xray. It shows 3 spines of her puppies, but one was hiding behind another. She had 4 pups by caesarian section.

To read about Sookie's pregnancy and the pups first 3 weeks, you can find it here on Vocal, click on ‘More stories by Suzsi Mandeville’. Incidentally, after her pregnancy, Sookie became much more lively than before. It gave her a new lease of life.

Fees and Conditions:

The Stud fee is non-refundable. The stud has performed his part. If he has not performed adequately, then there is no fee. If for any reason the female does not become pregnant, then she can have a re-mount when she next comes into season without charge.

Puppies:

We require birth dates of the puppies, and photos. This for us to boast on Buster's Facebook Page but also to ensure that Buster the Stud does not accidentally cover one of his daughters in the future. Buyers will ask about the father’s lineage – but if they do not, please ensure they are told, anyway. We will supply you with a copy of Buster’s DNA report that you can give to the new owners.

Enjoy it. Puppies are great fun! 😊

To read about my own experience with puppies, visit Vocal Story: ‘My Cavoodle's caesarian and the pup’s first 3 weeks’.