trying to breed-trouble hitting the target

Question
Hi Kim,

Tried to breed my 3 yo male toy poodle to a 2 yo toy poodle today.  The male is taller than the female, he mounts & immediately starts banging away without trying to find the target and he is way way off.  He ejaculated and then swelled up as if he was tied in but wasn't.  

Any advice on how to help the dogs connect?

Also, the female didn't bleed at the beginning of her cycle so we don't know what day she's at, but she is flagging her tail, very receptive, and he is very interested, so she is definitely in heat.

Answer
Hello Sue,
Some males are just like that.  So Gung Ho that they don't stop and think how to do "it", they just mount the female anywhere and do their thing.  
You might have to step in and help guide him into proper position.  Sometimes the male will refuse help, so you have to get him used to you helping so that he will let you help.
Try to guide him into the right spot on the female.  If nothing else, you may have to have him ejaculate into a jar, bottle or tube, and then using a syringe, insert it into the female.  

Females usually will accept a male around the 9th day of their heat cycle, then will continue accepting the male for about a week and a half.  Once she stops accepting a male (or the male refuses to mate with her anymore) she has gone out of heat.  
We tend to breed the dogs every other day until she refuses him.  This gives the male time to build up his sperm stocks and gives the female a break, while also allowing you to catch her at her peak breeding time.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions about breeding or just Poodle questions in general, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim