Pregnancy Success in Bitches - Evaluation of Interactions between Artificial Insemination Method, Serum Progesterone Concentration and Vaginal Cytology Parameters
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22456/1679-9216.127693Abstract
Background: The artificial insemination has become a well-established method in the breeding of bitches, and evaluation of the factors that may potentially affect pregnancy success is essential. For this reason, it is essential to evaluate the factors that may affect fertility of the bitch when artificial insemination is performed. Serum progesterone concentrations and vaginal cytology have been used to determine the time of ovulation and stage of the estrus cycle. This study aimed to evaluate the artificial insemination method, the serum progesterone concentration, the breed size, age, the whelping number, vaginal cytology parameters, and their interactions on pregnancy success in bitches.
Materials, Methods & Results: A total of 607 bitches that had undergone reproductive consultation with the Mexican Canine Federation from January to December 2016 were enrolled in the present study and assigned to one of 2 artificial insemination methods (intravaginal and transcervical) using fresh semen. Determination of the estrus cycle phase and the time of Artificial insemination was based on vaginal cytology and serum progesterone concentrations. Bitches inseminated by the transcervical technique had a higher pregnancy rate with respect to females inseminated by the intravaginal technique (P < 0.05). Moreover, females with a serum progesterone concentration of 5-10 ng/mL had a greater probability (> 4 times) of getting pregnant than animals with lower or higher progesterone concentrations (P < 0.05). Bitches inseminated by the intravaginal technique and with serum progesterone concentrations >10 ng/mL had a considerable reduction in pregnancy (P < 0.05) compared with females with < 10 ng/mL serum progesterone or with bitches inseminated by the transcervical technique.
Discusion: Serum progesterone concentration, the artificial insemination method, and superficial cells without a nucleus modified the pregnancy rate in bitches. Females inseminated by transcervical semen deposition had a higher pregnancy rate than females inseminated by the intravaginal technique. Using fresh or frozen-thawed semen produced a higher pregnancy rate in bitches inseminated by transcervical semen deposition than females inseminated by the intravaginal technique. Differences in the pregnancy rate between transcervical and intravaginal insemination could be associated with the correct semen disposition, the distance that the sperm must travel to reach the oocyte, as well as the number of sperm that reach the oviduct ampulla. Exist evidences that after ovulation, as progesterone rises, the cervix is closed, which may compromise the passage of the sperm deposited into the vagina. Therefore, it is likely that in females with a serum progesterone concentration > 10 ng/mL, the cervix was closed, compromising the ability of the sperm to access the oviduct. Thus, the use of intravaginal insemination should be done in bitches with a serum progesterone concentrations < 11 ng/mL to reduce the possibility of cervical closure and to increase the odds of pregnancy. It is well documented that the serum progesterone concentration and vaginal cytology parameters have a great influence on pregnancy success, and the results confirm these findings. In the present study, 96% of the bitches inseminated with a serum progesterone concentration of 5-10 ng/mL got pregnant and had higher odds of pregnancy than bitches with lower or higher serum progesterone concentrations.
Keywords: female dogs, reproductive performance, pregnancy rate, fertility, intravaginal, transcervical, fresh, semen.
Downloads
References
Burgess D.M., Mitchell K.E. & Thomas P.G. 2012. Coeliotomy-assisted intrauterine insemination in dogs: a study of 238 inseminations. Australian Veterinary Journal. 90(8): 283-290. DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2012.00958.x.
Daskin A., Tekin N. & Akcay E. 2003. The effect of transcervical intrauterine and intravaginal insemination methods on fertility in dogs. Turkish. Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. 27(1): 235-239.
Fontbonne A. & Badinand F. 1993. Canine artificial insemination with frozen semen: comparison of intravaginal and intrauterine deposition of semen. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. 47: 325-327.
