Ovulation

Question
is there a way to take the dams temp to determine ovulation or when its
bearing the peak time to mate?

Answer
Hi Regi:

Being able to accurately time for a successful breeding is as much an art as it is science, in my opinion. Of course there is progesterone testing, which will indicate when her eggs have "dropped" meaning she's fertile in doggie reproduction lingo. The vet usually will require two to three or more smears around days 7, 9, 11 & 13 to see when her levels are elevated. This is obviously done more for artificial insemination purposes or when the male & female aren't normally together. Her temp doesn't fluctuate in a manner which would indicate her ovulation status.

If you don't intend to go this difficult, scientific & costly way there's always good old-fashioned breeding. All dogs have individual cycles so therefore all I can state is the average. Generally, the vaginal discharge will have lightened in both flow & color, becoming more of a pale pinkish to straw colored. Usually this occurs approximately day 9-10 from the initial cycle onset. Estrus, the fertile portion of the cycle, usually lasts for about 5 days to a week. At this point the female will accept & encourage the male to breed. She's your best indication of the "when" for the most part.

There's one other technique used by some breeders although personally I've never used it. A product called Ovucheck Pre-Mate available via the following link states it can detect the various portions of the heat cycle & can even differentiate between a false heat, split heat, silent heat, etc. in essentially the same method as the vet, by progesterone levels. For addt'l info please see

http://www.pinnaclepetsupply.com/tellme.htm

If you have any additional questions please feel free to let me know & I'll try to help if possible. Good luck!