Reproductive support of a valuable canine colony with assisted reproductive technique - Short communication

For many years, artificial insemination (AI) has been regarded as one of the most significant assisted reproductive techniques.The objective of our manuscript is to summarise the preliminary results of the program in which AI with fresh and frozen semen was being used to support the reproduction of a foxhound colony with valuable genetic properties. In this manuscript, three AI cases are presented, one with fresh and two with frozen semen.Artificial insemination with fresh semen was conducted two days after the LH peak, when the progesterone (P4) concentration exceeded 5 ng*mL-1. Transcervical AI (TCI) was repeated 48 h later.Artificial insemination with frozen semen were carried out when P4 level was >15 ng*mL-1 and TCI was repeated on the next day (Day 5 and 6 after LH peak).Our preliminary results show that an acceptable litter size can be achieved after TCI with freshly collected and cryopreserved semen. Healthy puppies were successfully created from genetically valuable canine parents. We obtained three pregnancies and 18 offspring in a one-year period. Our data indicate that the technology used (timing of AI, semen handling, TCI technique) could have played a major role in achieving these results.