Owners often await puberty of their pet with fear. For beginner dog lovers, it seems that an adult pet can start to cause problems. Not everyone knows when to wait for puberty in a dog. Often owners are embarrassed to consult a veterinarian with such a delicate matter. Do you trust dogs age tables by human standards and when to wait for a pet to hunt? Learn from this article.
Dog / person age ratio
The owner often cares at what stage of maturation is his furry friend. Puberty in dogs of large and small breeds occurs at different times. In order to correlate the age of the dog and the person, several methods are used:
- simplified system;
- table of correspondence;
- Klayber's law;
- LeBo's theory.
Each of the methods has both its supporters and opponents. According to the simplified system, 1 canine year of life is 7 human. This method is the simplest and allows you to quickly make calculations. A simplified system appeared in the 20th century and was based on the fact that dogs live on average 10 years, and people live 70. The distribution of this method was facilitated by veterinarians who used it in their work. But the simplified system does not take into account the size of the dog. Also, people spend about a quarter of their life learning, while dogs have no such opportunity. Based on this, it can be assumed that the one-year-old dog corresponds to a 15-16 year old teenager.
Kleiber’s Law on Dogs was declared invalid. Indeed, according to him, life expectancy depends on the speed of the main metabolism. Kleiber’s law holds true for many animals, from wild elephants to small white mice, but it doesn’t work on dogs. If you believe him, then huge St. Bernards should live longer than little Yorkshire terriers. In life, everything happens the other way around.
The theory of the French veterinarian LeBoe is based on the fact that puppies grow up very quickly. The first canine year of life is 15 human, the second is 9. The breed features, according to LeBo's theory, are not taken into account. After 2 years of age, 4 years are added to the dog every birthday.
Dog development experts are confident that the rate of aging depends on the size of the animal. For a Tibetan mastiff and a Russian colored lapdog, 10 years of age is not the same thing. For convenience, experts divided the dog into 4 size groups:
- small ones;
- medium;
- large;
- giants.
It is noted that the less the pet weighs, the slower it will age. To determine an approximate definition, owners can use the dog's age chart by human standards.
Sexual Implications
As they mature, puppies increasingly make cages on their brothers. This is not due to sexual arousal in the dog, so the baby demonstrates its superiority. In sexual games with cages, the sex of his brothers does not matter for the puppy; both females and males can become the object. Fluffy individuals are especially attractive for babies. For example, puppies of Caucasian shepherd dogs, St. Bernards, Newfoundlands before the first molt are extremely attractive to their brothers.
In puberty, dogs show an interest in the opposite sex. Males begin to respond to the female, and vice versa. The stimulus here is the smells emitted by animals. Especially attractive for males are females in estrus. During teenage sexual games, the posture of the cage does not really matter; it is done from the side, front, and back. Adult experienced bitches will not allow such liberties. A dog who does not know what to do will be driven away, in some cases quite tough. But precisely such moments in the future form the sexual behavior of the male. If a dog does not learn to make proper cages on its own, then he will not be able to mate.
Puberty bitches
At first, the development of the dog goes without any special changes. The first estrus in bitches occurs on average after 7 months. Some have a little earlier or a little later. After the first estrus, the female becomes more aggressive, begins to mark the territory with urine. Often, she begins to make cages on her relatives. Some mark territories like males and regardless of leaks. Usually these are individuals who wish to take a leading position among their relatives.
The sexual behavior of bitches includes sexual play with cages on other dogs. This is normal and means that the animal has matured. Sometimes 3 or more bitches can participate in such games. Correction of this behavior does not require, so the owners have nothing to worry about.
The first estrus for a bitch, as a rule, is very exciting. Her sexual cycle has not yet been established, so stress can affect him. In some cases, heat may even stop due to this. The cause of stress can be separation from the owner, a sharp change in weather, the attack of other dogs. Soon the cycle in the young female is established, and subsequent estruses proceed without complications.
