OK, I am asking for a little guidance here. Any thoughts are appreciated...well constructinve ones that is. I have a bitch who on day 12 was 0.2, day 17 was 0.7, and on day 21 was 7.7. We had bred on day 17 because we didn't have the resutls back and didn't want to miss her. We bred again on days 19, 21 and 23. Not sure when she hit 5, but the vaginal cytology on day 21 said she was at 100%. My question is this, since she was bred on days 17,19,21 and 23, and her progesterone was 7.7 on day 21, would you think she should be bred today too? Or would you think she was covered at the right time?

She probably hit 5 into day 20. you breed 48-72 hours after. IF you got her, it's the breeding you did day 23. JMO but the other AI's were too early and day 23 was on time. If your swimmers were good and the AI was good you should have a girl in whelp based on last AI.

Good Luck, hope you caught her.

Day 23 was this past Sunday. Do you think I should breed her again today? Or is it likely that some of the semen from the prior breedings is still viable? The stud is about an hour and a half away from me, but is available if I need him.

Based on the progesterone #'s, you most likely got her just fine by breeding on the 21st and 23rd. Breeding her a 3rd time would just seem like over-kill, though if all it costs you is time and gas, and you have nothing else to do, why not. But I certainly don't think you NEED to.

I agree, you probably got her on day 23. BUT...if I were you I'd breed again today just to make sure she's covered, especially if the stud that easily accessable. JMO.

Thank you so much for your thoughts. It is so hot out, and although we ride in the AC, I don't want to stress her in the heat. So I decided to go with the breedings we have already done. I will keep my fingers crossed that we caught her the other day, and that some of the swimmers from Sunday are still hanging around.

If you did side-by-side AIs or naturals, then she should be well covered. If you did extended semen, the breeding on the 23rd is great timing, if the sperm was viable. Ovulation in most bitches occurs when progesterone is somewhere between 4 and 8 ng, eggs are, in general, released over a 12-24 hr period (+/-) and then the eggs require roughly 48 hrs to mature, hence the fertile window occurring roughly 2 days post ovulation. Sperm from a natural breeding is viable on average for 5 days, but has been documented at significantly longer periods (11 days). In the ideal situation a side-by-side AI is often as good, but there is always a chance of shocking the semen, so handling is important. Good luck!

Yes, it was side by side AI's and the collection looked really rich. Thanks for the information. I felt in my heart like I had covered her sufficiently, but there was still that nagging doubt that I didn't get her at the right time. I have my fingers crossed!!

If it's any consolation, we had a bitch hit 6.8 one day. I had the semen shipped in and we managed to do a breeding the next day and the day after that (no skip in between) and we ended up with 11.

Good luck.

WOW that is awesome. This is my first champion, and above that she is my heart dog. I so badly want a show bitch from her. I have my fingers crossed, and hope that in about a month to be able to report positive news.

I had a bitch 2.2 on Friday, hit 7.4 on Monday, had semen shipped for a breeding Tuesday early am, and another for a breeding late Wednesday evening. We ended up with 12, 10 females and 2 males (only one male lived). You may have hit her at her best timing!

WOW, that is a nice litter of girls. Sorry to hear about your boy. Thanks for sharing. I hope I caught her. This is probably my last time breeding her, so my fingers and toes are crossed.