What You Should Know About Your Dogs Heat Cycle
When your female dog is coming into her heat cycle
, the first sign is usually swelling of the vulva. Sometimes, the swelling will happen a week before starting to bleed, or sometimes right before. In addition, your female dog might start to act weird, trying to hump other female dogs, or your legs. You will probably notice that she is licking herself more than usual as well.
If you have more than one female dog, they will often all go into heat around the same time, since one going in heat will cause the others to follow suit. If you are thinking about breeding your dog, they should never be bred the first time they go into heat, and usually not the second either. It is wise to wait until they are between a year and a half to two years old. Her eggs are not mature yet, and you want to be sure she passes every health test after her heat cycle.
Most female dogs go through their first heat cycle between the ages of 6 months to one year. When you notice this happening, you can buy dog diapers to keep any blood from getting on your carpet or furniture.
How to put on a
Dog Diaper seasonals shows how in video.
Female dogs will usually go through their heat cycle once every six months. Usually, dogs are fertile about 12 days after they start to bleed. If you are going to breed your dog by taking them to a Sire, you need to take your female to the vet so they can tell you when the most opportune time for her to become pregnant is.
Puppies are born 63 days from ovulation, and not 63 days from the time they are bred. If inseminating your female dog, the third day of the egg life cycle is the right time, since this is when the eggs will be ripe. This is a good thing to remember when learning about the heat cycle, and the need for dog diapers during this time.
Male dogs can start producing sperm at seven months old, but they usually start at 10 months. Dogs at this age have immature sperm, and just about every male dog will have sperm by the time they are one year old. Dogs for stud are at their prime when they are between18 months and 5 years old. When they get older than that, they have lesser quality sperm, and by the time they are 10, they can usually not impregnate a female.
When dogs mate, they do what is known as a tie. This is where the bulbous gland of the male's penis swells when inside the female's vagina. They are essentially locked together for 15 to 20 minutes, and this is when the male ejaculates. When he is in the tie, he is releasing prostatic fluid inside the female.
Becoming stuck together is normal, so breeders shouldn't get scared if this occurs. However, it is smart to keep a close eye on them and make sure that they both stay as calm as possible. If the female is larger than the male, and moves around a lot, she can really hurt him. Some females cry as in pain when this occurs, some seem to want to get away, and some just stand there quietly.
When you know as much as possible about a dog's heat cycle, it can make caring for them easier and less surprising.
by: April Brien
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