Mostly ditto what Misty said above, but as far as breeding dates go I do progesterone testing so I know for sure when the best date is. After about day 4 or 5 of the heat cycle I have blood drawn and it is sent to a lab with results coming back the next day. I usually get some indication that progesterone is increasing on that first draw then a skip a day, do another draw and that one generally shows that ovulation is occurring or will occur very shortly. I usually do a breeding on the day of ovulation and then one 2 days later, because the eggs are not ready to be fertilized until 24-48 hours post-ovulation. Since sperm lives 5-7 days these two breedings are more than adequate. I have not missed a breeding since I started doing that. Some bitches ovulate very late in their cycles so breeding on what are the "traditional days" of somewhere between 9-15 might not work. Another advantage is that you have a much much firmer due date if you know when the bitch ovulated. |