Three Alternatives to Natural Breeding

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Two Alternatives to Natural Breeding

• Heather Steyn, DVM
• Specialty Interest in Reproduction
• VCA Fort Collins Animal Hospital, Medical
  Director
• Canine Genetic Reserve, Owner
• Internationally Operated Frozen Semen Bank

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Options

• Natural breeding and Fresh Collection Artificial
  Insemination are always ideal
• When Fresh Semen is not available
• Fresh Chilled Semen
• Frozen Semen

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Reasons to Use Fresh Chilled Semen

• Weather prevents travel
• Show/Trial schedule prevents natural
• Avoid shipping/driving bitch
• Cost
• Stress to bitch
• Airline embargos
• Entrusting bitch to someone else

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Reasons to Use Frozen Semen

• Same as for Chilled
• International Breeding
• Stud dog
• Old
• Neutered
• Not well
• Sterile
• Deceased

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Given the choice, this is the order I would
recommend

• Natural or Fresh Collection AI
• Fresh Chilled
• Frozen

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AKC Regulations for using Chilled and Frozen Semen

• AKC requires DNA profiling on any stud dog used
  for Chilled or Frozen
• AKC accepts litter registrations from licensed
  veterinarians for Chilled breedings

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AKC Regulations

• AKC only allows registration of Frozen litters
  from Semen that was frozen at an AKC inspected
  and approved facility
• Any licensed veterinarian can perform the
  insemination of Frozen Semen

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Fresh Chilled Semen

• Chill test on Stud dog 1st time with same media
• Ideally want gt70 post-warming motility
• Several chill medias available
• CGR manufactured by Seager
• ICSB similar to CGR
• ICG Equine based media
• Other

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Fresh Chilled Semen

• Collection Shipping method important
• Collect 2nd fraction only, if possible
• Can separate 1st and 3rd fraction
• Semen separating solution
• Centrifugation
• Caution due to contamination

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Fresh Chilled Semen

• Packaging quality important
• Freezing risk in very cold weather
• High quality cooler
• Double pack
• Newspaper layering
• Counter-to-Counter Airline shipping
• Known Shippers Can do same day delivery
• FedEx Overnight Express delivery, guaranteed by
  12pm and Saturday delivery
• Check ahead for particular zip code

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Fresh Chilled Semen

• Methods for Insemination
• Transvaginal
• Transcervical
• Surgical

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Fresh Chilled Semen

• Success rate and litter size are almost
  equivalent to natural breeding with semen that
  has a gt70 motility (post-warming) and used in
  young (3-5 yr old) bitches who are proven
• Lack of accurate timing is the most common cause
  of missing a bitch with fresh chilled semen

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Types of Freezing Methods and Terminology

• Total Sperm Count total sperm counted in a
  collection does not account for morphology
  defects, motility, etc
• Post Thaw Motility - that refers to the amount
  of progressively motile sperm after freezing and
  test thaw
• Effective Sperm Count Total Sperm count x the
  Post thaw motility

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Terminology Continued

• Straws (ICG, Clone)
• Pellets (CGR, ICSB others)
• One breeding minimum of 100 x 106
  progressively motile sperm
• Breeding Unit (made up of pellets required)
• Vial (made up of pellets required)
• Straw (usually one per breeding)
• Breeding Unit Vial Straw
• One collection may produce anywhere from 1 to 20
  breeding units (vials/straws)

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Straws

• Advantages
• Less technical to freeze than pellets
• 1 straw 1 breeding

• Disadvantages
• Post thaw motility evaluation not performed
• Expensive to do
• Difficult to handle
• Equine technology (not canine)
• Estimated Sperm counts

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Pellets

• Advantages
• More effective freezing
• Actual post thaw motility
• Effective sperm counts available
• Easier to handle when used for inseminations
• More flexibility re breeding units

• Disadvantages
• Technically challenging to freeze
• Fewer DVMs know how to freeze pellets

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Frozen Semen

• Shipping
• CryoTanks (Dry Shipper)
• 5-10 days of holding capacity
• Can spill if tipped over
• Heavy (up to 60 lbs when fully charged)
• Expensive to ship due to weight
• Require shipping case
• CryoPorter
• 15-21 days of holding capacity
• Will not spill if turned over
• Lighter (about 28 lbs when fully charged)
• Inexpensive to ship due to weight
• Does not require shipping case
• Expensive to replace

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Frozen Semen

• Ship early when possible
• When going to a facility that can store the semen
• When using Cryoporter (15-21 days)
• Decreases risk of arriving late for bitch
• Available if bitchs cycle changes suddenly

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Frozen Semen

• Know quality of Semen ahead of time
• Ask for Post-Thaw motility s and actual count
  (may not be available with Straws)
• Use this information to determine insemination
  method
• If low of progressively motile sperm
  (post-thaw) consider using more than one breeding
  unit

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Frozen Semen

• Methods of Insemination
• TransVaginal insemination
• Success rate 0-50
• TransCervical insemination
• Success rate of 58-85
• Surgical insemination
• Success rate 78-92

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TransVaginal Insemination(Not recommended!)

• Advantages
• Simple for any veterinarian to do
• Very little equipment required
• Non-Invasive
• No general anesthesia
• Inexpensive

• Disadvantages
• Very low success rate
• Small litters

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TransCervical Insemination

• Advantages
• Non-Invasive
• No general anesthesia
• Bitch tolerates very well
• Good success rate with a trained veterinarian
• Can do multiple breedings
• Less expensive than surgical

• Disadvantages
• Expensive equipment
• Slightly lower success rate than surgical
• Requires trained and practiced veterinarian
• More expensive than TransVaginal

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Surgical Insemination

• Advantages
• Highest success rate (even when using the lowest
  of progressively motile sperm)

• Disadvantages
• Invasive
• General Anesthesia
• Only one breeding
• More expensive

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• Can combine methods (one surgical and several
  transcervical)
• Make decision about insemination method based on
• Importance of the breeding
• Quality of the semen
• Amount of semen available
• Finances
• Can double up on breeding units
• Increases litter size
• Compensates for poor quality sperm

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KEY POINT TO SUCCESS

• Precise ovulation timing by a knowledgeable and
  experienced veterinarian is required (if not
  mandatory) for success with the use of Fresh
  Chilled or Frozen Semen!!!

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Reasons for Conception Failure

• Lack of appropriate ovulation timing
• Poor quality semen
• Inappropriate semen
• Collection
• Evaluation
• Shipping
• Handling
• Underlying infertility issue with the bitch

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Ovulation Timing of the Bitch

• Future Lecture.

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• Thank you
• Special thanks to
• Jeff Sedillos
• And
• CCCI
• Any questions?

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