Stud Dog Keeps Missing: What Can You Do?

Zack Keithy, our author, has been a certified veterinarian technician for over 6 years (contact him here). The articles written here are based on his expertise and experience, combined with a review by our expert vet reviewers. Learn more about us here.

When it comes to breeding your dog, you want to truly maximize the potential of both your dog and its mate.

Most people go into stud service with a lot of dreams, some worries, and not a lot of information on how best to prepare or what to expect.

Overwhelmed is one word to describe stud owners right before they bring in their dog. I mean, it’s not a small thing like puppies humping at 12 weeks old, but something that can have a big impact on their lives.

It’s ok to feel this way, but you shouldn’t let your lack of knowledge show.

Putting your dog’s health above all else is the most responsible thing that you can do.

So what if your stud dog keeps missing? What should you do?

Find out more about that in this post.

Things to Do Before Breeding Your Dog

Getting a few things right before the actual mating takes place can help to ensure that it is successful (as well as understanding the idea of breeding half siblings).

After all, no one wants to put a pair of dogs together and end up with nothing, or worse, a pair of angry and traumatized dogs.

Here are a few things you should perform before you breed your dog:

1. Get a Pre-breeding Medical Check Up

The last thing you want is for your stud dog to pass along an illness or disability to one of your puppies!

The best way to ensure this doesn’t happen is by getting a pre-breeding check up before you breed him or her.

Your vet will perform a physical exam on your dog and take some blood tests, which will help them identify any issues with his health.

If anything turns up in the blood work, such as an infection or other problem, it can be treated before he starts breeding so that it doesn’t affect any puppies.

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2. Ensuring the Female Dog is in Heat

This part of the equation is simple: if the female dog is not ready, they cannot mate.

Your counterpart needs to check that the female is sexually mature and in heat.

According to AKC, a female dogs starts to experience estrus, or heat, roughly every six months from above 6 months old.

There are signs to watch out for such as mounting, swelling of the vulva, and bloody discharge from their vagina.

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3. Have an Understanding of the Process

During coitus, the male’s organ penetrates the female, and it becomes enlarged and stays inside, or ‘tied’.

It then throws its leg over the female’s back where the two dogs end up looking like their bums are attached to one another.

Not everyone knows about this unique behavior and might be tempted to step in and separate them, but this is a big no-no.

Which is why it is very important for you as a dog owner to know the process of intercourse in dogs well too.

Common Reasons Why Stud Dog Keeps Missing/Unable To Mate/Refusing To Mount?

There are many reasons why a stud dog might not be able to perform.

Below, I share a list of the most common reasons and solutions to overcome them.

No Interest

There are several reasons why a stud may not be interested in mating with a female. Quite often, it is because of their inexperience, that a male dog is ready to engage in his first act of coitus and may not know what to do because he has never before interacted with a female. Another possibility is that the female is not in heat and is not showing signs that she wants to mate.

What to do: Try to arrange for the two dogs to meet up at least a few times and play together. This breeds familiarity and allows them to engage in the act more easily. Avoid getting involved physically as that will only create more stress. Just let nature take its course.

Not Enough Space

Dogs have rituals before mating such as running, playing, sniffing, and flagging. These rituals necessitate both time and space. If there isn’t enough space for these rituals, the male dog may refuse to mount the female.

What to do: Ensure that there is lots of space for the dogs to move around and not feel constricted to a tiny area.

Difference in Size

If the male and female dogs are not physically compatible, the male will be unable to mount the female. If the male is significantly smaller than the female, he will be unable to properly get on top of her.

If the male is significantly larger, he will mount her but will not be able to locate the female dog’s reproductive parts.

What to do: Ensure that the dogs you are breeding are of similar sizes, even if they are of the same breed.

Quality of Sperm

Poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and overall health may affect the quality of sperm produced by your dog. If he is not in good shape, it will show in his semen count and motility.

What to do: Whether you intend to breed your dog or not, it is imperative to provide it with a healthy and balanced diet, lots of playtime, love and affection, and ensuring it is in the pink of health.

Aggressive Female

Females can be aggressive to males and refuse to be mounted. If the female’s mating time is incorrectly calculated, the chances of her becoming aggressive increase. If the female dog is not in the estrus stage, also known as standing heat, such issues are more likely to come up than not.

What to do: During the initial encounter, it is best to keep the female on a leash and collar. Most females are aggressive at first, but they gradually relax and become more receptive. Another solution would be to bring the female to the male’s territory or a neutral place which will lessen its aggressiveness.

Stress

A dog must be relaxed and comfortable in its surroundings in order to mount and mate. Stress and anxiety have an impact on the dog’s performance and may even result in refusal to mount. This can be caused by a variety of factors such as aggressive females, negative past experiences, noise and an uncomfortable environment are all common stressors.

What to do: Observe the dogs and pay close attention to what is causing them stress. Sometimes, you need to listen to your gut and remove any possible stress-inducing factors even if they are not immediately obvious.

Negative Past Experience

Needless to say, if a stud dog has had an awful past experience, it is likely to be resistant to doing the same thing again. Incidents such as aggressive females, being attacked, or poor mating conditions will all contribute to how well your stud dog takes to the mating process.

What to do: Allow time for the two dogs to get acquainted before they start mating. It is best to let them meet a few times and this is good because it also tells you if the mating process will likely be successful or not.

No Privacy

It might not come to you right away but dogs need privacy too! Do you want an audience when having a special time with your partner? I’m sure the majority of us don’t, and it’s the same for your dog.

What to do: Try to involve as few people as possible when planning the mating session. The helper and the dog owners are sufficient if the mating is facilitated. Only the dogs’ owners should be there if the mating takes place without assistance.

