Expert: Renee Cox - 9/19/2007

Question
QUESTION: I have a boxer dog thats in her 2nd heat cycle, well i found a stud for her, well when she started her heat cycle, this is her 11th day, The stud, didn't find her interesting, only wanting to play with her thats it, she kept giving him signs, like hey I'm here, but nothing, he would sniff then want to play and then lay down, this is the first time for both dogs breeding, what can we do? any suggestions?

ANSWER: She may not be ovulating yet. A male dog usually knows when the right time is. If she's flagging and standing, then you may need to use a teaser dog. Put the stud up where he can see what's going but not be able to get to her. Have another male dog on a leash an introduce the teaser male to the female. That usually gets the male going, shows him what he's suppose to do. Just make sure the teaser doesn't actually breed her. She honestly may not be in the right time of her cycle yet. If you can get a teaser that's been bred before, he may be a better indication of what's going on with her. You can also have a progesterone test done to see if she's ovulating. However, many people suggest that you start this testing at the beginning of the cycle. If you try all of this, and still nothing, then the only thing I ca suggest is to use a different male because you can't force a male to breed.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I just wanted to say your answer with a teaser dog work, the stud i used got very interested in my female, when the other male was there, they did start breeding the 6th time they got stuck, so i heard that is a confim pregancy, is that true? Another thing is she is usually in heat for about 4 weeks well when she was almost 3 weeks into her heat cycle she stop, so is that another sign of pregancy, of course ill take her in a few weeks to confirm, what do you think?

Answer
That's great! I'm glad I could be of some help to you. Well, a tie doesn't absolutely mean the dog is pregnant. An indication that a dog may be pregnant is that her vulva may stay slightly more swollen after her heat cycle is over. You know, it's so frustrating. When you want a breeding to take place, you convince yourself that she is pregnant one day, that she's not the next. The best thing I can tell you is to just wait it out. We don't have pregnancy tests for dogs yet, and a dog's pregnancy symptoms may mirror that of a false pregnancy. You'll just have to wait her out. She may get morning sickness, she may start to lay around more, be more interested in food. Or, she may do none of these things. The only  thing I can tell you is to wait her out. If I can be of anymore help, let me know!