Bichon Frise breeding question

Question
I have a Bichon almost 2 years old who has received medical clearance and I am wanting to breed her.  I have a stud who also has been cleared and I am keeping over the Holiday weekend while his "parents" are out of town.  She went into heat on 5/10 or 5/11.  On 5/23 he was dropped off and have bee together supervised or at least checked on every 5-10 minutes and they have never locked.  It is his first time breeding and I have read about helping hold her still for him to mount, but this isn't working.  Today being day 15 and us starting on day 12 is it possible I missed it?  We have him until Tuesday 5/27 evening time or wed 5/28 in the morning.  We have tried secluding them in the garage away from my family and leaving them in the house with us thinking that maybe they would be more comfortable.  Any and all advise is greatly appreciated.  I just want to make sure that I am doing everything possible to make this process work.  Could I be trying too hard or is there such thing?

Answer
Hi Aly:

I'd say a good 95% of any breeding problem is plain timing. Knowing when to put the two together for a planned mating is key. OK, first of all - your female's cycle began on approx 5/10-11. On average, estrus, the fertile portion of the cycle, usually begins around day 9 or 10 from the initial heat symptoms. That would put her around 5/20-21. On average estrus lasts for about a week. So expected window is 5/20 to about 5/28-29 or heck, say 5/30. It could be she's not yet in estrus - some dogs take longer than others & it always varies. My personal opinion is allow them together until at least the 30th in fairly close proximity but not totally unsupervised, at least not for long periods of time. If she's in estrus (your vet can confirm this & it might be worth it) they should follow their instinct. If they don't, whether it's her not allowing it or the male not being interested or persistent enough, you can either wait until her next heat, try her with another stud next time, or consider maybe she's not the mothering type. Some dogs truly aren't & it can be a heart-breaking scenario.

It sounds to me as if you're already doing everything reasonable, particularly having both pre-screened. Kudos to you! I wish more people would do this before breeding! They may be picking up on some of your anxiety so try to fake it! LOL Hang in there & keep me posted.