In dogs the sanitary aspects have not been important
for developing AI. The main incentive for the use of AI
in dogs have been geographical distance between dam and
sire when chilled or frozen semen has been used, or, for
freshly ejaculated semen, mostly physical difficulties
of mating or unwillingness to mate by the bitch or dog.
Today the interest among dog breeders to exchange semen
is increasing due to an increasing risk for disease
transmission, different national rules concerning
physical modifications of live animals, which may
prevent import of breeding animal for show or
competition purposes; and largely improved results and
availability of conserved semen. In the following
presentation I will point at somepossibilities and
limitations to using AI with conserved semen. The use of
semen to help mating problems or overcome physical or
psychological defects of the breeding animals is beyond
the scope of this paper.
The freezing procedures and handling of semen may be
a problem since not all clinics or commercial practices
have the knowledge needed to provide such a service.
There are a small number of commercial agencies and a
few university and private clinics that have semen banks,
but the way they freeze semen, type of extenders,
identification procedures and type of vial is highly
variable and often subject to proprietary restrictions.
Very few have published their results in scientific fora.
To prevent less serious actors on this scene the
European Veterinary Society for Small Animal
Reproduction (EVSSAR) have undertaken the task to
provide an overview of facilities and skills of clinics
in Europe that provide these services. Also the
insemination techniques may vary. Legal and economic
aspects concerning transfer of ownership from stud dog
owner to bitch owner, semen bank or veterinarian must be
done in writing.
There are four major techniques performed by
veterinarians: The intra-vaginal deposition of semen (also
performed by some breeders, ie bulldog breeders as one
example), theintrauterine insemination, either by
trans-cervical catheterization (Norwegian method), by
endoscope-assisted trans-cervical insemination, or by
surgical intrauterine insemination. Vaginal insemination
yields acceptable results for fresh semen, whereas for
frozen semen only laboratory has documented results
comparative to intrauterine AI. The Norwegian AI method
yields stable results over a long time period (10 years),
and the whelping rates are in the vicinity of a 75%
whelping rate and a litter size of 6 puppies on average
in a material consisting of 685 dogs of 100 different
breeds. This is the method used in the Scandinavian
countries. Surgical AI is used in the USA. One
publication demonstrates that the results may be
excellent, but the use of surgery for this procedure
raises ethical concerns in many European countries.
Ethical concerns may also govern the AI practice,
what type of animals to use, and when to use them for
semen collection or AI. Article 12 in the Féderation
Cynologique International's (FCI) breeding rules states
that artificial insemination is not to be used on
animals, which have not previously mated by natural
service. This may limit a bitch owner's possibility to
use AI with chilled or frozen semen. In small
populations this may act against the intention of
increasing the heterogeneity of a breed if the breeder
is forced to use a domestic or less fitting male for the
first mating of his bitch. The Norwegian Kennel Club
advises the FCI to adopt some versatility when using
this paragraph.
Dog semen can be shipped as extended and chilled, or
frozen. Whether to use fresh chilled or frozen semen
will depend on a number of factors, such as shipping
distance (transcontinental transport usually
necessitates the use of frozen semen), sanitary
regulations such as testing the semen donor for specific
diseases prior to import, identification of the donor
sire, and whether the shipped semen is intended for
artificial insemination (AI) of one of several bitches,
as well as any additional rules and regulations of the
country in question. (for review see Linde-Forsberg et
al, 2001at the following site:
http://www.ivis.org/advances/Concannon/linde3/chapter_frm.asp?LA=1).
International regulations may change relatively rapidly.
Acknowledgments: The Norwegian Kennel Club is
gratefully acknowledged for having encouraged the
development of the semen bank for more than 30 years,
and the author is grateful to the team of AI
veterinarians at the Norwegian School of Veterinary
Science for providing the data cited in this publication.
Keywords: canine; artifical insemination, semen
exchange, Norway
