Malu and I go with Ford to his place in the Catskills for Sat. and Sun. Ford has told Andy, who lives near there, and a man named Bill, whom Ford works with and has a summer place nearby, that they can breed their dogs at his place. Since the dogs will be on neutral territory it is hoped they won't have territorial issues.
The female, Andy’s lovely white German Shepherd named Pearl, arrives first. She has met her future husband, as Ford calls him, previously, but now she is in heat, which might be a different story.
His name is Howie and he's a black German Shepherd, a bit younger than Pearl, and quite a bit larger and heavier.
When they meet they sniff each other and begin to run around, side by side, not stopping. They seem to be getting along fine. Andy says they sometimes do this until they begin to get exhausted, then they get down to business.
Sure enough, after a bit Howie has a go but seems, to be kind, rather inexperienced. He comes at Pearl from the side, his head and sometimes his forepaws, on her back — granted, the head over the back or neck is a gesture of dominance in many animals, and this may be his way of assuring himself that this is going to be alright, that she'll accept him, but he tries this approach pretty much exclusively, furiously humping the air to Pearl's side.
After a couple of hours of this poor Pearl is losing interest. She eventually snaps at Howie as if to say "enough already". The guy is still game, but his technique is sorely lacking. Ford is convinced that he will have to physically lift Howie into position in order for the thing to be accomplished, and he does try to help a bit, but placing the two of them in proper coupling position is at least a two person job, and there are no volunteers.
The dogs are taken to their respective homes at night, and the next afternoon they return and recommence their unsuccessful activities. There are moments when Howie seems almost on the verge of getting the idea, but then off he goes to the side or ends up simply humping the air in Pearl's vicinity.
