Reproductive problem and funky heat cycle - Page 1

I am really upset as this was a breeding I have been looking forward to for quite a while. We planned to keep any and possibly all males out of this litter to train and evaluate as our next stud/competition dog. We have been preparing for this breeding for months now (all of the testing, yadda yadda) and when the bitch finally appeared to come into season she did not "swell" very much. She has stayed fairly small and has not really swelled to what I consider a normal size (this is not her first heat cycle as she is a 3 year old). However, every other sign has been classic. Bleeding until day 12 and became very receptive towards the male on day 15. We did not manage to get a tie on day 15, but I didn't worry overly much. We're now on day 16 and the male has actually penetrated several times, but it is almost as if something is blocking his pathway.

I have had 6 successful litters in my lifetime and have never had this much trouble with a breeding.

So, after doing some research I see that a vulva that fails to swell properly is often times a sign of being too narrow for the male to accomodate. Several websites suggest AI. My issue is not with AI, but with the ethics of breeding a dog with a conformational defect. My concerns are that if she is too narrow for a natural mating, will she also be too narrow for an easy delivery? I do not want to breed a bitch that is going to be a guaranteed C-section. I also worry about passing this defect onto offpspring.

So, have any of you breeders out there had this issue before? If you did use AI, how did the delivery go? Did you check to see if any offspring had the same defect?

I am wanting to do research on this problem before deciding if we should actually breed this bitch. This is my dream breeding and I see my future dream pup flushing down the toilet, but at the same time I don't want to breed if this is a serious defect with future ill consequences. Anyhow, would love to hear from anyone with similar experiences.

There are bitches with hooded Vaginas. Penetration by the male is basically impossible and very painful. A top Surgeon can perform a vaginal lift, and break down (rupture) the persistant hyman.   After the surgery, the bitch can breed and deliver pups with no problem.