Expert: Renee Cox - 1/31/2008

Question
QUESTION: my female boxer, about 5 yrs has had a litter before we adopted her, our male is about 4 yr. my question is that she has gone into heat 3 times since we have had her,she wants to mate,  and they seem to be trying to mate, the problem is him, he mounts her and his male part doesnt  noticeable come out to penetrate her.any help???

ANSWER: Hi. I have to ask a quick qestion here. Has your male ever been successfully bred before, has he actually ever sired pups? And have you ever seen your male's penis come out from it's sheath? If not, then you may need to take him to the vet to have his penis checked out. I know that sounds odd, but if the skin around his penis is too tight, it may not be letting it come out. And what day of her cycle is she on? Please answer these questions so I can give you a better answer. :-)

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QUESTION: i dont know if he ever sired pups..he was about 3yr when we got him. No i have never seen his penis come out, never. As soon as the female is ready, she does all the signs, the tale to the side and she really wants to do it, so does he, over and over all day long thats all they do, seems like. i have had male dogs before and know that sometimes when they sit, the penis comes out, never have seen this on my boxer male though, but what you say about the sheath being too tight makes sense, he does get a large area of swelling around that area while they are trying to mate. thanks for the info i hope my answers can help.

Answer
I think that's what the problem is here. I'd take him to the vet and see if he has a problem there. The vet may be able to fix it for him. It should be pretty simple. I honestly don't think that you'll have any luck breeding him until this problem is taken care of. I wish that I could help you more, but this is something that a vet needs to see. Please let me know how it turns out.