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Precise prediction of the time of onset of parturition in the bitch is of clinical importance. Many parturition management cases in clinical practice are presented in the last two weeks of pregnancy without a reliable estimate of the parturition date. The aim of this study was to assess the value of a single progesterone level in the blood plasma from a preparturient bitch to predict the time of onset of parturition. The temporal relationship between the decrease in the plasma progesterone levels and the time of cervical dilatation (TCD)-which correlates to the onset of stage 1 of parturition-was evaluated in 25 bitches in the preparturient period. Among bitches destined to reach TCD within 12 h there is a 2% probability of having a plasma progesterone level of 15.8 nmoL/L or above and a 6% probability of having a level of 8.7 nmoL/L or above. Conversely, if the level is below 8.7 nmoL/L there is a 99% probability of reaching TCD within 48 h and if the level is below 3.18 nmoL/L there is a 100% probability of reaching TCD within 24 h. These results allow the veterinary obstetrician to make prompt decisions in the management of parturition.

Although dog prostatic fluid decreases the longevity of ejaculated dog spermatozoa, it also increases their rate of motility and their fertility after vaginal insemination, as well as the fertility of epididymal spermatozoa after uterine insemination. These findings indicate a need to further characterize the effects of prostatic fluid on dog spermatozoa. This study was done to determine the effects (P < 0.05) of homologous prostatic fluid added prior to cooling, after thawing, or at both times to epididymal spermatozoa from 21 dogs. The

Canine herpesvirus (CHV-1) causes neonatal deaths as well as infertility due to embryonal death, abortion and stillbirths in breeding kennels. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibodies against canine herpesvirus in the serum of dogs older than 1 year in breeding kennels in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. A serum neutralization test (SNT) and a newly developed enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to test the serum samples of 328 dogs in 38 breeding kennels. With SNT as well as ELISA, 22% of sera were positive (P > 0.9). Seventeen kennels (45% of total kennels) each had at least one positive dog on SNT compared with twenty kennels (53% of total kennels) that each had at least one positive dog on ELISA (P = 0.6). The prevalence of positive dogs in positive kennels was 42 ± 26% (n = 17 kennels) for SNT and 39 ± 26% (n = 20 kennels) for ELISA. Pairwise comparison of kennels showed that the prevalence of SNT positive dogs was similar to the prevalence of ELISA positive dogs (P = 0.3, n = 38 kennels). Seroprevalence was independent of age, gender or colony size. This study suggests that canine herpesvirus is sufficiently common in breeding dogs in the Gauteng Province of South Africa to pose a threat to neonatal survival and fertility.

This study was done to determine the effects of processing techniques on the quality of semen from Dutch AI-bucks with the view on improving pregnancy rates after artificial insemination (AI) with liquid or frozen-thawed semen. Motility of spermatozoa was estimated under a microscope whereas the percentage live spermatozoa and the percentage live spermatozoa with intact acrosomes were determined by means of flow cytometry. Aspects of semen processing that were investigated are storage temperature of liquid semen (i), the effect of glycerol on liquid-stored semen (ii), removal of seminal plasma (iii) and type of extender (iv). The correlation between semen quality and fertility rates in inseminated does was also investigated. openUP (July 2007)The percentage motile spermatozoa in semen stored in liquid form for 72 h progressively declined over time, irrespective of whether storage occurred at 4 or 18 °C. The percentage motile spermatozoa in semen stored at 18 °C was similar to that in semen stored at 4 °C if stored for 24 h but lower if stored for 48 h. Goats differ in the sensitivity of their spermatozoa to the deleterious effects of glycerol. Neither the removal of seminal plasma nor the type of extender had any effect on semen quality before freezing but semen frozen in a Tris-citric acid-glucose (TCG) buffer with egg yolk without removal of the seminal plasma had better quality after thawing than semen frozen in another diluent or after removal of seminal plasma.Remarkably no significant correlation between fertility and membrane integrity of spermatozoa could be found. Thus, although integrity assays for spermatozoa are useful to asses resistance to semen handling, the validity of these assays for predicting fertility is questioned.

Haematocrits were measured before each of 406 caesarean sections performed on 324 bitches at term and again following crystalloid fluid therapy administered at 35 ml/kg over 1½ to 2 h starting from induction. The mean haematocrit was 44.2% (95% CI 43.8 to 44.6%) before caesarean section and 37.8% (95% CI 37.3 to 38.2%) following caesarean section and fluid therapy, with a mean decrease of 6.4 percentage points (95% CI 6.1 to 6.7%) over all 406 caesarean sections. These results provide the clinician with clear guidelines of the normal expected ranges of haematocrits in bitches before and after caesarean section. Results of this study show that bitches have haematocrits at term that are at the lower end of the normal reference ranges for non-pregnant dogs and that there is no true anaemia of pregnancy. It is therefore suggested that if late term bitches present with anaemia, other causes besides pregnancy should be considered.1