ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION IN DIFFERENT BREEDS OF DOGS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results obtained using the artificial insemination (AI) technique, with fresh semen in different breeds of dogs. The experiment was performed between November/2000 and February/2001.The AI procedures were carried out at the clinician office. The semen was manually collected, using graduated glass tubes, glass fillers, and unbreakable plastics straws, that were connected to plastic syringes. The bitches were inseminated on 11, 13 and 15 days of heat. The reasons for using AI were conformation problems (71.43%), behavior problems (21.43%) and orthopedic injuries (7.14%). The dogs were English Bulldogs (38.46%) followed by Labrador Retrievers (23.08%), and other breeds (36.46%). The pregnancy rate was 77.80%. The mean litter size for Bulldogs was 6, for Labradors was 9 and for other breeds, mainly represented by small breeds, was 4, . The puppies’ mortality rate was 10%. This study showed that AI using dog fresh semen presents good results for dogs with conformation, orthopedic and behavior problems. These dogs usually did not have natural matting, but using AI they can produce similar results to that ones showed by completely healthy dogs.