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How do
I donate samples
for Saluki studies?

 

Your tax-deductible donations, made payable to SHR Inc, should be sent to

MaryDee Sist DVM
1629 Meech Road
Williamston, MI 48895

517-655-1354
517-655-5551
Salukihealth@aol.com

Interpretation of Serum Progesterone Results
for the Management
of Breeding in Dogs

Breeding your bitch takes a tremendous amount of planning. After making that commitment, it is very disheartening to have your bitch end up not being pregnant. The majority of the time, the sire and dam are fertile, but failure to conceive is often due to breeding at the wrong time. Accurate timing is needed, especially when breeding by artificial insemination. Sperm in fresh semen can live for 5 to 7 days, so timing is not critical in a natural breeding. Sperm live possibly 3 days when semen is chilled, but only 24 hours after frozen semen is thawed, thus timing of an artificial insemination is crucial.

There are different ways to estimate when ovulation has taken place, interest of the experienced stud dog, amount and color of the bitch’s vaginal discharge, appearance and tone of the vaginal mucosa and cervix, and microscopic examination of vaginal smears. Assaying the progesterone level in the blood of the bitch has greatly improved the accuracy of knowing when ovulation has occurred and breeding should take place. The article guidelines (click on title) were established to assist in the timing of breeding according to the progesterone blood values.