Does Locking In Always Lead To Pregnancy?

James Glover
by James Glover
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QuestionWhy do dogs lock on when having sex? Does this mean the females get pregnant? Do they get hurt? (Peter Woodlock - Nyngan)

Answer

Dogs, and some other species of mammals, 'lock-on' when mating. After entering the female, the male's penis becomes further enlarged so as to prevent both the female from running away and to prevent other competing males from interrupting the process. This does not hurt the male or the female, but interruption or attempts to separate the pair may cause pain and lead to injury. Sometimes the process can take up to 30 minutes, so owners have to be patient.

As to whether the female becomes pregnant is no different to when other pairs of mammals mate. The female must be in the correct period of her oestrus cycle (which she is likely to be if she is attracting males and is receptive to them). The outcome also depends on all the variables in common with all other mammals.

Disclaimer: This service is meant to provide advice only and is not meant to replace an appointment with a registered veterinarian. Users should always seek a second opinion. Unfortunately we are only able to answer several questions per week so not everyone gets a published answer. And, unfortunately we can't answer by email.
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Added on Nov 21st, 2008
i droped my female off to be bread yesterday, when i picked her up the males owner said that she was sure that they hed bread but did not see it happen. my female was bleeding from her bottom pretty good so we thought it happened. but just in case we made another play date for today but when i took her there the male had no interest in her, but yesterday he was all over her. so my question is once the male has "knocked her up" does he lose interest or did we just happen to catch her on her last day of heat?
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