Artificial insemination can also make the semen from a desirable male dog more widely available.
In addition to a general health examination, a breeding soundness examination is done to make sure the male dog’s reproductive tract is healthy and sound.
In some cases a female at the correct stage of heat is not available. Frozen cotton swabs that were wiped in the vagina of a female dog at the peak of heat can be thawed and swiped on the tail end of any dog, which causes the male dog to respond. In some cases semen can be collected and stored before a dog dies to be made available after his death; in others injury may make it impossible for a male dog to breed naturally yet he may still be able to produce semen.
The best success rate comes from use of fresh semen. With chilled semen the success rate drops to 59-80% and with frozen it falls to 52-60%. [6] X Research source www. revivalanimal. com/articles/artificial-insemination. html
Each heat cycle has a preparatory proestrus stage, where the female’s vulva (visible to the outside) swells and she bleeds or spots blood for seven to nine days. The uterus (womb) is being prepared to make a suitable environment for the embryos to develop into puppies. [7] X Research source www. vcahospitals. com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/estrus-cycles-in-dogs/5778 After this, the bleeding slows and she becomes receptive to breeding. This stage is called estrus. This is also called standing heat, because it is the period when the female will stand to mated with the male dog. It is only during this stage that she will be able to become pregnant. The most fertile time will be at the end or just after standing heat occurs. Veterinarians can determine the stage of heat the female dog is in by collecting swabs inside the vagina and examining the cells. [7] X Research source The swabs will collect cells which have distinctive shapes and sizes depending on the stage of estrus. This is especially helpful in those female dogs that don’t swell or bleed much. The best time to inseminate is going to be at peak ovulation, which is determined based on the progesterone numbers. Monitor the levels with your vet and wait from 48 to 72 hours after the spike in progesterone to inseminate.
The insertion of the pipette takes special skill as the female dog’s vagina is quite long. The pipette is withdrawn and discarded.
After 10 minutes she can walk around normally, but jumping and urinating should be avoided for about an hour.
