When it comes to mating dogs, some breeders put their male and female dog together and just let nature take its course. This can be a bit hit and miss. As a breeder of working dogs, you want to maximize the chances of a successful mating and to do this, you need to supervise the mating process.

It’s important that your male and female dogs meet each other before she comes on heat. That way you can make sure they aren’t going to become aggressive with each other, and there won’t be any personality clashes when it’s time to put them together.

In most cases, it’s easy to tell when your bitch is coming on heat. Her vulva will swell and you’ll notice some bloody discharge. If possible, you should allow your bitch access to the stud every day from when she first comes on heat, to maximize the chances of a fertile mating. It’s a good idea to supervise them both to make sure that mating has occurred, and to prevent any arguments.

If that’s not possible, then you will need to arrange for the bitch and dog to be together when she is ovulating. A bitch is most fertile between 11 and 14 days after she starts bleeding, so allow the dog and bitch to spend time together every 48 hours during this time, until she will no longer allow him to mate.

After mating, the two dogs will “tie” – their genitals will be locked together, and this can last up to 45 minutes. Don’t try to separate them during this time, or you may injure them. If a tie doesn’t occur, it’s still quite possible that your bitch will fall pregnant.

Sometimes with inexperienced dogs, they can’t quite figure out what to do. This is when you need an experienced breeder to help them out.

In Summary – Introduce the pair before hand so to prevent aggression. Mating is a natural process in dogs. To increase chances of pregnancy and to keep your dogs safe, make sure you keep an eye on them when they are together.