An intact male dog has a biological drive to make puppies. Though they may not intend to break through your screen door, or run away from home, a female in heat may be too tempting to the senses and a male will go to great distances to mate with her. But, a males success and interest is limited by their potential mates reproductive cycle.
These days, domesticated dogs reproduce under the watchful eye of breeders and dont have to go to the same lengths as their ancestors or feral counterparts. After reaching puberty between six and 12 months of age, females will enter heat every six months. There are four stages of reproduction: anestrus, proestrus, estrus and diestrus. Anestrus is a prepatory phase lasting about two to four months. Following that, the “heat” cycle begins — the cycle where potential mates start to take notice. Estrus marks the stage where the female is physically receptive to a mate and lastly, diestrus, a period of sexual inactivity follows.
Working with both small animals and exotics, Pamela Meadors has devoted more than 15 years to the veterinary field. She possesses a bachelors degree in biological sciences and is the proud mom of a blind hedgehog.
A males desire to pursue a female is based on olfactory senses and he is able to smell the pheromones and hormones released in her urine from over a mile away. The more she “marks,” territory, the more he will pursue. As this scent weakens through the reproductive cycle, he will turn his interests toward a more fertile potential. Neutered male dogs will not engage in this pursuit because their own hormonal urge to do so is non-existent.
Males are receptive to mating at anytime and do not have a mating cycle per se. In domesticated species, females do all the parenting, leaving males to pursue other potential mates in the same manner. In contrast, wild dogs parent puppies as a team with all members of the group contributing to the caring of a single dominant male and female.
I don’t have a female dog in my home. Why is my male dog acting so crazy?
Male dogs can pick up the scent for miles. Once they do, THEIR hormones start going wild and you might not even recognize your good ol’ boy.
Even if you don’t know your neighbors well, there are signs to look for in your male dog that means he smells a female in season:
Even letting your male dog run in your own fenced backyard is not a good idea when there is a female in heat around. He’ll dig, jump, and claw to get to her. If you do take the dog into the yard, you should be there to supervise him.
If you are at the dog park and there is a female in heat, leash your dog and leave. You won’t be able to easily restrain your male dog, and it’s not worth the anxiety of a dog torn between obeying its owner and following a natural hard-driven instinct.
Use Chlorophyll
There are reports that chlorophyll may help mask the smell of heat. There are generally two forms: tablet or liquid. The liquid form may be found in health food stores in 100 mg. Generally, one tablespoon in the morning and one in the evening poured on the female dogs food may do the trick. To work best, it should be given on the first day of heat. Ask your vet about this and for exact dosing instructions.
This is not a complete solution! Chlorophyll will only mask the smell a bit, so male dogs may still want to mate. Also, expect odd green stools after administering chlorophyll.
Please be aware that there is no real proof that chlorophyll works, just anecdotal evidence, so feeding your dog chlorophyll is really up to your discretion.
How long will a male dog be attracted to a female in heat?
If you notice that your unneutered male dog suddenly seems very occupied with escaping the backyard, it could be because he’s caught the scent of a female in heat. But have you ever wondered how far a dog could smell a female in heat? Thanks to their amazing noses, it is thought that a dog can detect the scent of a female from as far away as 3 miles, depending on weather conditions (temperature and humidity)!
With that kind of long-range scent detection, it could be extremely dangerous for your male dog to follow their nose in search of a female in heat. We’ll talk about how to keep your dog safe from himself later in this article. But first, let’s look more closely at your dog’s incredible sense of smell!