Mating Problem?

DON’T be deceived by anybody, it is a known fact that majority of those who own bitches principally acquire them for puppy making.

Although many may feign love for the dogs, the true extent of the relationship may not be known until the bitch fails in her duty to procreate as expected of her.

I have seen so many owners who suddenly lose interest in their pets simply because she proved to be barren or suspected to be so.

But like in all reproductive problems, three factors may be responsible for a bitch not having puppies.

They are simply the male, the female and the environmental factors, which in itself can be very diverse.

The common mistake I have observed with people is to sentence the bitch and label her barren without considering other contributing indices that could make her pregnant.

Firstly, a lot of pet owners are not very knowledgeable about the biology of the dog’s reproductive cycle.

Dog, in this case, refers to the dog and the bitch. Germane questions are:
– How good is the male?
– Is he an experienced male?
– Is he matured enough to mate?
– How frequently is he being used?
– Does he have any health issue/any known sexually transmitted condition?
– Any scrotal/testicular problem?
– Has he always been fed well?
– Does he have musculoskeletal problems?
– Is he genetically excluded from some autoimmune problems?
  As for the bitch, relevant enquiries may include:
– Is she mature enough? It is suggested that the bitch is mated by the second or third heat. Have you mated yours earlier?
– Was she on heat?
– Was she mated on the right day (s) of her cycle?
– Was she harbouring any disease?
– Was she being fed well?
– Does she cooperate when being mated?
– Does she have a genetic predisposition to pseudo-pregnancy?

When all of these are individually considered and your pet still does not get pregnant, you may need to scratch on environmental factors, which are largely beyond the control of the affected pets.

We would consider these next week.