Mating and breeding

Question
Hi, we're planning on having our female Japanese Spitz mate with a male one. She's been having her menstrual cycle for two years already, so she's already hit puberty. What we don't know is when is the right time to have them mate with each other. Is it during the menstruation (unlike humans), a week after, ten days after? We aren't sure when dogs's ovulation starts either. If it's just like a human's or slightly different. Thanks!

Answer
The best way to insure pregnancy is to have your veterinarian run progesterone tests on your bitch. The next best thing after that would be to have him/her do a smear to check for cell cornification.

Ovulation will vary from bitch to bitch... with the most rare being early on, and next, late in the cycle. Most bitches ovulate at some point in the middle of their cycle.

Karen