Male puberty
Male dogs, much earlier than bitches, begin to show interest in their and other people's genitals. After the dogs can do cages on the owner’s foot, soft toys, their relatives. With the onset of puberty, male dogs become much more aggressive. They strive to increase their rank in the pack, taking the highest possible place in the hierarchy.
If during puppy games the main one, as a rule, is the one who is larger, now everything is changing. During training cages on other animals, the male may have an incomplete erection. If the growing dog jumps on the owner’s foot for sexual purposes, then this must be strictly suppressed. In the future, because of this, the male dog may form the wrong sexual behavior, and he will not be able to tie a flowing bitch. Also, do not encourage excessive dog licking of your own genitals. Similar bad habits in the dog can be fixed, which is undesirable.
Sexual activity in a male dog occurs after the appearance of a flowing female on the horizon. After that, the dog becomes nervous and naughty. Often, dogs run away in search of their current beloved, which gives the owner a lot of trouble.
Seasonality of sexual activity
In most animals, this parameter depends on the length of daylight hours. Dogs in this matter are no exception. If daylight hours increase, then the sex drive of dogs, especially dogs, increases. It is noted that wolves in the wild tend to mate only in a random period, the rest of the time their libido is reduced so much that they simply are not capable of mating. However, in packs of dogs, males retain high sexual activity regardless of the season. This happens even if all bitches flow at the same time.
If the dog is kept in an urban environment, then its owner may influence its cycles. In Russia, the planning of bindings in many cases depends on the season. Veterinarians recommend bitching in the spring, as this is the most physiological. Almost all animals in the wild raise offspring in the summer months. At this time, as a rule, there is no problem with the food supply and the weather is very comfortable for young animals. Owners usually do not want to knit bitches in the spring. This is due to the seasonal decline in demand for puppies and vacation owners. Therefore, dogs are more likely to happen in the fall, which leads to a shift in the peak of sexual activity of males.
Heat
During estrus, the dog becomes extremely attractive to males. There are frequent cases when whole flocks gather near the porch where the flowing bitch lives. They howl, arrange fights - all in order to earn the attention of their chosen one. At such a moment, dog packs are a danger to humans. The closer the favorable days for mating, the more aggressive the males behave.
If the pack lives in natural conditions, then the bitch herself chooses a partner. For a domestic dog, the dog is selected independently by its owner. If the dog is titled and is of interest in the breeding plan, then for breeding it can be taken to another city or even to another country. Often promising suitors live far away, so owners are forced to travel for an interesting litter.
By the 9-14th day of estrus, the discharge from the loop of the female begins to lighten first, and then they disappear. At this time, the genitals of the dog soften, she is completely ready for mating. If animals live freely, then they start ritual games that end with mating. Domestic dogs are simply introduced, and then they begin to mate. Inexperienced owners are better off inviting an instructor from the club, this will make it possible to avoid many mistakes.
Features of purebred breeding
In order for future puppies to receive pedigrees, you need to follow some fairly simple rules. Before mating, both the bitch and the male must attend at least 1 show. On it, they should receive a rating not lower than "very good". For dogs participating in the show, the puppy card must be exchanged for the pedigree.
Only animals that externally meet the breed standard can get a positive rating. The judge also evaluates the behavior of the dog, for example, a cowardly German shepherd is immediately removed from the ring with a disqualifying rating. Dogs of service breeds with a weak mentality have no access to purebred breeding.
The breeder, whose dog received the adjustable mark at the show, can either earn titles or tie a bitch. The owner chooses the male himself, but if he has any difficulties, he can turn to the club for advice. After mating, the owners sign the act.
After about 60 days, puppies are born in the female. When the kids turn 45 days old, they are brought to the club for aktivka. After this procedure, the kids are given a metric, which, if desired, can subsequently be exchanged for a pedigree. Also, each puppy is assigned an individual stigma number.
Preparation for knitting
Dog puberty begins very early. But the young bitch is not yet able to tolerate mating, pregnancy and childbirth. The body is not yet fully developed and not ready for such loads. When can I breed a dog? According to the breeding position of the RKF, bitches of small breeds can be allowed to mate not earlier than 15 months, and large and medium breeds - not earlier than 18 months. But practice shows that it is better to postpone knitting a little more. The optimal age for mating females is 20 months and later.
