 Smal
I am working with a 7lb, 3y/o maiden and a 3.5lb, 1.5y/o unproven male.
She showed first sign of heat (blood discharge) 11 days ago. It began turning pink on day 7, and she was willing to stand so we put her with the male.
The male being completely unexperienced, I expected him to have to take time to learn. With the size differance, I gave him about 1.5-2 inches of elevation. This seemed to help since he seemed to be straining to mount without it.
The first day ended with a missed tie, he was nowhere close when he finished but at lease we knew the female was ok with him.
The second day was him starting and stopping the entire time until he began getting tired so we separated them without anything happening.
The 3rd day was a slip tie that lasted maybe 30 seconds, maybe less.
The 4th day was another slip tie, this time I helped hold him for almost a minute before he completely slipped. It seemed like he never made it all of the way in.
The female is flagging and has showed zero sign of aggression and both were interested, so I saw no issue in trying once every 24 hours (giving the male plenty of time to learn). I have read that slip ties are common in smaller breeds, especially where there is a size difference in the smaller male.
Should I be expecting the possibility of only slip ties (because of the size difference) for this pair, or is there something else I can be doing to ensure a successful full tie? What can I be doing different? |