Progesterone Testing For Dogs – A Hassle During COVID!

It probably comes as no surprise to my readers that with this heat, I planned on breeding Atlas. But getting the progesterone testing for dogs right now is a pain in the butt! Every Vet Clinic I’ve called that does it on site isn’t accepting new clients. Why? Because of COVID of course.

What I don’t understand is, how can Vet Clinics not be accepting new pets right now? Did the animals stop getting sick because of COVID? No. Are they that well off that they don’t need new clients? You’d imagine they would want more clients in times of this pandemic! At this point, I’m pondering my options now.

I Already Paid The Stud Fee.

Whether you’re a new breeder, or experienced one, stud fees are usually part of the process. See, back in her last heat cycle, I wanted her to have babies as well. However, she was under two years old and for some reason, the Vets in Alaska are oblivious to this breed. Technically, they can start having pups after they’re 18 months old. Not the two years everyone talks about.

Regardless, I paid the stud fee 5 months ago, and now I’m ready to try again. Stud fees come when you have a female and no male. I haven’t bought a male yet since Atlas is my first. I’m not sure if I plan on getting a stud from another litter yet, either. You might be asking why. Well, I have a male Chihuahua at home already. No, he’s not terribly smart, so he has no clue how to mount a dog. He humps faces and helps himself out in that department.

That’s right, he pleasures himself instead of trying to hump. But what does that have to do with getting another stud?

Male Dogs Mark Territory.

Off the beaten path for a moment before getting back to progesterone testing for dogs. Anywho, male dogs mark. By marking, I mean they literally pee everywhere! Now, this might be different when you bring a puppy into the house. But Harry? He already marks everywhere.

My husband has said, “Well, let’s keep one of Atlas’ boy puppies.” Of course, this isn’t happening! She would eventually end up breeding with her son. Ew.

No, if I decided on a male, it would have to be from a great line completely different from hers. Maybe one day we will, but for now, stud fees. Okay – back to the testing. Why do dogs need testing to breed?

Progesterone Testing for Dogs?

This is something that needs to be done if you plan on trying to have puppies. First off, dogs heat cycle comes in four stages. You have the Proestrus Stage. The Estrus Stage. Then the Diestrus Stage and finally the Anestrus Stage. Each stage is different for every dog. Only in the Estrus Stage is the female actually ready to be pregnant. The time of live mating I’m afraid is slowly coming to an end.

No more do we let dogs just do their thing I’m afraid. And, it’s safer that way anyways. See, Bullies are already prone to infections. So, if something happens and she gets an infection, it can harm all the babies and the Mom. I would be devastated if something happened to my Atlas! Also, something could happen to the male while he’s trying to mate.

So, best to do the artificial insemination instead. Better for the female and the male both! But, in order to do this, you need to know when they’re fertile so that she can actually get pregnant. Last time, we didn’t have the testing done, and the pregnancy didn’t take. This time around, the testing needs to be done so that it takes this time.

But that’s starting to become next to impossible with all the Vets not taking new clients right now. What are my other options?

What if Progesterone Testing can’t be Done?

I might be at a cross roads with this testing. I’m not sure if the Vet will take Atlas. If they don’t, then I’ll have to get creative I suppose. Some Vet clinics don’t do on-site testing like her normal Vet I take her to. It takes 24 hours for the test results to come back. I suppose if that’s the case, I would have to test her every day and once her levels reach 2ng/ml, then we can move forward. Technically, she would be fertile two to four days after these levels are reached.

So, I’d imagine that I could take her to her normal vet, know that there’s a 24-hour window in there. Wait for the levels to hit the 2ng/ml and go from there. However, this isn’t exact and it would be better to have her tested on site.

What a pain in my rear during this time. I want a baby Atlas and getting there is becoming troublesome. How anyone is having puppies right now is baffling to me. It’s almost better to order the progesterone kit for my home at this point. But that would mean forking over $4K just to lease the kit. Yes, I’ve looked into this. Maybe I could charge all the local breeders and I’ll test their dogs for them!

Final Words on Progesterone Testing for Dogs.

As you can read, I’m having a Devil of a time. After this article, I’m about to call that Vet Clinic back to see if they’ve accepted Atlas yet. If not, then I’ll need to go the other route I suppose. That or just borrow the stud for 2 weeks huh? Yeah, that won’t happen. If you’ve thought about trying to breed dogs, it’s a pain in the rear. Save yourself the time and money and find a day job.

I can tell you already, if I wasn’t so gun-ho over having Atlas’ daughter, I would not be doing this. But, as it stands, I want her daughter and her granddaughters. My Annie passed away last year and I miss her. I can’t even begin to form words on how I’ll feel when Atlas passes at 12-14 years old. I enjoy every single day with her, but still. We know all dogs go to heaven eventually. But, the heartache might be dulled by having her line follow in her stead.

Have you bred your dogs? How did you handle not getting the progesterone testing done? Did your Vets pull the, “We’re not accepting new clients during COVID” crud? What other options did you use? Any help and suggestions are completely appreciated!