Slip Mating

The term refers to when a male dog withdraws its penis from the female dog before completing the tie/knot, which is essential for mating to be successful. In some cases though, slip mating can still see success when the male dog ejaculates before they separate.

What to do: Do not try to interfere as this might result in injuries for both the dogs. Some people have recommended that you can try to steady the dogs and keep them in place, but I think it’s better to let things happen naturally.

How Can I Help a Stud Dog That Keeps Missing?

“Why can’t my male dog get it in the female?” is a question we hear often.

The first thing to remember is that you and your dog are not alone.

It’s estimated that 50% of all stud dogs miss their marks at least once during the breeding season.

So what can you do to help your dog be more successful in mating?

First, it’s important to have a good understanding of what goes into breeding success and what factors may be influencing your dog’s performance.

Factors such as age and experience, temperament, reproductive health and intactness can all play a role in determining whether or not your stud dog is able to successfully mate the female of his choice.

If you want to know if there are any specific issues with your dog’s reproductive health, consider taking him to see your veterinarian for an exam.

Your vet can examine your dog’s testicles and prostate gland and give you insight into whether or not there are any signs of disease or infection that might be affecting his ability to produce healthy sperm.

Additionally, they may recommend certain tests such as semen analysis or bloodwork which will help them determine whether or not there are any underlying medical conditions that could be affecting his fertility.

Besides the main points above, you may also want to consider having other female dogs as potential mates, using different handlers (especially one who is familiar with your dog), or don’t use handlers at all.

Most of the time, your dog will figure out how to do the deed on its own.

How to Encourage a Male Dog to Mate?

Your dog is not a machine that can get turned on at a moment’s notice, but there are some things you can do to help it get into the mood quicker.

Here are some tried and tested methods you can use the next time your dog seems reluctant to get it on:

• Muzzle the female dog. Well, dogs don’t exactly kiss like humans do, and female dogs are known to become aggressive sometimes especially when she is unfamiliar and under stress. Having a muzzle will prevent her from biting the male stud dog and put a stop to the session.
• Empty stomach. Not feeding your stud dog on the day of mating is a method that works surprisingly well even though it does not seem the case in theory. I am unsure of the explanation behind this but it is a technique the breeders have used with great success.
• Time together. Give the two dogs plenty of time and space to get to know each other. Do not rush anything or place them under any kind of stress, let them explore each other at their own pace. Whenever possible, you should remove yourself from the room and observe from a distance and only interfere if you see the stud dog failing multiple times or when things go awry.

Signs That a Male Dog Wants To Mate

There are many signs that a male dog wants to mate, but some of them are more obvious than others. In this section, we’ll talk about all the signs that your male dog is ready to mate and start producing puppies.

• He tries to mount you or another dog. This is another way he’s trying to find out if you’re compatible, and it can be pretty funny! He’ll get up on his hind legs, put his front paws on you, and try to hump away. It’s not personal—it’s just how dogs do things.
• He starts urinating more. A male dog’s hormone levels increase when he’s ready to mate, so that means he’ll start urinating more often. He may even start peeing on things like furniture or in other places where you don’t want him to mark his territory. Male dogs can become territorial and protective of their “harems.” They will try to keep the females away from areas that they consider theirs.
• He becomes restless and often wants to explore outside of your home. This is because dogs often wander off to find a mate, and your dog may want to do that. He’s sniffing for the pheromones of other dogs, and when he finds them, he’ll try to mount them.

Doggy says, consider reading this too: Do dogs fart more during pregnancy?

How to Help a Male Dog Mount a Female?

In most cases, the dogs themselves will figure out what to do without us helping. Only on the first attempt will you see higher failure rates.

If the dogs are getting along fine without resistance but simply are too inexperienced to complete the ‘job’, you can step in with some help:

• Stabilizing the female dog with a hand on her collar and a hand around her ribs can be helpful when the male dog appears prepared to mount.
• Give both the dogs some encouragement by patting lightly and praising them as they get in the act, and applying gentle pressure on the stud’s rear can help ensure he stays engaged.

You should also take note that a male dog’s penis occasionally fails to completely retract into its sheath after the dogs are freed from their lock or tether.

What you can do is to gently put the penis back into its sheath.

By doing this, the male’s penis is less likely to experience any potential injuries or future issues.

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What Causes Dogs to Not Tie Properly?

Stud dogs are generally very good at holding their position, but there are times when they will just not tie properly.

This can be for a variety of reasons, including:

• The female dog is too excited or nervous about being bred and does not relax in the correct position, moving around way too much. You might step in to help calm her down
• The stud dog’s penis size is too small for the bitch’s vaginal canal, which may be due to genetics or injury. In this case, you should consult with your vet about whether or not surgery would be necessary to help correct the issue
• There has been trauma between these two dogs before (such as fighting), so they do not want to cooperate with each other when trying to mate. This is one of the hardest problems because it requires great patience on both sides and often involves some sort of training intervention by professionals who know how best to handle such situations

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

In Conclusion: Stud Dog Keeps Missing

Stud dogs are a very important part of the breeding process. They are the ones who will be responsible for impregnating the females.

If after reading this post and you’re still having trouble getting your male dog to perform at all, then he may have some kind of medical issue that needs to be addressed before any breeding attempts can begin again.

Making sure the pre-checks are done, letting the dogs get to know each other, and preparing a safe and stress free environment are the best things you can do to ensure success.

Be a responsible dog breeder, do right by them, and you will have the best rewards anyone can dream of!

Being a dog owner is no easy task, which is why we have written lots of articles about dog care to help you out!

Be sure to continue browsing around or check out some of our top posts such as how to handle dog peeing after returning from boarding, puppy getting giardia from breeder, and many more.

See you around!