Recent Advances in the Area of Canine Semen Preservation

Although dog was the first species to be used for Artificial Insemination (AI) and become pregnant by Spallanzani in 1776, very little work has been done on preservation of dog semen to exploit the full genetic potential of pedigree males. Frozen semen is now inseminated routinely in cattle, sheep and goats and much research has been carried out with regard to the optimum conditions for its use in these species. In many countries there has been limited use of frozen dog semen, owing mainly to the poorer fertility when compared with fresh or chilled semen and also, to some extent, owing to the regulations controlling the use of artificial insemination. The use of frozen semen has, therefore, been limited to inter-continental transfer of genetic material and long-term storage of spermatozoa. The Authors review these turn of events necessitated a detailed investigation on canine semen preservation for A.I. in Bitches. However, the technique of AI gained momentum among dog breeders as a result of increased interaction and exchange of dog semen nationally and internationally. Increased emphasis on scientific dog breeding in recent time has encouraged many researchers to explore the possibilities of artificial breeding in dogs. Apart from exploitation of genetic potential of superior males, AI in dogs help psychological problems like shyness, inexperienced male, habitual premature erection and mating difficulties like female dominance, unequal size of dog and bitch and low libido in male dogs and long distance between stud dog and bitch, semen can be transported and bitch can be inseminated using artificial insemination. Although, excellent extenders for preservation of bovine semen in both chilled and frozen state have been developed, only few attempts have been made on the environmental conditions required to prolong the viability of canine sperm. The presentation deals with more recent advances about the protocols of Canine semen preservation. New perspectives, as the demand and use of Canine semen are also discussed.