Usually, the reason for the reluctance of the stud dog and the bitch to copulate lies in the simple fact that the timing is wrong. In other words, the dogs were brought together at the wrong time of the estrus cycle.
The rule of thumb, as we have explained before, is to bring the dogs together on the 8th, 10th and 12th days after you (the owner) have seen the first droplets of blood from the female. Now, please understand that we are dealing here with biology – and, in nature, things do not follow very exact rules and schedules, as, say, in mathematics. For example, if the owner did not observe the first signs of blood as the droplets emerged from the vagina, then it might be better to bring the dogs together on the 7th, 9th and 11th days after the bitch had the vaginal bleeding.
This bringing together of the dogs on the wrong day could result in other problems as well (besides the disinterest shown by both partners). For example, if a male (they seem to be always active and interested during the heat season) mounts an unreceptive female during proestrus (the period before the actual standing heat) and she constantly rejects him, even snarls and bites him, he may lose total interest – even when she is ready and receptive later on.
The advice here is that if she snarls, jumps away when he wants to mount, sits down as he makes an approach, or bites (all quite normal proestrus behaviour), do not interpret that to mean that (i) that she is generally anti-male and (ii) that mating will not take place for this season. It might be simply the wrong time.
Separate the dogs, even take the one back home, and then return a day or two later. Continue this practice, until they mate. If they still will not mate, then we might be dealing with a more profound problem, even a psychological one. Very often we find that the male cannot breed because of a specific physical limitation, or he is generally impotent.
In passing, while we are dealing with this subject, I ought to refer to the question often posed to veterinarians, viz, is there such a thing as homosexual dogs? The answer quite simply is ‘yes.‘ Mammals have both male and female hormones within their bodies. In the male there would be a high level of the male hormone (testosterone), just as there is an overwhelming preponderance of the female hormones in female dogs. A very virile male would possess a male hormone level above the average.
If the male hormone production (for whatever reason) is very low in a male dog, we often observe feminine traits (less aggression, much more submissiveness, much more exhibition of affection, much less self-assertiveness, etc). In fact, one of the side effects of castration is that the male dog squats (like a bitch) when urinating. Similarly, when a female dog is spayed (the ovaries and womb are removed), one often observes her trying to raise her hind leg when voiding urine.
Next week, we will deal with some of these ‘mental’ problems and the issue of impotence in the male as a contributing factor to be considered in unwilling breeding dogs.
Until then, please check your animals’ vaccination certificates and confirm that their immunization record is up to date.
If not, please make sure that the pet is vaccinated quickly, since it seems that a Canine Distemper wave is currently infecting dogs living on the coastal belt.
Please implement disease preventative measures (vaccinations, routine dewormings, monthly anti-heartworm medication, etc) and adopt-a-pet from the GSPCA’s Animal Clinic and Shelter at Robb Street and Orange Walk, if you have the wherewithal to care well for the animals. Do not stray your unwanted pets, take them to the GSPCA’s Clinic and Shelter instead. If you do not wish your pet to have puppies or kittens, you may exploit the GSPCA’s free spay and neutering programme. If you see anyone being cruel to an animal, or if you need any technical information, please get in touch with the Clinic and Shelter by calling 226-4237.
