Introduction
It is a growing interest the use of frozen and chilled semen, throughout the whole world.
It is easy to keep, and together with the improvement in the national and international transport, it is an important way of maintaining and diffusing the genetic material of a dog.
Factors affecting the semen
The three fractions of the ejaculate
A fact that many breeders don´t know is that age is not the only reason affecting a dog´s sperm production. In a healthy dog there can be great differences in the quantity and quality of to different ejaculates. The best age of a dog to freeze semen is between 2 and 5 years of age. When the dog gets older, the quality of the cells decreases slowly. This is important for the survival of the cells when the semen is defrozen.
A disease in an animal can decrease the sperm production. It can take up to six months for its total recovery.
The use of steroids, endocrine diseases, bacterial or viral diseases, prostatic problems, stress, etc… are a negative influence in the sperm production.
Dogs of larger breeds produce larger quantity of sperm than those of smaller breeds.
Each individual dog has a different cell capacity to allow the freezing/defreezing process.
The libido is another important factor in the results of the ejaculate. We recommend to collect the semen in the presence of a bitch in oestrus. The quality of the ejaculate is better, obtaining a higher number of straws. It is done through manual masturbation or artificial vagina.
