Labrador

Question
Hello there!  My mother-in-law has a female chocolate lab and we have a male yellow lab.  She is in heat and the two have them have been mating.  My question is, can a lab become pregnant without "tieing"?  He jumps off of her before he ties.  PLEASE HELP!!  Thanks! :)

Answer
Hi Cass --

Where in the females heat cycle is she? If she's not ready to be bred, it exhausting for both so it's important to separate them as the male (or female) can become frustrated and give up.

A experienced and knowledgeable stud will mount a female when her eggs are down.  If his nose is really good, and there isn't any "competition" for the female, he may not attempt actually breeding until her eggs are ripe and ready.

An inexperienced male, may need some assistance.