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Courtship and Mating of Dogs
By peace | April 7, 2006
Dogs reach puberty at about 6-9 months of age and learn the behaviour needed to mate (e.g. mounting) through play. Dogs are great individuals so bringing a bitch to a dog is probably the best way to do things. Then it saves the time the dog will waste establishing himself in a new territory and cocking his leg on everything in sight.
The female ‘presents’ by showing a receptive posture while the male smells and licks her genital area. She may run a short distance and present again to excite the dog. When in ‘standing estrus’, the dog will mount and gain entry by trial and error. He will then thrust vigorously stepping from one leg to the other. During this time ejaculation occurs.
The dog’s penis engorges for about 15-30 seconds in the vagina locking the pair together. The bitch may twist and turn and the pair may end up pointing in different directions for about 10-30 minutes. Throwing water over them will do no good at all! During this locked position a second ejaculation occurs when most of the prostate fluid is expelled.
Great damage can occur by pulling mating dogs apart. So if it’s an unplanned mating – be patient. Spend the time placating the bitch’s owner! The deed has been done so contact your veterinarian about an early abortion for the bitch.
Pregnancy
A bitch will reach puberty and show first heat from 6-18 months of age. If not pregnant she will return to heat every 6-9 months. Bitches spend a long time in ‘pro-estrus’ or coming into heat. This is annoying as all the dogs in the area think they should stay around, and wait for the great moment when she will stand.
While coming on heat, her vulva will become red and swollen and she passes a sticky mucous. As heat continues she will stand to be mounted before racing away to tease the male.
‘Standing heat’ occurs about 10 days after the start of coming into season, and lasts anything from 5-12 days. At this most receptive stage the vulval discharge changes to a pale straw colour, which will bring dogs for miles away. She also urinates regularly to spread the news and mark her territory. A good sign that she is ‘right on’ is when she urinates in the presence of a male, usually when he smells her genitals. If he doesn’t get the message then, he never will!
There are problems with inexperienced males who in all the excitement get things wrong. To avoid this, mate a young dog first to an old bitch, and vice versa. Some of the finer points of sexual behaviour have to be learned.
Pregnancy in a bitch lasts from 58-63 days.
Courtship and Penetration : A great deal of communication is involved during mating in Dogs. Breeding a male and a female requires that the two dogs be introduced. The ‘courting’ procsess involves (the dogs’) sniffing each other . Often times, the male will assert his dominance by putting his head across the female’s back or neck, and he will attempt to sniff her vulva to see if she is ready to breed. The female will not lift her tail if she is not ready to breed. She may also become aggressive if the male attempts to mount her. On the other hand, when she is ready, she will lift her tail to the side, and strut her legs. Usually, the male mounts the female several times before he achieves penetration. When penetration occurs, a large knot will form at the base of the penis, (inside the female), thus, locking the two dogs together.
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