Breeding Dachsunds

Question
We have a male that is not neutered.  A friend has a female in heat that she wants to breed with our male.  How long will she be able to get pregnant once she is in heat?  We need to get info because the female is staying with us and she is driving me nuts.

Answer
Hi Leah,  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.  This is when you can breed them.  You should breed them three times, on an every other day schedule.  The last segment also will last approx. 7-10 days and they will be going out of heat and not accept a male.
If she has never been bred before but shows a lot of interest in the male, you may have to hold her up to get them bred as a lot of new females won't accept the weight of the male on them the first time. By no means should you force them to breed. If she really freaks about you holding her up, and the male being on her, just let her go.
You can go to the vet and get a smear done on the female to see how far along she is in the heat cycle so you can better estimate when the male should be with her. I normally have them breed three times, basically once a day every other day. Again, the smear will tell you exactly when you should breed.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Dawn