Mating Success!

Mieke and Abe "tied"

Finally....after all the testing, the assessments, the travelling...it was time! I suppose a bit anti-climatic....nearly two years in the planning, a 1,500 mile round trip, for half an hour of "romance"! We did it though, and hopefully in roughly 8 weeks we will be home to the third litter ever to be born in the UK.

The lucky man was one "Abe fan it Roekebosk"....and what a gorgeous dog he is!

Abe fan it Roekebosk

Abe (pronounced "Abba") is a 6 year old brown and white Stabij, the colouring is recessive, so it's a fair bit rarer than the black and white colouring. We will be very unlikely indeed to have any brown and white pups ourselves, as far as we know Mieke will contribute all B & W genes, so her babies will be B & W, but carry the brown gene - good news for the future population, as next generation we could well have some brown puppies :) We had to travel to Schnijdel, in South Holland, to visit Helma and Martien at their very beautiful little farm, they were absolutly fantastic with us, so hospitable, and beautiful dogs! 

Mieke was fairly late ovulating in her season, we needed up travelling across on day 16 of her cycle, almost a week later than we had originally expected. That's one reason why the progesterone tests are so great, it gives us a really good indicator of when she will be ready, and we can be given a "best day" to have the mating done, which if you are travelling a distance - even in the UK - is a really useful thing to know.

If you're mating a dog for the first time, it can be a strange occasion! Most people thin that you just pop the dogs in the garden, and nature will take care of itself! This can happen of course, though it's not advised! First time bitches - or "maidens" can be snappy and scared when the male tries to have his way, or can get frightened during the "tie" because they can't get away from the male. The dogs are "tied" together for often up to half an hour - longer is possible but not common - as you can see in the picture at the top. This is necessary for all the little swimmers that have been released to be flushed fully into the uterus, but for some bitches it's a strange and possibly uncomfortable experience. It's essential to keep hold of both dogs during this time, as if one of them gets frightened and sets off, serious damage can be done, especially to the male.

Tied together

First time dogs  have their own concerns - don't laugh - they don't always work out where "it" goes! With Shelties, the long coat makes things even more complex! If possible, it's unadvisable to use two first timers together, especially if the individuals aren't that laid back....you can picture the scene with a fidgety bitch who's getting fed up with being mounted this way and that, and when the dog does managed to find where he's going, she freaks out and snaps at him. In no time at all, you have two stressed dogs and flustered owners! For a first time dog, try and find a bitch who isn't going to put him off for life by putting up a fight, and for a first time bitch, it's far easier to use a dog who knows what he's doing, before she knows where she's at its "Wham, Bam, thank you ma'am"!

It can of course go perfectly smoothly :) and many have mated two first timers with success! But it helps to go prepared with what can happen....Mieke was fine for the first bit - stood like a rock - but when he got off she obviously expected him to wander off - not be stuck to her! She freaked out, but we were ready for her and had her calmed down in a minute or so. We knew it wasn't pain, just fear at the unknown, and once she calmed down, she was fine.

Next time...So You Want to Breed? Where to start...