Gaytán L., Rascón C.R., Angel-García O., Véliz F.G., Contreras V. & Mellado M. 2020. Factors influencing English Bulldog bitch fertility after surgical uterine deposition of fresh semen. Theriogenology. 142: 315-319. DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2019.10.018
Hahn S.E., Jo Y.K., Jin Y.K. & Jang G. 2017. Timing of fertile period for successful pregnancy in American Bully dogs. Theriogenology. 104: 49-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.07.034
Hollinshead F.K. & Hanlon D.W. 2017. Factors affecting the reproductive performance of bitches: a prospective cohort study involving 1203 inseminations with fresh and frozen semen. Theriogenology. 101: 62-72. DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.06.021
Hollinshead F.K. & Hanlon D. 2019. Normal progesterone profiles during estrus in the bitch: a prospective analysis of 1420 estrous cycles. Theriogenology. 125: 37-42. DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2018.10.018
Hollinshead F.K. & Hanlon D.W. 2017. Factors affecting the reproductive performance of bitches: a prospective cohort study involving 1203 inseminations with fresh and frozen semen. Theriogenology. 101: 62-72. DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.06.021
Lojkić M., Maćešić N., Karadjole T., Špoljarić B., Vince S., Bačić G., Getz I., Prvanović Babić N., Folnožić I., Butković I., Šavorić J., Dobos A., Jakovljević G. & Samardžija M. 2022. A retrospective study of the relationship between canine age, semen quality, chilled semen transit time and season and whelping rate and litter size. Veterinarski Arhiv. 92(3): 301-310. DOI: 10.24099/vet.arhiv.1733
Mason S.J. & Rous N.R. 2014. Comparison of endoscopic-assisted transcervical and laparotomy insemination with frozen-thawed dog semen: a retrospective clinical study. Theriogenology. 82(6): 844-850. DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2014.06.014
Mason S.J. 2017. A retrospective clinical study of endoscopic-assisted transcervical insemination in the bitch with frozen-thawed dog semen. Reproduction in Domestic Animals. 52(2): 275-280. DOI: 10.1111/rda.12864
Nizański W. 2006. Intravaginal insemination of bitches with fresh and frozen-thawed semen with addition of prostatic fluid: use of an infusion pipette and the Osiris catheter. Theriogenology. 66: 470-483. DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2006.01.001
Ogata K., Sasaki A., Kato Y., Takeda A., Wakabayashi M., Sarentonglaga B., Yamaguchi M, Hara A., Fukumori R. & Nagao Y. 2015. Glutathione supplementation to semen extender improves the quality of frozen-thawed canine spermatozoa for transcervical insemination. Journal of Reproduction and Development. 61(2): 116-122. DOI: 10.1262/jrd.2014-130
Silva L.D., Onclin K., Lejeune B. & Verstegen J.P. 1996. Comparisons of intravaginal and intrauterine insemination of bitches with fresh or frozen semen. Veterinary Record. 138: 154-157. DOI: 10.1136/vr.138.7.154
Steckler D., Nöthling J.O. & Harper C. 2013. Prediction of the optimal time for insemination using frozen-thawed semen in a multi-sire insemination trial in bitches. Animal Reproduction Science. 142(3-4): 191-197. DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2013.09.013
Uchoa D.C., Silva T.F.P., Mota Filho A.C. & Silva L.D.M. 2012. Intravaginal artificial insemination in bitches using frozen/thawed semen after dilution in powdered coconut water (ACP-106c). Reproduction in Domestic Animals. 47(6): 289-292. DOI: 10.1111/rda.12077
Verstegen J.P., Silva L.D. & Onclin K. 2001. Determination of the role of cervical closure in fertility regulation after mating or artificial insemination in beagle bitches. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. 57: 31-34.
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Margarita Martínez-Mojica , Adrián Guzmán , Ana María Rosales-Torres , José Antonio Herrera-Barragán , Héctor Castillo-Juárez , Cyndi Gabriela Hernández-Coronado
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This journal provides open access to all of its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Such access is associated with increased readership and increased citation of an author's work. For more information on this approach, see the Public Knowledge Project and Directory of Open Access Journals.
We define open access journals as journals that use a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. From the BOAI definition of "open access" we take the right of users to "read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles" as mandatory for a journal to be included in the directory.
La Red y Portal Iberoamericano de Revistas Científicas de Veterinaria de Libre Acceso reúne a las principales publicaciones científicas editadas en España, Portugal, Latino América y otros países del ámbito latino