Immunological approaches to contraception in dogs

The demand for safe, effective and cost-efficient means of pet population control has generated interest in the development of alternatives to surgical gonadectomy. The purpose of this review is to discuss the potential of immunological approaches to fertility control and to outline recent developments that may aid their design. Among the most promising candidates for immunoneutralization is gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH). We have developed a reliable and reproducible GnRH-protein conjugate antigen and demonstrated that immunologically induced infertility is possible in dogs.