Can You Breed a Dog With 2 Males?

What Is the Best Way to Breed a Dog With Two Studs?

"I have a female Standard Poodle, two years old, who is about to go into her fourth heat. I’ve done genetic testing, which showed no genetic defects. I am planning on breeding her with an Australian Shepherd.

I’ve read that a dog can become pregnant by two studs. I’m thinking of also putting her with a Yellow Lab who has a wonderful temperament. I have responsible recipients lined up for the puppies I won’t be keeping.

My question is: What is the best way to breed with two studs? I have heard that the sperm from the second stud may actually kill off the sperm from the first. Would two days between studs be enough, or should I do alternating studs every two days until she stops standing for them?"—Danielle

Can a Female Dog Get Pregnant by Two Different Dads?

Using multiple males will not lower the fertility of the female, and a litter of puppies can have multiple dads. Any sperm that is capacitated (healthy and able) will fertilize any present egg. Sperm from different males have no effect on each other—except for competition to reach the egg.

Breeding to multiple males happens quite frequently when female dogs are loose as they accept multiple strays, and the litters produced have numerous fathers.

One of my own dogs is from a litter like that. The owner of the female bred her to a Rottweiler, but as soon as he came home, he released her into his backyard, and a Chocolate Labrador jumped the fence in the backyard and bred the female. When the puppies were born, some were obviously bred by the Lab, and some were bred by the Rottie. None looked like the mother, which made it easy to identify which of the puppies were from which father.

Should You Breed Dogs Daily or on Alternating Days?

There is no exact answer on whether to breed your female with different dogs at the same time or on alternating days. A female that is loose will breed with multiple male dogs every day that she will accept a male.

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Because of sperm capacitation, I usually recommend that a female be bred every other day. This is a common practice used by breeders to increase the number of eggs fertilized (and thus puppies born), but there is no research that proves that this is correct.

We do know that the longer sperm is present in the uterine horns, the more of the cells die, so if sperm has been present for a long time before ovulation, the numbers may not even be enough to produce enough puppies. (1)

Why Use Multiple Males?

It is not clear why you are using two separate males. Some females will not accept some males, but it is hypothesized that this is a wolf strategy to avoid inbreeding and is not even an issue in crossbreeding dogs. (2)

If you want to produce Aussidoodles, there are going to be plenty of people who want a puppy. If you are trying to produce Labradoodles, there are going to be plenty of people to accept the puppies. The problem is that you are not going to know which is which.

You might be able to tell—if all of the puppies have the color of the fathers—but if some puppies are born that look like your Poodle, you will have no idea until the puppies are 4 to 6 months old.

My suggestion would be to use the Aussie, and if she is willing to accept him, breed her every other day until she will no longer stand to be bred. (If she will not accept him, try the Lab.) If you have people willing to accept a puppy, no matter if it is an Aussie cross or a Lab cross, it is fine to ignore my suggestion, but there are no advantages to using multiple males.

References

• (1) Karre I, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Urhausen C, Beineke A, Meinecke B, Piechotta M, Beyerbach M, Günzel-Apel AR. Distribution and viability of spermatozoa in the canine female genital tract during post-ovulatory oocyte maturation. Acta Vet Scand. 2012 Aug 29;54(1):49. doi: 10.1186/1751-0147-54-49. PMID: 22932162; PMCID: PMC3526419. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3526419/
• (2) Cafazzo S, Bonanni R, Valsecchi P, Natoli E. Social variables affecting mate preferences, copulation and reproductive outcome in a pack of free-ranging dogs. PLoS One. 2014 Jun 6;9(6):e98594. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098594. PMID: 24905360; PMCID: PMC4048177. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4048177/

This article is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from your veterinarian. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

© 2023 Mark dos Anjos, DVM