Scott,
My goal is to produce dogs with a temperament strong enough to pass a patrol dog suitability test - if they can pass that, they'll be able to succeed in most any venue that I'd care about. Ideally, I'd like to produce dogs with fight drive ( since it's so rare and I'm lucky enough to actually have dogs with this drive ) that will willingly engage an opponent in a real world situation.
My reason for breeding the two? Dogs that will do what Fetz will are *rare*, and there's a strong need for those "uberdog prototypes" ( in the words of a poster here that made me smile ) for service dogs.

Both parents are OFA'd ( I wouldn't breed a dog without a hip rating ) but how do I expect the hips to come out? Unfortunately, there's never a guarantee there - I bred OFA excellent to OFA good Rotts several times in the past, and I'd still end up with one pup per litter that would not pass an OFA down the line. I think you increase the chances of good hips with breeding OFA'd dogs, but I won't be able to absolutely tell until after the fact. Which is true for any breeder.

And that goes for temperament, along with hips. I'm breeding two extreme dogs here, both will willing engage and fight a perp. But without seeing the progeny down the line, it's all an educated guess at this point. Hell, I might produce an entire litter of foo foo Therapy dogs, for all I know. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Structure? Que? I'm happy if my GSD's aren't mistaken for coyotes.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I'm thinking that being in the middle of a lover's quarrel w/your gal and Fetz isn't Soap Opera material... maybe more like Jerry Springer or "When Animals Attack".

OK, about the progesterone tests, 5.0 is the standard indicator that she is starting to ovulate. It is my experience that once they hit that point, it goes up very fast. Not sure when she was at 4.9, but assuming it was 2-3 days ago it will be (in theory) at the ideal point or just beyond today. If you are going to do an AI, you need to do it now. Retest her levels, that will let you know if AI is still feasable or not.

Then again, maybe she's just not the norm, somehow it wouldn't surprise me if you had a dog that falls outside the range of normal <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I've seen males muzzled... doesn't seem to distract them from the prize, but would limit their ability to stay on board.

Will,

I had a bitch that would flag and stand days five-nine or ten and another that wasn't ready until days sixteen-twenty. These were not one time happenings. It was how they were everytime they were bred. I learned to trust mother nature after many wasted dollars on shipping cost and stud fees. Also have a mare that comes into foal heat two-three days after foaling, which is earlier than the norm. Just goes to show we're all different! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Good luck, and you're gonna have fun with a whole litter of land sharks!!!

I hope all goes or has went well. I know that a strong bitch usually has issues with anything weaker than her mounting up, so a lot of times its battle royal. If this is Fetz's first time breeding, it would be confusing. SHe says yes with the body language, then no then yes, ect. Thats why i get muzzles and a helper and some lube. Two maiden maniacs!!!! You are a brave man.

Will, I would muzzle Fetz if you collect him for AI. hehe.
And, he bit you twice while he was breeding the female? And tied? Wow pretty talented dog you have there - can think of more than one thing at "that" time. I would muzzle him for that too then, or stay out of his range (stand directly in front of the female). If you need to hold the female steady (which usually works the best for a female who won't stand solid on her own) I would get a friend to do that - a really really good friend. Do you have any really good friends who are mentally challenged? Perfect.

How about a shot of Wild Turkey for the female. Im not a breeder but had a friend recently with the same problem and they never got the female bred. But I wondered if maybe you couldnt maybe get somthing from the vet to give to the female to to change her attitude and make her more receptive, or not care. Mellow her out.

Will, AI 'em.

Hi Will, what titles does Fetz and your bitch have, also what were their OFA scores? Thanks.

So how are things coming along? Did you get the deed done? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />