Having found the stud dog, it is now just a waiting game.  We can't proceed with anything until the dog has come into season.

Since Tilly has aways come into season in regular six monthly intervals, I was pretty confident that this would happen around the middle of May.

I asked around and read lots of websites to find out a bit more, but I also watched Tilly like a hawk for two weeks prior to the expected start time. I was advised to start swabbing her with a tissue around the vulva, this is because we need to absolutely sure of the first day of the season.  We have been advised by two separate breeders that we should mark Day 1 (the first signs of blood) on the calendar and then 7 days after this, take Tilly to the vets to have a blood sample taken, which is then sent off to the Lab and tested to see when she is likely to ovulate. Apparently, they can tell you the correct couple of days to introduce Tilly to the Stud dog and for mating to take place.

It's absolutely critical to get day 1 right, since if you miss this, you can potentially miss the right opportunity to breed, and then you've got to wait another 6 months before you can try again!

Here are the signs I noticed prior to Tilly coming into season:

• Lots of interest around the female dog by boy dogs!
• Lots of "scenting" i.e weeing a lot on walks!
• Constant licking of the vulva
• Perhaps the dog feels a little lethargic?
• Off her food
• Slight clear discharge in the week running up to day 1
• The day prior to bleeding the discharge was slightly coloured.
• Swelling of the vulva (I noticed a slight swelling the day before, but it swells much more later in the season).

Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long for Tilly to start, she kept us waiting for a while, and I think she got fed up of the constant swabbing of her rear end, but eventually Day 1 has dawned and we are now counting down the days to the blood test. Watch this space to see how we get on!