Celeste x Dublin

With her chastity belt removed and Celeste in full heat, Dublin proved a willing and able stud and the two have successfully mated.

More than in her previous heats, Dublin has been particularly aware this time around, very keyed in to where Celeste is and what she's doing. There's no denying the pheromone aspect of canine courtship, as Dublin will smell Celeste through her chastity belt and come away tasting the air, sucking in short breaths through parsed lips... almost like a baby suckling on an invisible pacifier. He even makes little sucking noises while doing so.

She seems to me more receptive this time around as well. She was not as nippy to Dublin during her early heat and now that she is standing, her flirtations are becoming much less subtle than before.

Dublin has never been an aggressive dog--especially sexually--and I don't recall him ever humping a leg, or even showing much interest except during Celeste's heats. He certainly exhibits none of the supposed ills of an intact Male: he's not aggressive, frustrated, a wanderlust, nor has he challenged me for alpha male. In fact, I suspect he'd be an omega dog if our little pack were any larger. He's the sweetest boy and that really doesn't change even when Celeste is in season.

The two of them have been quite flirtatious as of late, snuggling and kissing. Since they're only together while they're inside and Celeste has her "Seasonals" chastity belt on, we've calmly managed to suspend any mounting attempts, although Celeste is pretty good at keeping Dublin off with just a "smile."

She started standing last night so we allowed them to mate today. Some of the literature suggests repeating the mating in 48 hours, but as of now we hope one mating will suffice. We're not hoping for a large litter and it wouldn't be a travesty if this mating doesn't take.

Border Collies are a particularly healthy breed, not known for complications during mating, pregnancy, or birth. If today's mating was successful, I hope that the rest of the pregnancy and birth goes as easy as the mating did.