Can a Dog Get Pregnant Without a Tie?
Yes, if the male dog is mounting but no tie happens, the female can still become pregnant if the male ejaculates.
However, if the male has not yet ejaculated at all, pregnancy is extremely unlikely.
Also, the chances of successful mating are reduced if no proper tie has been formed.
That doesn’t mean the chances are zero though.
If the dogs aren’t tied, many breeders immediately think that the mating has failed, but you should always check if ejaculation has occurred.
Unsure about the ejaculation? Time for a trip to the vet.
Usually, heavy panting, body language as well as the spillage of semen are easy tells whether or not the ejaculation has happened.
A false sense of security is especially dangerous if mating isn’t the desired outcome.
Why will dogs not tie properly? It can be due to sudden movements, a lack of experience, the female experiencing pain during mounting, or disinterest as well as medical issues on the male’s part which may cause less swelling and thus no locking.
While you shouldn’t interrupt dogs that are tied, you can definitely prevent a dog who is about to mount the female from ejaculating, thus drastically reducing the chances of successful mating.
There’s no hard and fast rule for a slip mating success rate and even if the ejaculation has taken place, the likelihood of a successful mating is reduced.
However, the success rate of any mating – slip or not – depends on various factors such as:
The clear fluid that is produced around the time the male starts mounting has no to very little sperm in it.
But in the second phase, the male dog already produces enough sperm to make the mating successful, with the peak being reached at the end of thrusting, right before the tie.
When it doesn’t reach the third step (the locking or tie), some semen will spill when pulling out and the reduced amount of semen might cause a mating to be unsuccessful.
Can dogs get pregnant without locking?
YES! If ejaculation has occurred, your female dog can become pregnant in spite of the male not remaining locked to her. The fertility rate in a slip mating is not quite as good, as there is often some spillage of semen when withdrawal occurs prior to the locking phase. However, conception is still possible and even likely, providing ejaculation occurred prior to the dogs’ separating.
The Process
Generally, the entire mating process in dogs happen in three phases:
The initial phase, or the prep phase, sometimes called the courtship phase, is when the dogs start to show distinctive behaviors that will eventually lead to mating.
Both the female and the male dog will start to interact with each other playfully during this phase.
You might also notice the female start acting receptive, urinating more frequently, and roaming around to attract attention.
The male dog will start sniffing the female’s neck and ears, and once he’s interested in mounting, he will begin nosing the female’s vulva.
At this stage, the female with either be receptive to mating or not. If not, she will sit, lie down, or move away from him.
If the female is ready for mating, she will give the “flagging” signal to the male, standing in position with her tail to one side. This signals that the male can now safely mount the female.
You may notice the stud producing a clear fluid as he’s beginning to mount the female. It contains very little to no sperm in it.
Once the stud has mounted the bitch successfully, which is often accompanied by clasping the female to prevent her from crouching or moving away, pelvic thrusts begin as the penis enters the vulva.
The stud will now be producing sperm-filled ejaculate, and immediately before the final ‘tie’ happens, most of the sperm-filled ejaculate is already produced.
Once the mounting phase is nearing its end, a portion of the male’s penis called the bulbus glandis will swell.
Simultaneously, the constrictor vestibule muscle of the female will contract, clamping around the bulbus glandis, keeping the dogs in a copulatory tie.
At this time, the prostatic fluid with some sperm in it will also be released.
After one or two minutes after the male’s pelvic thrusts have stopped, he will typically then dismount to one side of the bitch and turn around, and the two dogs will now be facing opposite directions.
Can a dog get pregnant without a tie?
Most of the time, dogs know what to do when it comes to mating time. In fact, it is instinctive for the majority of all animals and there is hardly a time when they need any assistance.
It does happen though, especially in younger dogs, and that’s when they might require some help from a breeder or some kind of professional.
Anyhow, there are times when mating does not go as planned, and slip mating happens. You might be keen to know the success rate, but it is honestly impossible to tell. If you really want a number, I would say it is 50/50.
Remember, mating success also depends on other variables such as the health of the dogs, the age, and the quality of the sperm and egg!
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She will then ‘flag’, which is to pull her tail to one side, if she is open to being approached.
After mounting the female, the male dog will insert his penis and start thrusting, and during this process, it will ejaculate.
The dogs will then create a “breeding tie” after this, where they will stand rear to rear with the penis still inserted as the male dog lifts his hind leg over.
The two dogs will be locked together during this period as the male’s penis’ bulbus gland swells, forming the breeding tie during which they should not be separated in order not to cause any injuries.
This strange-looking position (tie-mating) is completely normal and typically lasts anywhere between 5 minutes and 30 minutes.
Although this is the most common way for a female dog to get pregnant, it is not the only way, nor is it a foolproof way, as we will discuss later.
During the mating process, things might not go 100% as smoothly as we would like all the time. Quite often, a situation known as slip mating occurs.
If the dog enters the bitch and his penis expands and swells but exits the bitch before the tie has occurred, this is known as slip mating.
Prior to entering, the dog frequently mounts the bitch. He will occasionally jump into the bitch without his penis growing, but he will leave right away. The bitch will frequently reposition herself if she’s ready to help the mating.
Most dogs will be able to do this on their own and would be quite upset if there are any human interferences.
Slip mating usually occurs as the bitch is typically not quite ready. If she is a little early, repeat the process the following day if it is possible, or the day after that, and tie mating will typically occur successfully.