What You Will Need
-Fresh, chilled, or frozen semen
-Small animal insemination pipette
-Syringe without rubber plunger
If using frozen semen, you will also need:
-Rigid 30-cm cystourethroscope with a 30° viewing angle and light source
Artificial insemination (AI), now a common procedure in small animal reproduction, is as effective as natural breeding. It can be used for breeding with fresh semen if the bitch will not stand for the male because of behavioral or anatomic problems, if the male has physical problems that prevent mounting, or the male refuses to mount the female. Of course, in some instances, a male is inaccessible and AI using cooled or frozen semen is the only alternative. The clinician should ensure that the bitch is in estrus before proceeding. -8-Fr polypropylene urinary catheter
STEP BY STEP ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
Preparation
The first step is to ensure that the bitch is in estrus. Identifying estrus can be done using vaginal cytology for a fresh semen breeding, and combining hormone analysis (progesterone and/or luteinizing hormone) when using chilled or frozen semen to identify the most fertile days to breed.
A complete semen analysis including motility, volume, concentration, and morphology should be performed on fresh or chilled semen, and the motility of frozen semen should be assessed before insemination. A semen analysis before breeding will help answer questions later if the bitch fails to become pregnant.
Frozen semen should be thawed according to the instructions provided by the freezing facility, and it should be used immediately upon thawing. (That is, it should be thawed only when the catheter is within the uterus.)