proffesional dog breeder advice. UPDATE: We have a tie!

So our AKC registered female Beagle is now in her fourth heat. She is just over two years old. We noticed the bleeding on monday the 28th. We have long been waiting for this heat. She has had all her blood work done, been checked over by our vet again last Wednesday, just to be sure everything is good to go. On Monday the 4th we took her to my father in laws (he has the male beagle, again all his blood work has been done, and he was in for his check up last month. He is three) He sniffed at her and walked away, we considered leaving her there, but my father in law is elderly and his dog is an outside dog, ours is a house dog, and my Annie girl has a tendency to escape easily (beagle trait) its hard for us to get her to come back, it would be impossible for my father in law to. Also there are many unaltered male dogs near their farm. We have none for miles around us. So we brought Brutus back with us.
First day we kept them together all day. Yesterday we finished fencing off the yard, he jumps the fence 2 minutes later, so we have been tying him unless we are out there, and letting her run loose in the pen. He still will sniff her, lick her, and then walk off. Maybe she is not quite there yet? Sometimes she will just stand there and let him, other times she will turn away or kinda run a little bit, I kind of think she wants him to chase her. He just walks off. Our Neutered male lab is more interested in her then Brutus is. He will try to mount her.
So the vet says there is no medical reason he can't breed. Is it possible he just doesn't want to? They have not bred him before. Though he does get to run loose for about a hour every day, so perhaps he bred some dog they don't know about. So to all you experienced dog breeders, have you ever had this happen before? We had a stud beagle about 10 years ago and it was never an issue, the owners would bring the girl over and he would immediately mount her or chase her till she let him. He was 2 when we first bred him and only did it maybe once a year.

Don't know if it matters or not, but they are also both trained hunting dogs. Also yes we have homes lined up for up to 9 puppies (hoping for many less then that, but just in case).

I do know a family from work that raises beagles, they offered stud service to Annie, but my father in law was so excited about using Brutus, and he went to all the trouble and cost of getting his blood work done etc. and he wants one of the puppies, so I would really like Brutus to be the father, if its at all possible.

Here are some pictures from today and yesterday.

This is Brutus



This is Annie (the second one is from last fall, she loves cats)



Brutus and Annie



any suggestions appreciated, I admit, I thought this would be the easiest part of the whole process.

Hmmm..that mean she's on day 14 of her cycle. Two things could be going on, you may have missed ovulation or she may be having a late ovulatory cycle. Male dogs know when a female is ovulating and you'll know too by her signs. When he sniffs her does her tail move to the side??? Thats called flagging and it is an indication that she is close to ovulation or ovulating and will fully accept the male. If her tail isn't flagging but she is still just flirting with him, she's not ready and he knows it.

I would try again daily until you know her cycle is over. Sometimes dogs cycle late or early just like people do. Watch for her flagging and flirting to be really over the top LOL.

ok thank you that is good advice. I was kind of thinking that she just wasn't quite ready yet. I remember her last few heats, toward the end she would stand completely still with her tail to the side and let our neutered lab mount her. I am just worried that Brutus doesn't even try to mount her, when our neutered lab does! Will keep updating what happens.

You might also try crating Brutus prior to going over to his home. Keep him in the crate outside the yard you'd have Annie in. Sometimes if the male can see the female, but he's confined and just has to watch her for a while, you'll get a much more positive response when he's released from the crate or kennel. Then you might really find out how interested he is, this is called building "drive". If she's not flagging yet, she's just not ready, but you can still test Brutus this way if you're really worried that he's uninterested.

Was the Lab always neutered? meaning he's never been bred? Sometimes neutered dogs with no experience miss the cues and just mount because their instincts tell them too.
Yes Breeding is a primative thing for animals... but it still takes skill and finesse. Maybe Brutus is "finessing" Annie? lol
But i think the others are right.. Annie just isn't quite there yet so Brutus won't expend the energy yet.

Jamie, by my calculations she's on day 11 which might still be a little early depending upon the b+tch. In addition to "flagging" another indicator of readiness is the color of the vaginal discharge. Bright red indicates too early, light pink to straw color generally indicates that she is getting ready to ovulate. Some males just have a low libido and especially if never bred before can be difficult to breed. If he shows no interest by day 13, I would recommend trying another male. Edited to add that although he is neutered, your lab may be able to penetrate and tie the female. My daughter's lab/dalmatian actually did this to her lab female. Needless to say there were no pups.

I raise toy poodles and the girls always flirt and play with the boys in he beginning but when they try to mount them the girls say no in no uncertain terms, then when shes ready she will stand and flag for them. but she sounds like she is very close.

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LOL I think you're correct. Sorry! Yeah day 11 is too early, usually a bi.tch will be receptive after days 12-13 but some are not receptive until day 15.

Thanks guys, I just have never been around an intact male that didn't at least attempt to mount. She is still not into letting him sniff her much, so we will wait a bit longer. I am just so worried we will miss it. Seems like we have waited forever for this and I don't want anything to go wrong. Her discharge is still red, though there seems to be less of it. I guess I should of paid closer attention to her last heats, then I would have a better clue, so like if he hasn't bred her by monday, find another male? I want to give him as much time as possible without waiting to long.
Also I don't know when our lab was fixed, he was rescued from a shelter by my sister in law. She had him for almost two years when a guest at her house opened the door because he was barking at these kids on the sidewalk. He ran out and jumped for one of the kids ice cream cones (the dog loves food) he nicked the kids hand, no stitches needed even, but he was deemed a "vicious dog" and is no longer alowed in the city limits. So he came to live here, he is so not vicious, my nephews climb all over him, he loves kids, hes just a big dog, a strong dog, and I think he startled the kid more then anything. He was fixed when she got him from the pound (like already fixed) and he was 2 then. So I don't know when, he has a bad habit of humping though, when new people come over especially guys he will follow them around humping the air! Its a little embarrassing but he has so many good quality's it makes up for it.


What a vicious dog right?

She sounds a little early. If you really want to know take her in and get a progesterone test. When people are shipping grump to me, I have them do one at seven days, then 10, to get a good idea on how things are progressing, but since you have male and female both there, you would really only need one if you are set on using that male. Some males know when the female is ready and won't waste time if they aren't (and sorry to say your lab has some issues in the humping department, so don't judge off of him, Lol). If brutus runs loose, chances are he has come across a female in heat and has bred or tried to breed (hope brucellosis was in your testing you had done) if he got beat up by a female that wasn't ready, he may be alittle reluctant to try again. Dont' leave them together, keep them separate for a day and try again. Get a prog. test done on her if you want to know for sure when you need to start looking for a different male.