What day is best to start testing for progesterone?
We recommend starting progesterone testing on day 6 of her heat IF you are certain you caught the first day of her heat. If you are unsure, start on the day you see the first sign of bloody vaginal discharge or swelling if she keeps herself very clean.
Is there a benefit to one type of breeding over another?
There are 3 kinds of semen and 4 kinds of breedings. There is fresh semen, fresh chilled/shipped semen, and frozen semen. The 4 kinds of breeding are natural (where there is a mating with a tie), vaginal insemination, transcervical insemination (TCI) where the semen is placed into the uterus with an endoscope and camera, and surgical breeding.
Costs of types of breedings/semen analysis/freezings. The fees associated with breeding are:
- Pre-breeding examination of the female
- Progesterone testing
- Semen collection and evaluation
- Insemination by vaginal, TCI, or surgical
- Semen collection, analysis, freezing, 1st-year storage, DNA, and AKC paperwork if an AKC breed.
Why is a pre-breeding exam needed? (Stud/bitch)
We need to assess males and females for health and fertility. For both, we do a complete physical examination, including assessing dental health, respiratory and cardiac function, lymph node and abdominal palpation, and the part of an orthopedic evaluation determined by physical examination. For the males, we assess testicle size, shape and character, penile health, and prostate health. For the females, we assess mammary glands, vaginal size, position, shape, and characteristics, and for umbilical and inguinal hernias. By doing this evaluation, we have a better idea of the overall health of the dog as well as catching problems that may play a role in fertility, breeding, and the ability to produce and deliver healthy puppies.
How many breedings are in a unit?
One breeding unit is enough to breed 1 female dog 1 time. We freeze in pellets – there can be 6 to 100 pellets in a breeding depending on the semen quality and breed. Other facilities freeze in straws – on average 4 straws are 1 breeding but again this can vary from 2 to 20 straws based on semen quality.
What are the best times to get a pregnancy x-ray done?
We recommend a puppy count x-ray for all females between days 55 and 57 of pregnancy. Unless you have scheduled your girl for a c-section, and sometimes even if you have, there is great value in knowing how many puppies she is going to have.
When are bitches ready to breed?
A bitch should not be bred on her first heat cycle – she needs more time to mature physically and mentally. The time to breed her during her heat cycle is timed based on progesterone timing. The other advantage to progesterone timing is to know when she is due to whelp.
Why is a teaser needed for collecting?
Even experienced male dogs have better collections when a teaser, a dog in heat, is used to entice him. We can collect up to 50% more sperm in a collection when using a teaser.
What are the advantages of a pregnancy ultrasound?
A pregnancy ultrasound helps to confirm early on that your girl is going to have pups. Not only can you plan time to be home with her with accuracy, but you can also estimate how many pups you will have to place in new homes, how you want the pups to be delivered (vaginal birth or free-whelping versus c-section), you can also assess the health of the pregnancy.
What is the process of shipping frozen semen? Receiving?
Frozen semen can be frozen at any time, and shipped well in advance of when it is planned to be used. Shipping semen outside of the US may require extensive planning, particularly when the semen will be shipped to island states or countries. Without appropriate planning and certain tests being done on the stud dog, many locations will not allow the semen to be imported. Advance planning is required no matter where or when the semen will be shipped and used. There is specific paperwork that must be signed by the stud dog owners or co-owners to allow for its use and the ability to register pups produced from the frozen semen with the AKC, UKC, or other registries. Locations that will store frozen semen need to be made aware that the semen will be arriving so they have arranged to accept and store the semen safely.
