when is the best time to mate

Question
Hi Kim

I have a 2.5yrs old female who has never been bred before. I am planning to breed her. She is now having season and today is her 6th day. I've done some research about breeding, some people said the best time to mate is between the 9th - 13th day of the heat cycle, but some say the color of the discharge is better indicator whether the female is ready.
The stud owner ask me to bring my girl at the 10th day of her heat cycle and other mating at the 12th day. But I found the color of my dog's discharge become much lighter than yesterday, which it change from very red to light red (almost like pink) and the volume is getting less as well. Is this indicates my dog should be mated as soon as possible? should I wait for the color become 'tan'? Or should I go to the stud at the 10th day as the stud owner asked?
As the stud owner only offer two mating, I really don't want to miss out the best time.

Could you please give me your advice. Thanks
Looking forward to hearding from you.

Answer
Hello Mia,
I would stick with going to the Stud at day 10 and 12.  The sperm can stay active for about a day, so this gives the female time to get the eggs where they need to be and the male time to make more sperm for the second breeding.  
As soon as the breeding is complete (as soon as the male slides out of the female) hold the females rear legs up for about 3-5 minutes, to give the sperm a better chance to reach the egg and then put her in a crate so that she doesn't potty for about 30 min.

The male will let you know if she is ready or not.  If she isn't in standing heat, she isn't quite ready yet and the male won't try to mate.  You can also "tickle" her valva and see if she will "flag" her tail.  When she does this, this indicates that she is in Standing Heat.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim