Artificial insemination with frozen semen in dogs, 1992

Edited by the National Veterinary School — Maisons-Alfort, France. Translation: P. Llorca.

Artificial insemination, A.I., with frozen semen is today widely used in various animal species, especially cattle, and also in humans, for whom semen banks have been created.

The possibility of almost unlimited preservation of semen in liquid nitrogen, at least at -196 °C, can be highly beneficial in dogs.

From a practical point of view, the collected semen is evaluated, diluted and prepared in straws by freezing, and the straws are stored in containers holding liquid nitrogen. At the moment of insemination, the straws are thawed and the sperm is introduced into the genital tract of the female dog with the aid of specific probes. Fertilization is carried out in the total absence of males and with the help of the vaginal smear, through which the optimal moment for insemination can be determined.

Artificial insemination with frozen semen

It allows great flexibility in the use of male breeding dogs.

Unavailable dogs: illness, accident, travel. Numerous female dogs can be inseminated by the same male at the same time and in different places. If the precaution is taken of storing the collected semen, it can continue to be used after the dog’s disappearance. It avoids travel for mating. It makes it possible to consider international semen exchanges and thus avoid long journeys. It allows the rational use of highly valuable collections with programmed matings.

The semen bank of the veterinary school of alfort

This “bank” is located at the Veterinary School in Maisons-Alfort, Professor F. Bandinand, in agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Société Centrale Canine.

1º. Dogs are selected at the bank’s headquarters. Only semen from quality dogs should be stored. The dogs must have good origins, possess good qualities and, if possible, have known offspring.

2º. It is important that the collection be registered in the L.O.F. in order to be stored in the Semen Bank.

The “collection” is carried out in the presence of a female dog in heat, called a “teaser”.

3º. Only good-quality semen can be frozen. After qualitative and quantitative evaluation, the sperm is diluted and prepared in straws.

Freezing lasts more than four hours. The following day, the quality of the semen is checked by thawing one straw. Freezing failures occur at all ages, and also with semen of good quality at the time of mating. Nevertheless, failures are more frequent in older animals, and for this reason it is preferable not to exceed the age of 7 years when freezing a dog’s sperm. Dog semen must be low in concentration; a single collection generally allows the insemination of one to five female dogs. This requires contributions in repeated matings, particularly in females of small breeds.

4º. The remainder of the frozen semen is the property of the dog’s owners.

The owners of a collection in which the sperm has been frozen in straws are the owners of those straws and may use them at their convenience. These may be anonymous or have their name published in the Semen Bank file, which is in turn published by the Société Centrale Canine. When the owner of a female dog wishes to use frozen sperm, he must contact the owner of the semen so that the latter accepts the sale of the straws necessary for insemination at a price fixed solely by them. In the event of agreement, the latter must sign written authorization for the use of the straws.

A.i. with frozen sperm: why, when, how

For the moment, this is not a therapeutic goal, but rather a genetic goal. For this reason, it is necessary that a female dog at least be able to have frozen sperm available in the event of failure of a mating, refusal by the female, lack of interest by the male, etc. However, it is preferable to carry out artificial insemination with fresh semen by her veterinarian. Insemination is performed after ovulation control with the help of the vaginal smear. Ovulation in the female dog must begin fairly early after the onset of heat.

Two inseminations would be carried out at 48-hour intervals. Insemination may take place at any veterinarian officially recognized as an accepted inseminator, list available from the Semen Bank. The straws are then shipped in containers with liquid nitrogen to the accepted veterinarian, in this case by the owners of the female dog.