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How To Breed Dogs With Great Results

Infertility in dog can be the result from a wide variety of sources. Congenital defects, infections, medications and tumors of the reproductive system of either sex may result in breeding problems.

The most common causes among females comes from endocrine imbalances. Egg implantation failure resulting from either physiological or psychological sources is a cause of infertility. Impotence, whether temporary or permanent, can also stem from a wide variety of causes. Like a male dog kept under close confinement may suffer a temporary sterility.

Psychological and environmental factors can, and do, strongly influence fertility. In some homes pets may be reluctant to breed at all, while others will breed successfully when not in the presence of their owners. Rough handling or distractions during a supervised breeding can affect conception rate.

Dietary insufficiency and obesity can affect reproduction ability. Many cases of temporary infertility or impotence can be successfully brought into control through therapeutic veterinary intervention.

Your veterinarian should thoroughly examine both the male and female before a breeding is initiated. Ideally, the sire and matron-elect should be in a good state of health, lean and physically strong. Dogs should have blood drawn for a brucellosis test no less than several days prior to the first mating. The reproductive organs of the male dogs should be examined. The veterinarian should also make a slide from a semen sample to assess the quality, motility and quantity of the sperm.

Breeding should take place in an atmosphere that is conducive to a natural completion. The atmosphere should be free of distractions, allowing the dogs to concentrate fully on what they are supposed to be doing. A backyard where neighbors hang over the fence to watch, or even a next-door party is a strong distraction for any coupling pair. Children zooming through the yard and nearby dogs barking are also major disturbances to a successful breeding.

Age and timing are the strongest factors in the reproductive ability of both sexes. As the years go by, older male or female dogs become infertile. The best conception rates occur when the correct breeding time is determined. A female's flagging enticement of the male is not enough. Daily examination of vaginal smears helps to accurately define the optimum time for a breeding.

Good conception rates occur when females are bred twice within 48 hours, and during the first three days of true estrus. Some females' slides indicate a longer breeding period. Bred no more than three times on an every-other-day basis, over a 72-hour period, a strong conception rate is almost always assured.