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Our pet's sexuality: breeding and mounting.
Responsible Breeding
In general we don't encourage dog breeding for two reasons. Firstly, it benefits your dog's health to be spayed or neutered. Spaying before the first heat almost completely eliminates the chance of mammary cancer in dogs. Spaying also prevents uterine infections and tumors of the reproductive tract. Neutering your male dog will eliminate testicular cancer and markedly decrease the potential for prostatic problems. The second reason is the large numbers of animals currently in our shelters and abandoned on the streets. Approximately 6-10 million dogs and cats are killed every year in shelters in the US. Over 56% of dogs that are placed in shelters are killed. US taxpayers pay approximately two billion dollars a year to capture, care for, euthanize and dispose of homeless animals. Having said that, if you are still interested in breeding than it is important to do it responsibly.
The purpose of responsible breeding is for the improvement of the breed. This means that every attempt to conform to the breed standards for appearance, soundness (health), working ability and temperament should be made. You may wish to contact the national breed club for your breed to find out what these standards are as well as for other information regarding breeding. For AKC approved breeds the website for the National Breed Clubs is http://clubs.akc.org/. The National Breed Club for your breed is also a good resource for you to learn what kinds of health clearances should be met before breeding. Some of the other tests/certification available and recommended for some breeds are thyroid tests, cardiac (heart) work up, tests for blood disorders, and genetic testing. All dogs should have a complete physical exam prior to breeding. A Brucella canis test should be performed one month before breeding to test for this sexually transmittable disease.
Many breeds require hip and eye certification to breed responsibly. More information regarding eye certification can be gained at the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) website at www.vmdb.org. CERF exams must be performed by a Veterinary Ophthalmologist; your regular veterinarian can recommend an Ophthalmologist in your area. CERF exams should be done on an annual basis. Hip (and elbow) certification is through the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA); their website is http://www.offa.org. Some veterinarians will take OFA radiographs (x-rays). A dog needs to be two years old to be OFA certified.
If your dog is free
from genetic diseases, has a good temperament, and conforms to the breed
standards the other things you have to consider before breeding include
the breeding process itself: pregnancy, delivery, puppy raising and adoption.
You may want to purchase one or more books on the subject of canine reproduction
to learn more about these aspects. One such book is Canine Reproduction:
A Breeder's Guide 2nd Edition by Phyllis Holst. Some questions to consider
are the following: Do you have the time, energy, living space, and financial
ability to provide for your dog and the puppies? (Consider emergency care
as not all births go well, and puppies can be more susceptible to certain
diseases. Some puppies may require bottle-feeding and, therefore, around
the clock care. Newborn puppies are not house trained and the area where
they are kept (and possibly the puppies) will require multiple cleanings
a day.) Are you willing and able to care for and properly socialize the
puppies until good homes can be found? (Consider that young puppyhood
is the most important time in a puppy's social development and it is important
to provide a breadth of experiences so they will behave in a socially
acceptable manner later on.) Are you willing to screen potential buyers
so that you can find the best homes for all of the puppies? If you are
not able to find good homes for the puppies early on are you willing to
keep them for as long as it takes to find appropriate homes? If at anytime
one or more of the adoptive families are not able to keep and care for
one or more of your puppies are you willing to take them back and provide
a home for them? (Consider where the puppies might end up if you are unwilling
to provide this service.)
After you have considered all of these aspects and you are still interested
in breeding, contact your veterinarian. He/she is your best resource for
getting started and preparing you for a successful experience. Do your
best to educate yourself about your breed and prepare yourself for any
contingency. Breeding can be a very rewarding enterprise when done for
the love of the dogs and the breed.
Mounting
Mounting behavior
in dogs can be very embarrassing for the dog's owner, but for the dog
it is perfectly normal. For dogs mounting behavior is not always sexual;
often it is a form of communication between dogs, a way to assert authority
or dominance, and even a way to get attention from their owners or other
humans. The other thing not to forget about this behavior is that it may
be a pleasurable experience for the dog.
While intact male dogs are the most likely to display mounting behavior,
neutered male dogs and even females, spayed or unspayed, may also enjoy
this activity. Neutering may help reduce the incidence of mounting in
50-80% of dogs, but only completely resolve the issue in about 25%. In
some dogs this behavior stops quite soon after being neutered and in some
dogs it takes several months to fade away.
If your adult dog has recently begun mounting it may be due to a medical
problem, or something happening in his/her environment. Consider if there
has been any changes in the household: marriage, divorce, new addition
(children or pets), visitors, arguments, relocating, or anything else
that could be stressful to the dog. Medical problems could be related
to the urinary tract, the parts of the reproductive tract remaining, or
one of the other hormones producing glands in the body.
Assuming that there is not an environmental trigger or medical problem
that could be treated directly, here are other ways to minimize mounting
behavior:
- Increase the amount of aerobic exercise the dog gets.
- Introducing a regular schedule of training and play.
- If people are being mounted, ignore the dog while
making the behavior
Impossible to express i.e. stand up if sitting or walk away if standing. - The use of a head halter for better physical control.
If a long lead it attached to
the head halter it is possible to disengage the dog from whatever is being
mounted without touching him/her and thereby giving him/her attention. - Interrupting the behavior from a distance i.e. with
a remote citronella spray,
collar, squirt gun, or noisemaker. - If the mounting occurs at predictable times, distracting
the dog from this
behavior with a toy, playtime with the owner, or responding to a command.
Sometimes special food stuffed toys like Kongs or Buster Cubes work well for
longer periods of distraction. - Boobytrapping the objects that may be mounted to deter their use.
- Pay a lot of attention to the dog when he/she is not mounting
- Provide your dog with a stuffed animal or special
blanket that it is allowed to
mount.
Remember that mounting is a normal behavior for dogs; some puppies play mount as early as 3-5 weeks of age. If you are seeking to eliminate mounting, don't accidentally reinforce the behavior by paying more attention to the dog when he/she is mounting. Neutering may help, although it may take several months to see a reduction in mounting after the neuter. If you are keeping your dog intact in the hopes of breeding him, don't scold him for mounting as this may affect his ability to breed later on.
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