my female corgi

Question
hello, my name is jackie i have 2 orgies' a male and female. our female is around 7 months old, our male around 5 months. we have yet to see a heat cycle with our female, however, we are questionable as to if our male may have gotten ahold of her (so to speak) before we even noticed this isn't the first female dog I've had so I know what to expect when their in their heat cycles. But we are questionable as to if she just hasn't gone into it yet or if our male mated with her. We are noticing a change in her appetite as well as she is having heavy breathing and firmness to her belly. I've looked on-line for signs in dog pregnancy and checked her nipples but there is no real change in them. I'm wondering if it is possible she is pregnant or to be on the safe side i should take her to her vet. Any feed back would be greatly appreciated. Thank you  

Answer
Hi Jackie

A male will start producing semen around 6 months of age.  "Humping" prior to that is a dominance issue not a sexual one.  A mating will only occur when a female is in heat. If she's not in season she won't stand to be bred.

She could be coming into heat now.  I would recommend keeping her and the male separated for the duration.  Breeding her at this young of age is not advisable.

The first sign is that her vulva will start to enlarge.  It may swell, then she will have bloody discharge and THEN she' will be ready to be bred.  That's the time to keep the male caged.

Good luck