Why frozen dog semen?

Long-term preservation and the use of frozen dog semen
- a short introduction - Dr. Birgitte Schjøth.

Long-term preservation:
- if you have a male dog, with qualities you wish to preserve for future use – also after his death.
- Breeding - if the male dog isn`t available at the time in question (out of town, stationed outside of the house)
- International breeding - over long distances to where you do not wish to send the male or the female animal.
 
Preservation of semen:
Frozen dog semen is preserved in “straws” or pellets kept in fluid nitrogen at a temperature of       -196 C. The tank in which the semen is preserved is to be refilled from time to time with nitrogen, but is totally independent of i.e. power failure.

Frozen semen can probably be preserved forever.

The cost.
Check with the current Canicold price list.

 
 

Contract:
By instalment of semen in the semen bank, a contract is drawn between the bank and the depositor clearly stating the actual stock of straw as well as the obligations and responsibility for both the bank and the depositor.

Insurance:
The semen bank has an insurance covering every deposited portion of semen in case of unforeseen damages. Any breeding value we are unable to insure and should be covered by the owner him/herself.

Rules and regulations:
Ask your kennel club about the current rules and regulations for insemination with frozen semen. Here you may find forms to be filled in when dealing with frozen semen as well as insemination. When importing or exporting semen get in contact with your Ministry of Agriculture. Canicold does have this permission for certain countries and will be only happy to assist.

Freezing of semen:
Collection
The semen is collected by manual stimulation of the males penis and only the spermrich-fraction of the ejaculate is used. A higher quality and bigger portion is obtained if a bitch in season is present during the collection. Furthermore the male dog should be “in his best stage of age” , not too young and not too old. For ethic reasons, male dogs should prove that they have been able to mate “natural” when wishing to preserve semen from them.

What happens after the collection?
Immediately after the collection, the semen is evaluated. If the quality is satisfactory a buffer is added in order to protect the semen during freezing and thawing. A count of the semen cells are made where after the semen is being diluted further until it reaches a concentration of around 50 million live cells per straw. The semen is frozen in individually marked straws. After the freezing a single straw is being thawed in order to evaluate the quality of the semen – after freezing and thawing.
Not all male dogs have semen of a quality suitable for freezing and the normal mobility of the semen may be reduced when freezing. The average mobility when thawing is usually around 50 to 70%.

Factors which influence quantity and quality of semen:
-  age
-  overall health condition
-  size
-  temperament
It is a good idea to tap the male dog for semen apprx a week before the semen collection. This normally gives a better semen quality.

Insimination with frozen semen:
The success depends on:

-  good & correct timing of the bitch in season
-  good semen quality and correct handling of semen
-  correct insemination technique
-  a proven fertile bitch

Heat control:
Frozen semen does not last long after thawing and it is of the utmost importance to hit the correct time interval of the bitch, normally 3 to 5 days after the bitch “poses for the male dog”. During heat control an examination takes place of the bitch` vaginal mucous and cell composition. This indicates the time of the heat but not whether ovulation has taken place.

Hormone examination:
Examination of the hormone progesterone in the bitch` blood gives a pretty good picture of when ovulation will take place. The examination technique is not indifferent in any way when it comes to insemination with frozen semen. The so called Eliza test kit ( which can be performed at the clinic ) is very good when using fresh semen but not accurate enough  when it comes to frozen semen where it is of the utmost importance for the result that there are as many ripe eggs presents as possible. The method to be used for progesterone examination in connection with the use of frozen semen is called radio immunoassay (RIA) and only performed at curtain labs where the blood sample is to be send.
Normally it is necessary to take several tests when inseminating with frozen semen.
Ovulation takes place when the level of progesterone reaches 4.5 – 6.5ng/1 (14-20nmol/ml)
Insemination has to take place when the level reaches 14 – 20 ng/l (40-80nmol/ml)
Normally the bitch is examined every second day 2 to 4 times depending of how close she is to the optimal time of insemination.
2 inseminations during two successive days are normal depending the amount of semen available and quality. More inseminations gives better result and more puppies.

When measuring with the RIA method the following applies when using  fresh semen:
4,5 – 6,5ng/ml – ovulation – mating 2 to 3 days later, 8,0 – 11ng/ml – mating 1 to 2 days later, 11 – 19ng/ml mating the same or the following day

Insemination technique:
When using frozen semen, the semen is placed inside the uterus in order to get a positive result. (When using fresh semen it is sufficient to place the semen high up within the vagina)

The uterus mouth has the size of a pea and can be difficult to determine from the outside especially on bigger breeds. Furthermore the actual opening is very small and difficult to penetrate and takes quite a lot of practise to perform successfully.

For the most part we use a specially designed endoscope via the vagina. The owner is able to follow the procedure on a screen.  Normally it is not necessary to anaesthetize the bitch in order to perform this procedure, but some need a mild tranquilliser.
The actual insemination takes place with the bitch standing on the floor or on a table. It takes between 100 and 200 mill. Mobile semen cells per insemination.

Result:
Semen quality is of the outmost importance for a positive result. Bad semen gives a notable lower pregnancy result and smaller litters. As mentioned earlier the best result is obtained when inseminating twice.
If all conditions are optimal a pregnancy result of up to 65 – 80% is to be expected.