Heat cycle - Page 2

Thanks wazzup,
Thats very much in the nieghborhood of what I was wondering, Now is it correct.

Mustangz,
Someone asked me privately and I really didn't have an iron clad answer.

Perhaps someone else also has another answer yet to be heard.

Mustangz,
Some say skipping a day allows the male to refresh sperm cells.  
Dogs vary has always been my experience, I've never had a problem breeding.  I usually rely on my dogs to decide when.

Moons.

Thank you both on your reply..

I'll remember that. lol i didnt even think of the male for a minute there

Correct dates are always tricky. I think the best would be hormonal testing. Then again some say that the semen can last upto 4 days in the bitch which means that she will get pregnant.

I count the first blood seen as day 2 as day 1 is very light and cannot be noticed. I also look for the flagging side when the rear is touched. Dates vary from breed to breed. Toy breeds can be crossed by the 6 day, larger breeds by the 9th day. Giant breeds much later again, these will chage depending on the bitch. These are just a guide line and a breeder should know there dogs.

Does anyone agree with Wuzzup, 18 hours?
Not knowing is starting to wear on my nerves.

Soon as I see the first speck of blood day two, then  count and breed the 12th day and 14th.  I feel like I get more uniformed litters later into the cycle and I have had a 98% conception rate.  As we know the female makes the size of litters and males make the sex, if the male is checked and very fertile chances are you get a nice size litter of healthy puppies.

I always have the female checked after whelping and weaning the pups to make sure she is clean and free of any infection and skip next heat of course.  Usually this would be late summer or fall heat and then spring breed for next litter.  I always worm the female before breeding and give a shot of Vanguard 7.

Moons now it is wearing on my nerves. Am I the only one who has had this conversation with their vet ? I will ask her again ,she gets really upset if I don't listen to her the first time she tells me something . At the risk of her wrath I will ask her again . SIGH !! Yes she is old but she is smart (no nonsense). Her husband is a large animal  vet. Her son in law is a large animal vet her daughter went to vet school(she failed algebra) so she is a vet tech, and she has a younger daughter in vet school now . Every one gets so caught up with the male they must have forgot to ask about the female . Can any one answer the question so I don't get the lecture from my vet for having her go over it with me again  ?

Hi Wuzzup,
Its not that big of a deal, never piss off your vet if they are treating you right and you like them.
I did figure to get more answers but thats ok too.
I believe that a bitch releases X number of eggs each cycle, fertilization is first come first serve. 
How long between the time they are ready and the time they are no longer viable, I always figured that in days but your vet could be right .
Moons.

They have been our vets for 40 years moons , I would say even when she frowns she treats me right . She just thinks after 40 years of telling me and showing me things( I really never wanted to see or know) , I should already know the answers. Some times she has made me help with things for the not so faint of heart.  Especially when it's my own pets she taught me on . I always think she is teaching me something new . She wants me prepared for the day she is no longer around . I had an after thought ..I had the conversation with her about the eggs only being viable for 18 hours back in 1982 LOL. Maybe she forgot , Maybe they have some newer research . She will share it with me , from what I looked up on my own I would say 2 days viable is a stretch ,Ya can't believe every thing ya read on the internet .

I have never had a GSD female experience estrus (both parners excited) before Day 13, more often 15-18. I breed the female live every other day from the time the bitch will stand till she won't or my dog loses interest. I have rarely missed this way. If the dog hasn't bred in awhile, I will breed the first two days in a row, about 24 hrs. apart, because when I have looked at sperm from 1st collection to 2nd, 24 hrs apart, on a dog that hasn't bred for a few months, I sometimes see more concentration & quality the second day.

SS

The better quality on the second collection could be why the difference in puppy size at birth, better quality healthier sperm healthier pups . Not the conception time at all ?