Dogs’ Sexual Behaviour, Rate My Science
[Music]
the dog first evolved around 12,000
years ago it is one of only about a
dozen animals to share a close
relationship with humans and it is
believed that in many parts of the world
we wouldn’t have survived without them
for centuries
dogs have guarded our homes protected
our flocks and carried our loads without
them we may not have evolved as we have
but now she’s ready to mate the dog’s
penis contains a bone that may provide
additional stabilization during the
initial stages of copulation probably
because the male needs rigidity to enter
the female nearly vertically from below
he mounts her within seconds he
ejaculates the two animals now enter the
ty stage the male’s penis locks inside
the vagina as the vaginal muscles
contract during this time more fluid
from the prostate gland is released to
help transport the sperm the tie can
last from five minutes to an hour
the dogs normally turned to stand
back-to-back for this process something
dogs in the wild do to better protect
themselves from attack during this
vulnerable time this behavior is unique
to dogs and their wild relatives females
in a wild pack may have found it
difficult to win a mate so the longer
their eggs remain viable the more chance
there was of fertilizing the eggs once a
female successfully made it but a dog
doesn’t have to be pregnant to show
signs of pregnancy the female can
exhibit similar signs even when she
hasn’t made it the symptoms of this
pseudo pregnancy range from a slight
weight gain to mimicry of all the signs
of pregnancy she may start nursing toys
carrying them to her bed area in some
cases the female will make a nest
convinced she’s about to give birth she
may even try to nurse another females
pups this odd behavior of a pseudo or
phantom pregnancy has roots in the dogs
distant past for these embryos along
with every dog on the planet all descend
from the gray wolf in the wild only the
dominant pair in a pack breeds ensuring
that the strongest bloodline thrives and
the species survives but the dominant
female isn’t only the mother for the
pack she’s also the primary hunter if
she has to stop hunting while rearing
her own puppies the pack would lose her
food providing skills to avoid this all
the females in the pack come into season
together
the unmated females go through a false
pregnancy along with the pregnant
dominant female as soon as she gives
birth she can return to hunting leaving
her pups to be nursed by the other
females
the puppies will survive even if one or
more of the females is killed
