Transcript Canine Breeding Management - Department of Animal Science

Breeding Management
AnS 224
Spring 2005
Breeding Management
• How soon, i.e. what age
• How often
• Breeding techniques
Bitch Review
• First Cycle
– 6 to 18 months of age
• Proestrus
– Vaginal discharge to standing heat
• Estrus
– Standing heat to refusal
• Diestrus
– Refusal of breeding to whelping
• Anestrus
– Whelping to onset of next cycle
Endocrinology of the Cycle
Review
• Proestrus
– Estrogen, produced by follicles
– Growth and bleeding in the uterus
– Cellular thickening of vaginal canal
• Estrus
– Estrogen is decreasing, while progesterone is increasing
– Standing heat, 48 hours post LH peak (ovulation)
– ~95% superficial cells
• Diestrus
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Pregnancy/pseudopregnancy, progesterone dominant hormone
Behavior: the bitch refuses to stand for breeding
Cytology: decline in % of superficial cells on vaginal cytology
Most reliable non-hormonal milestone of cycle
Other clues to onset of estrus
• Not 100 % reliable
• Vulva may become less swollen and/or
turgid
• Bloody vaginal discharge may this to a
straw colored discharge
• While these can help, the most reliable
method will remain monitoring vaginal
cytology and behavior
Overview of the cycle
http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/reprod/vc/
First Breedings
• > 2 years of age for stud and bitch
– Hip certification and other health screenings
• Bitch
– No more often than every other cycle
– Every two years recommended
• Stud
– Avoid overuse
• Population
• Progeny evaluation
Primary cause of “infertility”
• Most bitches who fail to conceive have
normal fertility
• Most males who fail to settle a bitch with
pups have normal fertility
• The single greatest cause of infertility is
failure to breed at the right time
Tools and concepts necessary for
successful breedings
• The average bitch does not exist
• Trusting to “chemistry” . . . How to assess
normal courting and mating behavior
• Vaginal cytology . . . The tried and true
method in simple breeding management
• The power of the pen . . . Keeping records
for the lifetime of your bitch
Averages
• Most bitches will follow a certain pattern in
their cycle through the middle years of their
reproductive career
• Keeping records
– Start and end of vaginal discharge
– Changes in behavior and cytology results
– Breeding and whelping dates
Chemistry
– The guys
• Lack of, increase of, and loss of ardor
– The girls
• La donna è mobile
• The old maid
• The social misfit
– Atmosphere
• Territory, environment, security
Vaginal cytology
• Parabasal cells
• Intermediate cells
• Superficial cells
Pre-breeding routine medical
concerns
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When to pursue them, who to contact
Physical exams
Reproductive exams
Laboratory assessments
– Cultures?
– Serologies?
• Brucella canis
Things to have in order
• Veterinary contacts
• Secure and appropriate facility
for managing the breeding
• Breeding only area
Courtship and Mating
• Due no harm . . . ensuring
the safety of the animals
– Hand breeding
– Attended breedings
Breeding plan
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Assumes no travel
Both bitch and stud on site
+/- cytology
No first timers
No breeds that may warrant AI
Breeding on the next heat
• Four months (or normal cycle -2 months) after onset
of last heat
• Pursue medical check up
• Ensure bitch is not over- or under-conditioned
• Begin weekly vulvar exams (or how you can miss the
obvious)
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No intact male at home
Long or dark haired bitch
Fastidious bitch
Very mild changes in the external tract
Onset of the estrous cycle
• First day discharge - baseline cytology if possible
– Monitor every 3 to 4 days until 90% superficial cells
• Or
– Monitor daily for standing estrus with an intact proven
male
– Confirm with cytology if possible
Breeding schedule
• Breed every other day for the first two or
three breedings
• After initial breedings
– Test behavior daily
– Breed every 3 to 4 days until diestrus shift,
or until bitch refuses or male loses interest
– Corroborate with a cytology if possible
Breeding Dogs
What to Expect
• Mounting, intromission and thrusting
– Short (1-5 minutes)
• Tie
– Dismounting, retroflexion
– Long 5-45 minutes
– Health and safety concerns
Planning for Parturition
• Diestrus shift
– Cytology or behavior
– Day 9 post LH peak
• Date of parturition
– Diestrus shift + 56 days (+/- 1 day)
Behavioral complications
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Older maiden bitches
Under socialized bitches
Aggressive or uninterested stud
Must confirm status within estrous cycle by
cytology
• If poor correspondence between behavior
and cycle, pursue artificial insemination
• Continue to test for onset of standing estrus
Breeding Cats
• Plan for in house cattery
• Mature proven breeding stock
• No infectious diseases
Queen
• > 1 year of age
• No more often than one litter per year
• Secure breeding cage or run
– Not the queen’s cage
• Some shelter within breeding enclosure
• One tom per breeding run
• Up to a dozen queens per breeding run
Timed versus Un-timed
• First palpation best method to estimate breeding
and hence parturition dates
• Un-timed breeding
– Co-house queen and tom until pregnancy achieved
• Weekly palpation
• Begin in February/March
• Mating behaviors may make breedings obvious
– Mounting, neck biting, screaming, post-coital behavior
• Timed breeding
– Queen to breeding run 2 days/week
• Same two days each week
• Palpate thrice weekly
Estimating Parturition
• Timed matings example
– Breed from Monday morning to Tuesday evening
– Palpate on Thursday (day 18), Saturday (day 20), and
Monday (day 22), beginning after third week of
breedings
– Calculate back to week of ovulation after palpated
positive
• 66 days +/- 1 day from ovulation
– 66 days -1 to +2 days from Monday bred
• Expect kittens Tuesday – Friday (9 weeks, 3 days)
• Most likely Wednesday to Thursday
Review
• Canine
– Management to ensure safety, security, paternity,
fertility, and best estimate of parturition
– Diestrus
– Behavior
– Cytology
• Feline
– Timed versus un-timed pregnancies
– Palpations