First breeding did not take - questions

[RoyalGermanShep09]

We bread our 2 1/2 yr female 45 days ago and had her tested this morning via radio graph and they said that she did not take. The male was experienced with 5 litters but I was wondering if there is anything that we can do next time she comes in heat to better the chances.

Note - we will be going back to the same stud as we have a free mating in the contract if the first one did not take.

[WVGSD]

Without knowing the specifics of your female's breeding attempt, it is hard to know what to recommend. It might help if these questions were answered:

When did you breed your female in her cycle?
Was there more than one breeding? If so, how many over how many days and how far apart?
Were the breedings witnessed and assisted?
Did you do ovulation testing or just put her with the male when she would stand for the breeding?
Has the male's semen been tested for motility and count?
How old is the male?

[RoyalGermanShep09]

When did you breed your female in her cycle?
She started bleeding on 08/13 and we breed her on 08/24
Was there more than one breeding? If so, how many over how many days and how far apart?
We breed her for 4 days - once a day and about 24 hours in between
Were the breedings witnessed and assisted?
The owner of the stud assisted on all breedings and I witnessed 2 of the 4 and the owner of the stud sent me pictures of the other 2.
Did you do ovulation testing or just put her with the male when she would stand for the breeding?
We did not do any ovulation testing - we just put her with the male as I had heard that any where from 9-13 days from the time of starting.
Has the male's semen been tested for motility and count?
I do not know if the males semen has been tested but I will ask
How old is the male?
The male is 4 1/2

[kayek9]

Next time I would definitely do progesterone testing on her. You may have been early or late with your breeding dates. Without the testing, you don't know exactly when she has ovulated. I have a friend who's bitch needs to be bred on day 8 in her cycle, very early. Some bitches ovulate very late, one of mine was bred on days 16 and 18 according to the progesterone and had 6 healthy puppies. Without progesterone, I would have instinctively bred her on days 12 and 14, I would have missed her. It's been my experience that most males, no matter how experienced they are, will breed any bitch in season when presented to them, they are not a true indicator of when she is ready. You may also want to have her thyroid checked, that can sometimes be the culprit when bitches don't conceive. Good luck next time!!

[WVGSD]

A friend of mine with a Mastiff had to breed this female on day 5 of her cycle as she ouvlated on day 3. One of my personal dogs will stand for a male from day 3 to about 21. I know because my neutered male mixed breed dog is her very favorite . The last time I bred her, I finally did ovulation testing and she did not ovulate until day 17. We missed two litters because I brought her to the male between days 10 and 14 rather than do the progesterone blood levels. Another younger female of mine was sent to the male on day 9 but would not stand until day 16. She bred five times over a course of five days and we got nine puppies. This was my last litter.

The next time that you want to breed her, you might want to do the progesterone levels. They should start about three days after you see the first blood and continue every two to three days until you see the ovulation peak. Two days after that peak is when conception is most likely to happen as the ova have traveled to the uterus for fertilization.

I spent a long time on the telephone with a reproductive vet in Kansas City, Kansas in my last attempt to get the timing right on my one female because she would stand for so long, but had a short window late in her heat cycle where she actually would conceive. The money for the multiple progesterone levels was less than airfare and two round-trip drives to Kansas City.

[wyominggrandma]

I would also suggest progestrone testing. You will want to do it as soon as she comes in. Then they will test her until she is ready.
I have known bitches to breed on day 4 and I have know bitches to breed and take on day 21. Maybe she is not ovulating at all.
Progestrone testing will be the only way to tell you when the eggs are ready for fertilization.

[selzer]

I am guessing your timing was off. You were going by the day some book says bitches are ready to be bred. A bitch may need to be bred prior to day six, or may take on day 21. It is really hard to gage that without testing.

Usually we breed every other day or every third day even. The sperm can last in there for a while. So if you bred today, tomorrow, and the next day, some of that sperm is totally unnecessary.

Actually dogs have enough sperm in one shot to impregnate all the dogs in dogdom, but I understand that if a dog is over-used, he might need time to rebuild. Building up a dog's sperm is really difficult -- takes a long time. I do not know if four times, four days would do it, but if the dog was used for another female just prior, I suppose it depends.

It takes 63 days to grow the sperm, so sperms can be killed or injured in the prior two months. If a dog is overheated for example -- I heard of a show dog having a terrible time siring a litter, and they found that the handler was using a hair dryer and the sperms actually got fried.

Again, it is probably just timing.