breeding my boston terrier

Question
I'm about to give up on my female boston accepting a male.  She is now in her heat and will not accept the male boston picked out for her.  She's 3 years old but we want to breed her with my daughter's male boston.  He is staying here with us during her time.  Is there anything I can do to get her to accept him?

Answer
Hi Sheyanne.  The most common reason for the female to refuse a male is the timing of the heat cycle.  Please read the following and I think you will better understand the proper timing for mating your dogs.  

The first sign that a female dog is nearing her "heat cycle" is the appearance of the vaginal area.  This area will swell and become very visible (in some cases appearing 5 times larger than before).    This process normally occurs approx.  7 - 10 days before the female actually comes into heat.  The heat cycle, that will follow, is normally in four stages as follows;

Proestrus Stage:   This stage begins with the appearance of vaginal bleeding and normally lasts between 4 to 9 days.   Male dogs will be very interested in the female; however, she will not be interested in them, and will actually bite and reject a male if he advances.

Estrus Stage:   The vaginal discharge is more yellowish than bloody. Ordinarily, this stage lasts for 4 to 13 days, and is the time the female will accept the male and actual mating can occur.  

Metestrus and Anestrus:   These final 2 stages are periods of ovarian activity, but with no significant outward signs. False pregnancies frequently occur during metestrus.

Good luck, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have additional questions.  Sincerely, Penny D.