Fertility Testing - Page 1

In recent years the ovulation time of bitches seems to have changed. Gone are the 13/14 days matings, we now see what Vets are calling split seasons where the bitch is mating nearer to the end of the season before conceiving. Has anyone used the fertility tests offered by specialised Vet's and what is the success rate Please ? Superdog

I used it for the first time at my last mating. I normally breed this particular female on day 15 AND 16. She had 9, 10, 11 pups per litter breeding on BOTH those days. The owner of the stud I used(VA1)5 months ago, insisted I use the "P" test. I did. I was excited about the mating and did not speak up for what I really wanted to do. The test indicated she would be optimum 2 days AFTER I normally breed her. We bred per the stud owner's wishes and Wha-La.......No puppies resulted from that breeding. I am not critizing or besmirching the "P" test or those that use it, but it did not work for me in that instance. The same female is coming back in season very soon(any day now) and I am going back to the method that I used in the past for this mating, with her. We will see what happens. Stephen

recently i had a female in season....i was not sure abt the days ...when she came in season....on the 9th day i took the slides for tests and i found that she was in the optimum state.....i mated that female on the 10th and 12 day....she had now delivered 12 healthy pups....i think it's better to have all the tests done before...and then go for mating....to be on the safer side...i would like to know more abt the fertility test in male and female..any information is warmly welcome

I will say(this is my opinion only), that regardless if you use the "P" test or not, better a couple days early when you let them mate, than a couple days LATE.

Many thanks for your replies. I am grateful for your experiences. I have a bitch who will stand regardless of where she is in her season. I had the cytology tests done and my Vet in my opinion was not really sure of what he should look for.We continued going after the 16 day and this produced one pup born dead becasue the Vet was not experienced. I then tried her again on the next season, along with the blood sample test (Protein) NO pups. I was introduduced to a German Vet who has studied fertility, and she wants to do the Protein test again. I understand that the first Vet was looking at 9% rise in protein level, this Vet says it should be 50%, big difference! I do wonder whether some know what they are looking at when they do these tests. Thanks for your help. Any more comments would be appreciated. Superdog

There are several different ovulation tests. None of them are foolproof. Rule of thumb though is to go early, because too late means no conception. Healthy sperm will keep for a day,under ideal condition even up to a few days, so if a female is bred today, and ovulation is not until tomorrow, chances are you still have a litter. If I recall correctly Louise has a lot of insight on this topic. Profile: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/userinfo.html?userid=94 You might want to try to contact her. I hope I got the person right... I wish they had a member listing on this site. Hint, hint.

As I read through these messages I discovered that the "p" test to that you refer is for blood protien level. This is new to me, as I test for the level of progesterone in the bitch's blood to indicate her level of fertility, and I thought that was the "p" to that you referred. After seven (7) days have paased, we check the progesterone level every two (2) days until we are close to a value of "4". At that value the bitch should be ready to start breeding. And, I do this only for a bitch that is taken off-site for a natural cover or must have artificial insemination. A natural cover at home can be done naturally, unless the bitch it too low in the rear or too hard for the male. As the others have said, it is better to breed a bit early than too late-and breed successively I should add. Bob-O

Bob-O, I WAS refering to the progesterone test, was just too lazy to type it out. Stephen

We use PreMate progesterone testing on a bitch that has the split cycles. Very good results. Missed this particular bitch for two years until we finally hit her using the test. Easy to use at home if you know how to draw blood. We also invested in a centrifuge to spin down the blood.

SunriseGSD: That is interesting! Can you provide a link with the people that sell the centrifuge and a link describing the process of the testing and determining process? Thanks in advance!