Once you have everything set up, you can begin to actually do the breeding process for your puppies.
Again ,make sure that the dogs you are breeding are the correct age. You want to be sure that you have waited for the right amount of time, and that the dogs you are breeding are going to be at the prime condition for breeding.
Take your female and your male dog to the vet and make sure that they are ready to be bred. Have them checked out, and make sure that they are in the right health to breed. Get them up to date on their shots so that you know you will be breeding dogs that are healthy and will not have any shot problems to worry about.
Then, you can let nature work its magic. Your female dog will go into season about two times a year. This will be different depending on the breed. You will know that she is going to into season because there will be discharge that is noticeable from her. Anywhere from 5 to 10 days after you notice the discharge, the male dog will be interested in her. Most of the time, male dogs are interested in the female well before she is interested in them, so don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen as soon as you would like to happen .Simply allow your dogs to be alone together, and when the time is right, they’ll take care of the business.
Most breeders don’t do any assisting when it comes to the actual breeding. However, with some smaller breeds, or with females that need encouragement, some minor assistance, like holding the female in place, is required. You will need to experiment and see if your dogs need any assistance, or if they are ready to breed right away.
Once your dogs have bred, you will need to treat your female as if she is pregnant. For the first four weeks, keep her on her regular diet, but make sure that she has access to food whenever she is hungry. Don’t get her too excited and allow her to do what she would like to do. Keep exercising her, however.
For the second eight weeks, switch your pregnant dog to puppy food. This will help her get the right nutrients. Don’t do this before the 5 th week, however, as her body needs to produce several things at the start of her pregnancy to be healthy – and as puppy food might not allow this to happen.
Let your mama dog do what she wants to do, and keep in mind that she might be moody or more loving than usual. Keep her with you and keep her exercising as well. This is very important to good development of puppies.
Please note: This article is part of a collection of dog-related content that we purchased the rights to. Opinions expressed may or may not agree with those espoused by Master Dog Trainer Adam G. Katz. When in doubt, please refer to the advice given in Adam’s dog training book. This article is provided for your enjoyment, only. It’s relevance to real world working dog training may be limited.