The breeder must keep a diary in which he will describe his observations of estrus, health and well-being of the bitch. He must be sure that the puberty period in the dog is over, and it is fully developed. About a month before the alleged mating, it is recommended to examine the animal for sexually transmitted diseases and other infections. In the same period, the dog is treated for fleas and helminths. The owner must make sure that the bitch is fully vaccinated, this will give good immunity to puppies.
Dog weddings
If the dog walks on the street on his own, then in heat a lot of males are tied up behind her. They are attracted to the smell of a bitch; he makes the dogs follow her. This sexual behavior of dogs is called a wedding. During this period, males excited by the smell of a flowing female bind and take it out with their courtship. The dog quickly gets tired of the constant cages. She often does not even have the opportunity to lie down and rest, she is forced to constantly run and snarl in the hope of driving away annoying suitors from herself.
During a dog’s wedding, males often fight among themselves; some are constantly trying to push others away from the bitch. Chaos reigns in the pack during this period, new dogs are nailed to it, and skirmishes break out with renewed vigor. The bitch herself at this moment is already so exhausted that she can not fight back and snap back. At this moment, one of the males achieves its goal and mating occurs. Further, he can either leave after the love act aside, or begin to protect the lady of the heart from the encroachments of his rivals. Dog wedding breaks up at the end of estrus in the bitch.
Knitting
Many breeders prefer hand knitting. This pairing method saves time significantly, since the courtship stage is usually completely skipped. Many breeders mate to a promising male for many kilometers, as a result, everyone gets tired: both people and a dog. Therefore, the manual pairing method is most optimal in modern realities. In addition, an attempt to let a bitch and a dog unfamiliar with her run uncontrollably often leads not by any chance to mating. In some cases, the animals are even seriously injured.
Even if the bitch is benevolent to the boyfriend, he can still fail. It is not always possible for a male dog to make a cage correctly, it is overexcited, which can lead to premature ejaculation. After this, the owners should give the dog 3-4 hours to recover. In modern conditions, this is often impossible, especially if the owners of the bitch came from afar and their time is limited.
A problem with free mating can be the hair of a bitch. In some cases, the dog in excessively fluffy "pants", because of this, he can not get to the loop of the bitch. The dog is overexcited and either he has premature ejaculation, or he begins to get angry due to the fact that nothing happens. Sometimes after several unsuccessful attempts, the dog completely loses interest in the flowing bitch. In some cases, after a bad experience, the dog has to be restored for a long time with an experienced mating instructor.
If the dog is inexperienced in love affairs, then a tough rebuff of a bitch can cause him psychological trauma for life. Often, such dogs subsequently experience fear of the opposite sex or, conversely, show aggression. If the dog does not have sexual experience, it is more reasonable to invite an instructor from the club and conduct a manual knitting.
How long does the sexual intercourse in dogs last? Just a few minutes. After that, the pets stand in the castle for some time. At this point, owners must control their pets so that no one gets injured. A control mating is carried out in a day or two, which increases the chances of getting offspring.
Sexual Behavior Disorders
Dog puberty does not always go smoothly. Sometimes the owners punish their pets too harshly for sexual games with cages on their relatives. We are talking about communication between teenage puppies, not a male and a flowing female. Such games will not do harm to the kids, so there is no need to focus on them.
But also it is impossible to allow that an adult male, which will subsequently be used for breeding, satisfy his needs with the owner's foot or a soft toy. If the dog has an incorrect sexual image, bitches may become uninteresting to him.
It is advisable to invite a club instructor to the first knit. The specialist will be able to help inexperienced dogs in time, and the mating will take place. In the presence of an experienced instructor, the process will take much less time. It is important that the dog has a pleasant impression of the first mating. If the dog’s experience was negative, for example, a bitch attacked him and bit her a bit, then it can be very difficult to conduct subsequent mating.