Dog Owner's Manual › Chapter 8: Dog Health Care › Canine Reproduction ›

Dog Mating

For a number of reasons, chief among them pet overpopulation, the breeding of dogs is not recommended by most veterinarians and trainers. However, if you own a purebred (some of whom are sold on condition that they be bred at least once), this section contains a brief overview of what to expect during the mating and reproduction process.

A dog should be at least 20 months old before it begins to mate. Most female dogs go into heat (estrus) twice each year. During the middle portion of estrus, the female will become receptive to male dogs. She will indicate her preparedness by standing still among male dogs and "flagging" her tail (moving it to one side).

When this occurs, the female dog should be introduced to a male dog (the mating will be more successful if it takes place on the male’s territory). If the dogs appear compatible and the female is receptive, mating can be allowed to proceed. Though ejaculation usually takes less than a minute after coupling, the dogs may remain connected or "tied" for as long as 40 minutes. Shortly after ejaculation, the male will dismount and, still connected to the female, may turn so that he is facing away from her. This uncomfortable-looking maneuver is natural and to be expected. The mating can be repeated every second day, until the female rejects the male.

expert tipEXPERT TIP: Female dogs can be impregnated by more than one dog. In theory, a single litter could contain puppies with several different fathers.

Comments (2)

Chapter 8: Dog Health Care

Comments for This Page (2)  |  Post a Comment

A dog should be at least 24 months old, two years, preferrably three before breeding. Not sure where you got 20 months from. Dogs hips/elbows/etc cant be eval'ed by OFA until 24 months so there is no reason to breed before that.

barked by Ashley on Apr 7, 2008 AT 6:18 pm PDT
1 person found this comment helpful.
Helpful? Y / N    Report this Comment

I am glad this information is here because I know stuff about dogs but not thier medical problems and how to best deal with it but most of this information in this manual I never knew.... Thank you to the creater of this site.... Awsome....

barked by Alex Drake on Dec 26, 2008 AT 12:08 pm PST
Helpful? Y / N    Report this Comment

Post a Comment for This Page

Please log in or register to post a comment.

Email
Password:

Quirk BooksThe Dog Owner's Manual is a basic guide to dog care.
The book was written by a celebrated veterinarian and an acclaimed author. It provides dog owners with well-researched and helpful information presented in a lighthearted manner. The creators chose to write the book in a style similar to what you'd find in "operating instructions" for a car or computer. Of course they--and we--respect the fact that our beloved pets are not products or machines!