Handling a Dog Bitch in Heat

Don't be fooled, however, by this apparent behavior of denial; it is precisely in the last days of the mating period that your female dog will suddenly become active and lose all inhibitions. The female dog differentiates herself from other animal due to a peculiarity: she is willing to be mated for 6 to 8 days, and accepts any male dog. Impregnation or fertilization does not, however, take place during this period! The female dog collects the sperm from the different possible fathers throughout a week – whenever she has a chance to, of course – and only then are her ovaries fertilizable. This explains why you can, in one same litter, not only find purebred puppies, but also mutts. This means that, as owner of the dog, you must keep a close eye on her, even after the purebred male dog has fulfilled his duty. Nevertheless, in a mixed breed litter, the purebred puppies will be clean and irreproachable. Even though a breeder might shake his head, the puppies are as pure as they can get. During this mating period, at home you will notice a lot of commotion and filth, besides a litter of crying puppies in a, possibly, inappropriate moment. Therefore, it is up to you if you want to take any measures to avoid your dog from getting impregnated. There are a number of ways to do so: you can put off or inhibit your dog's sexual desire, or even sterilize her.