Firstly, congratulations on your decision to protect your bloodline. You, like many other breeders that use this kind of service, are doing so for many reasons. The common reason amongst all breeders is to ensure the continuity of their line. You have taken many years and a lot of effort to produce this stud dog, and perhaps more in the near future, and your decision to freeze his sperm is a wise one!

There are some things that you need to know to ensure that your efforts are not in vain. Most of these points have probably already been discussed in person with you, but the following is a summary of the important points.

• your contract (Services Agreement) is a legally binding agreement, between yourself as the owner of the frozen semen and Canine Cryogenics Canada. It is meant to offer each party involved some sense of security, not to scare you off.
• in your contract, there is a statement to the effect that there is no guarantee with the frozen semen. What this actually means is that there is not a 100% guarantee that you will be able to produce a litter when the frozen semen is used. However, if you follow the guidelines as outlined below, your chance of success is very good.

• once it has been determined that your stud's semen is suitable for freezing and storage, it should remain viable indefinately when stored on liquid nitrogen. So don't feel that there is a time frame in which it has to be used. Wait until it is really required.
• once the semen is thawed (ie. when you've decided to use it), it will only survive, in the reproductive tract of the bitch, for 24 hours. This is compared to a 5 - 7 day survival of fresh, untreated sperm.
• not all of the sperm cells in the sample collected will survive the processing and especially the freezing stage. For this reason, if your dog's sperm cells are low in motility, count or structure, the number of cells that will remain viable after thawing will be reduced. Canine Cryogenics Canada will notify you of this and any other problems with the collection, either at the time of collection, and/or with a written evaluation.
• each straw (ie. the plastic vessel that the semen is frozen and stored in), is individually labelled with the following : centre identification (eg. CCC for Canine Cryogenics Canada) : breed code as stipulated by the CKC (eg. BXR for Boxer) : breed number (ie. a number assigned to each of your studs) : the date of collection. For this reason, the straws from your dog will not be mixed up with others stored in the same tank.

• not every bitch is necessarily a good candidate for the use of frozen semen, a complete history of previous estrous cycles, fertility history, health status etc. are critical in determining whether the bitch should be a recipient.
• abnormal estrous cycles would make the determination of the optimum time for insemination difficult, and therefore questionable as a recipient.
• poor fertility history would probably eliminate the bitch as a recipient for frozen semen.
• did you know that the optimum time for insemination with frozen semen is not at the time of ovulation as would be predicted, but is actually 2 - 3 days after ovulation.
• hormone levels must be determined to optimize the conditions for a successful insemination with frozen semen, and must be done continuously over the course of her estrous.
• a successful insemination with frozen semen, resulting in a pregnancy, allows the determination of the whelping date more precisely.

The decision to use what you have stored is entirely up to you, but some suggestions are as follows:

1. when you've made a 'wrong turn' in your breeding, meaning that there is a need to re-introduce the immediate gene pool of that prepotent stud.
2. your stud is no longer available and a breeding to this dog is essential
3. an important, critical breeding to that fabulous bitch with those fabulous lines is planned but the bitch is in Australia.
4. your breed is suffering with some genetic problem that you know is not in the gene pool of your stud's semen that you have frozen and your mission is to help the breed out.

There are essentially 3 methods that can be used to artificially inseminate your bitch, the choice of which is determined by what 'type' of semen is used. The methods of choice are listed below.

• standard vaginal insemination, which involves the simple deposition of semen in the anterior vagina and stimulating the bitch. This method is not advised when using frozen semen given the nature of the survival of sperm when it has been thawed.
• surgical insemination, which involves general anaesthesia of the bitch, isolation of the uterus and injection of the thawed semen into the uterus. This method in the hands of a good veterinarian would be a quick procedure and at this point offers the highest rate of success.
• transcervical insemination, is essentially a non-invasive modification of the surgical method. It involves isolation of the cervix and the subsequent passing of a specially designed metal insemination rod through the cervix and depositing the semen into the uterus. This is another method that in the hands of an experienced veterinarian, could very well be done in a lightly sedated or even a un-sedated bitch.
• CCC method, is a modification of the standard vaginal insemination. This method is still in the 'experimental' stage and has not been shown conclusively to be successful although in limited testing, appears to show great promise.

The technology of semen freezing is well established in methodology, but is not an exact science. For this reason, there are many variables that come into play when attempting to produce a litter of puppies with frozen semen. If all conditions are met (most of which have been briefly outlined above) your chance of success very good.

CCC has been freezing canine sperm for 12 years (albeit not on a commercial scale), and is therefore in a position to offer you the customer sound advice on the pros and cons of freezing sperm. The success of this technology is as important to us as it is to you so CCC will always be available to offer assistance and support in your efforts when using frozen semen in your breeding program.