A Breeding Question - Page 1

I'm hopefully getting a puppy from this litter so I have a question. The breeder told me that they had to take the female to the vet to do an AI. They said that the stud could not get a "tie" on the female... Please inform me what they meant? I was kind of embarrased to ask so I thought I'd come here. Is this "tie" a fault of either dog and is it common? And is AI the only resort to this situation? Never plan to be a breeder but I'd like to be educated in many areas and this one sounded interesting to me. Thanks, Leo

Leo, The breeder is saying the two dogs would not mate naturally. This can be caused by many factors. The female may not like the male. The female may not like the whole process. The male may not like the female. The breeder may not be able to control both dogs during the breeding process. There are others. AI means artificial insemination. The vet collected the male and placed the sperm into the female.

A tie is when the male and female successfully breed.... without getting too graphic... the female actually will lock around the males penis. A bulbous area forms when the dog is erect and she locks behind that area, thereby "tieing" the dog to her.... they are physically stuck together... don't be embarassed, as a 20 year old - I actually called an emergency vet hospital because I thought the next door neighbors dog was in trouble. The kind person at the vet hospital patiently explained more than once what happens when dogs breed and I kept on saying but you don't understand!! A tie, BTW, can last anywhere from 5 mins to 25 mins... An AI is an artificial insemination... most commonly used to accomplish breedings that cover a great distance and very commonly used for livestock breeding... much safer for all involved. On occasion, a dog cannot cover a bitch, I'm sure you will hear all kinds of opinion (probably soon) about whether one or the other should or should not be bred, I think there are lots of situations and reasons for AI and although I would prefer that my male and/or my bitch were good natural breeders, I would not totally rule out using an AI under the right circumstances.... Just my opinion... Hope this helps