When to mate My Bitch

Question
Hi,

I have a 3.5 y.o Rottweiler bitch. We are wanting to breed with her. She has had two litters prior to us getting her and we would like to get one litter out of her so as to keep two of her daughters. She is u=currently in season, day 4 of bleeding. When would the best time be to put her to a stud dog and what is the gestation period. I breed horses and this is my first time breeding a canine....

Any info will help.

Regards,
Wendy
Western Australia.

Answer
Hello Wendy:

The canine heat cycle can be a little tricky. The fertile portion of the cycle (estrus) occurs on average around day 7 to 12 from the initial onset of the cycle, with 9 being the average, after the initial onset of the cycle. Initially, the cycle is characterized by swelling of the vulva & a bloody vaginal discharge. When in estrus, the flow will become lighter in flow & color, becoming more of a pale pink to straw color. It is only at this time when the bitch will allow & even encourage mating to occur. The estrus portion generally lasts anywhere from 4 to 21 days (average of 7 days) but varies from dog to dog. I'm including a few links for your review. Hope this helps!

http://www.petcaretips.net/dogs_in_heat.html

http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/medical/whelping.html#whelping