Breeding Services at Menai Animal Hospital
Menai Animal Hospital offers animal breeding services including transcervical catheterisation and artificial insemination.
PLEASE NOTE: From the 15/7/2021 our current policy for breeding is that we can only be of service to ANKC or MDBA registered breeders. We will no longer provide our services to unregistered breeders as we are following the polices of the DLI.
Transcervical Catheterisation
The goal of managed breeding is to achieve the best conception rate and litter size with the least cost.
Success depends on:
🐾 Semen quality
🐾 Accurate timing
🐾 Semen getting into the right spot
If you want pups and you have had difficulty getting your bitch pregnant then you need to do things differently next time around.
The most costly part of breeding is losing a litter. If you have no pups from one season you can’t replace that season.
To get semen to the right spot can be very difficult. The vagina of a bitch is long (10-14cm in a 11kg bitch, 29cm in a 35kg bitch). The cervix cannot be palpated. Most inseminations only go into the vagina like natural matings so have only a 50-70% success rate.
Intra Uterine Insemination results in higher conception rates and increased litter size
There are two ways of getting semen into the uterus:
- Surgically – semen is injected through the uterine wall during a laparotomy; the bitch is anaesthetised.
- Transcervical Insemination – the cervix is visualised through a rigid endoscope which is passed into the vagina. A catheter is passed through the cervix and semen is deposited into the uterus.
Advantages of transcervical insemination:
No anaesthetic required
- The bitches stand for the procedure and most (as long as they are in oestrus) tolerate it very well
- The use of the endoscope means it is not ‘blind’; the vet can see the cervix, identify the dorsal median fold and tubercle and fornix (blind pocket). The opening of the cervix is small and is visually directed downward but with the endoscope a catheter can be passed through it
- There is minimal trauma to the reproductive tract
- Multiple inseminations can be performed in any heat cycle
- Only a small amount of semen is required (1-2ml)
- Conception rates with this technique have been reported between 80-100%
There are limitations:
- Not every bitch can be scoped
- It is important that the bitch is in oestrus
- It is best if progesterone levels are done to check the timing of ovulation in relation to insemination
- The semen has to be fertile
Summary
If you want more successful breedings there are techniques available for success:
- Swab your bitch as soon as she comes on heat (infection in vagina kills sperm and pups)
- Have a progesterone test before day 5
- Repeat progesterone tests as advised by the vet – usually every 2-3 days
- If your stud dug has not been used for a while – get his semen tested. Don’t be disappointed if low quality. Retest before you need him or find another dog
- Make sure semen quality is adequate whether using fresh or frozen semen
- Inseminate at appropriate time
- Transcervical insemination or surgical insemination
- Repeat transcervical insemination 2 days later (depending on bitch)
Four major reasons for missed conception are:
- Infection
- Improper timing of breeding
- Poor semen quality
- Semen not getting to right spot
Artificial Insemination
A natural mating is not the most effective way to breed. Statistics prove that natural matings have a much lower conception rate compared to A.I.
| Natural matings | 61.2% (conception rate) |
| A.I. fresh semen | 71.8% (conception rate) |
| A.I. frozen semen | 81.7% (conception rate) |
| (Statistics from NGA 2002) |
A.I. frozen semen 95%
(with surgical implantation or transcervical insemination)
Some people will prefer to do things naturally – but it is possible to get much better success with A.I.
There are many benefits to A.I. including:
- The ability to know if the semen is of good quality before the A.I
- The ability to use a different stud dog if the semen quality is poor
- Avoids non acceptance of female by male and vice versa
- Best way to breed a maiden bitch
- Saves time and avoids injuries of holding dog and bitch during tie
- Positive control of reproductive diseases
- The ability to breed without the stud dog being present with the use of fresh (kooled) or frozen semen
- The ability to breed more often
For pregnancy to occur the semen needs to get to the right spot.
- The vagina of a bitch is long, 10-14cm in an 11kg bitch. (To reach the cervix the equipment needs to be about 30cm long for a large breed, eg Labrador)
- In natural mating semen is deposited into the vaginal lumen
- In a standard artificial insemination, the vet aims to deposit the semen cranial to the caudal tubercle
- In transcervical catheterisation semen is deposited through the cervical into the uterus
- In surgical insemination the bitch is under anaesthetic, the semen is deposited into the fallopian tubes
There are so many advantages of A.I. that better informed breeders will prefer to breed this way.
Nearly all racing greyhounds are bred this way.
We now sell an “At home A.I. kit” for just $63.00 including postage
Timings of Caesareans
Timing for elective caesarean
Often you know in advance that your bitch will be having an elective caesarean. This may be due to her breed, her history, health conditions, problems with the size of the puppies compared to the bitches pelvic opening, risk of uterine inertia – there are many reasons.
You want to get the timing right so that the pups are ready to be born – remembering that ovulation and release of eggs and implantation occurs over a number of days so within a litter there may be a lot of variation. If pups are born too early (undercooked), they may not be fully developed. Often you will see red nose and muzzle and red paws. Size of the pups is not a good indicator of readiness as this is variable with genetics and the number of pups in litter.
Timing involves many factors:
1. Gestation length: know your mating dates.
65 days from L.H surge +/- 1 day
63 days from ovulation
If you test progesterone, then LH surge is after progesterone is over 15 n/mol (5ng). ovulation would be 24-48 hours after this. However, gestation length is affected by number of pups in the litter and by the weight of the mum (and pups).
2. Signs from bitch that birth is near:
Nesting, milk may be coming in, spine will appear more prominent, abdomen will be deformed, pups will move caudally, vulva drops down. Your vet may do a vaginal exam to check.
3. Progesterone tests:
Although some say progesterone should be less than 6nmol/L before caesarean is done, this is not accurate. There is diurnal variation in progesterone and a morning test can be 50% higher than an afternoon test. The tube blood is collected in can also affect the result and results can differ between laboratories also. Whether or not a bitch has eaten can affect results, so it is really important that serial progesterone testing is done to ensure accurate information is obtained. A serial progesterone test can only be helpful when combined with signs.
4. Imaging/X rays
a) X-rays are useful to see development of pups, but the bones of the skeleton of the pups is not visible until after 42 days of pregnancy. However, if no mating dates are known X-rays help to determine how many days to go but are not as accurate as needed for timing a c-section.
b) Ultrasounds can be very helpful as your vet can see gastrointestinal development of the puppies in the last 48 hours before birth and can monitor foetal heartrate. Serial ultrasounds may be needed.
Your vet will advise you on the best time, but remember the health of mum is very important and if she has breathing issues or anything that is life-threatening to her, her health must be primary concern for pups to be born healthy and for good survival of all.
If you are having any trouble raising pups it will not just be due to the timing of the c-section, ask your vet or vet nurse for help.
For any further information about Menai Animal Hospital’s breeding services, please give our team a call on 9541 1455 or send us a message.