pregnancy

Question
hi, i have a male shepard appox 18 months old. i also have a female shepard appox 8 months. i pland TO BREED THE PAIR WHEN THE FEMALE IS ABOUT 2 YRS OLD.  MY QUESTION IS THAT MY FEMALE JUST STARTED TO BLEED. DO I KEEP THEM APART? AND IF SO. AT WHAT POINT? AND HOW LONG DO I DO THIS FOR? PLEASE HELP. THANK YOU.

Answer
Hi Phi, A dog's heat cycle breaks done into 3 segments basically. The 1st 7-10 days, they tend to bleed heavier and will not accept a male, the 2nd 7-10 day segment their vulva will swell and they will be willing to accept a male. The last segment also will last approx. 7-10 days and they will be going out of heat and not accept a male. So bascially to play it safe, you should keep them away from the male for 3 weeks from the time you notice the bleeding since, unless you have a vet do a smear, you will not know where exactly they are in the cycle at a given time.  Hope this helps,

Dawn