Semen Services
Freezing of Semen
Why freeze canine semen? The most obvious advantage of frozen semen is the ability to store indefinitely the genetic potential of an animal. Once semen is frozen it does not deteriorate, and there have been pregnancies reported from semen that is over 40 years old. Frozen semen well and truly outlives the normal lifespan of the donor. Perhaps the most important reason is to preserve and insure the breeding potential of a dog against loss, death or infertility. This provides for the stud dog to sire puppies when he is no longer able to do so. Freezing semen also allows for the transport of genetic material between countries. When is the best time to freeze semen from my dog? Ideally semen should be collected from males that are between 18 months and 5 years of age. From 5 years of age onwards, the frequency of prostatic and other disease increases which has an effect on semen quality. Semen from older males can still be frozen very successfully. Ensure the male has been fit and healthy both at the time of collection and for the previous few months. A sick or stressed dog will not provide a quality collection. Furthermore, a high fever in the past can adversely affect semen quality for several months after the event. If the male is over 6 years old, has a history of prostatic disease, or has dubious fertility, it may be advisable to have a semen evaluation and “test-freeze” performed before committing to storage of large amounts of semen.
How much semen should I freeze?
There are many different semen freezing techniques. At Croft we freeze semen in 0.5 ml straws with a total of around 50 million sperm/straw. The recommended minimum number of motile sperm required per “intra-uterine artificial insemination (AI)” or per “mating” is 100 million normal, motile sperm per insemination. Therefore the number of straws required per mating with frozen semen depends on how well the semen freezes. The number of straws frozen per semen collection varies between breeds and individuals. Up to 20 straws have been achieved from a single collection. An average collection will produce from 5 to 10 straws. Frozen semen can be stored indefinitely in liquid nitrogen.A breeding unit is that quantity of semen required to produce a pregnancy at one insemination. The breeding unit is 100 million live sperm cells. To achieve 100 million it may require 4 –10 straws. The quantity of semen obtained per collection is dependent on the dog's sperm count and size. Most medium to large breeds produce 4-5 breeding units of 100 million sperm cells. Small dogs may only produce 1 –2 breeding units. In general, a young mature dog (18 months -5 years of age) will have a higher sperm count and better quality semen than older dogs or young immature dogs. Breeders may need to obtain more than one ejaculation in order to obtain sufficient semen for their breeding plans. Dogs may be collected twice, just 20 minutes apart without any deterioration of quality of the second collection (i.e. doesn’t have to be on separate occasions) For further information or to make an appointment please contact us:
Croft Reproduction
Croft Vets
Northumberland Business Park West
Cramlington
Northumberland
NE23 7RH
Telephone: 0191 2503800
Email info(at)croft-reproduction.co.uk
www.croft-reproduction.co.uk
