studserviceinformation

If you are wanting cooled (shipped) semen, we would like to know as soon as your bitch comes in heat. Please write down on a calander the first day your female came in heat where you can find it easily I always have shipping vials and extender on hand for a RUSH SHIPMENT. Semen can be shipped overnight by "Federal Express". I can have it shipped to your house or to your vet's office (the choice is yours). This can be done the very next day in most areas by 10:30 am, and in other areas by Noon. After 9-11 this is the only safe way to have semen shipped. Fed-Ex is not open for SUNDAY deliveries. We need to know if this service will be needed, this is so we can get all the timing right for getting the semen shipped ASAP!

We also recommend that you have your vet split the collection we send in the vial This gives you two separate breedings a day apart for maximum breeding results, you will be sent enough to do this from the one vial or instead of splitting the vial you can order a second vial to be shipped the next day for $75.00 plus shipping $100.00 then you can split the second vial for 4 breedings. Just let us know when you would like the second vial so it can be shipped to arrive on time when you need it.

Many litters have been produced from a one vial shipment. Re-breeds (if your female doesn't take) cost $45.00 for packaging plus the shipping charges along with pick-ups (no charge for the semen), this is good for up to one year from the first ship date. If it is over a year you will need to start over.

The cost of this shipping service is $100.00 to cover all the shipping, testing and the equiptment for shipping; on weekdays, for Thursday's & Friday's this service is $125.00 (Fed-Ex charges more for these two delivery days) Add $50.00 for a RUSH FEE (This is paying the same day your shipment is needing to be sent, if you do this I have to change my schedual to accommdate your shipping needs at the last minute) if payment has NOT been made we can not ship). If you want to pick your semen up there will be a $35.00 charge for packaging to get your semen home/to the vet safe. I will package it the same as if we were shipping it overnight for safety. Most of the time we can meet you somewhere to cut your travel time down, but you are also Welcome to come to our home

You will have enough time to get all this done, for when ovulation occurs it takes the eggs 72 hours to be mature enough to become fertilized. Once bred the male's sperm can survive for up to 3 days inside the female.

After you breed your female you will want to make an appointment with your vet to plan her c-section, (95% of all bulldogs need c-sections). I suggest that you get one, why risk loosing your litter or your bitch??? I usually schedual a c-section, but I do let my females go into full labor prior to going to the vet's office. Remember just because your bitch has reached her 62-63 day, the puppies could still be a few days early as semen can live in the bitch for up to 3 days before it takes.Things that can happen if your not prepared for a c-section: her cervix may fail to dilate or there may be torsion of the uterus. A dead puppy, water puppy or a sideways puppy could be blocking the cervix. She can not have her babies if one of these occur.

A normal incubation period is 63 days, puppies sometimes come early (57 days) and sometimes late... Most females temperature will drop when they go into labor, 101.5 to 102.0 is normal, below 100.0 get ready to go to the vet's office!

"Bulldogs of Timber Ridge" will raise your litter of puppies, the price for this service is a puppy out of the litter, if we have room at our facilities. We will give them our full attention and lots of tender loving care during their stay at our Ranch. Photos and puppies will be available to you at anytime. This is from a litter produced from one of our studs, if you have puppies that need to be raised and were not produced by one of our studs we will need to know pedigrees and backgrounds on both the mother and the father so a decision can be made. You will probably need to call us.

Fresh semen is thought to live four to six days in-utero. The freshly ejaculated sperm life allows for successful breeding when the bitch exhibits standing and acceptance of the male, even though in many cases the timing is four to six days before the prime fertilization period of the mature ova.

Fresh chilled semen uses energy as it is cooled to 40'F (4'C) and eventually re-warmed to body temperature. The life in-utero of spermatozoa having experienced the chilling and subsequent warming process is 24 to 72 hours, necessitating a more precise manner of ovulation timing and breeding. When a veterinarian receives a fresh chilled sample, the package should immediately be opened. Attention should be paid to the "impression of coolness". The ice packs should be at least cold, if not still frozen. The package containing the semen should be removed from the packaging material (usually newsprint). The vial should contain the extended semen in a liquid state. Unfortunately, occasional mishandling by the shipping company may render the sample useless.

In many cases, the semen will appear to be non-motile.

It is recommended that the refrigerated fresh chilled sample not be warmed to room temperature or body temperature before insemination. Having the sample in the uterus as it warms makes maximum use of the conserved energy. All fresh chilled semen samples are handled in a similar manner. However, many different commercial companies sell packaging kits and extenders. One should always read their instructions for any specific handling recommendations.

One drop of the sample should be placed on a warmed microscope slide. The rest of the sample should be refrigerated. Allowing the chilled sample to warm to room temperature only allows the sperm cells to speed up, using precious energy and shortening their life span.

As the drop warms on the slide, the accompanying paperwork with the semen collector's evaluation of the semen quality, time of collection and post-collection motility should be studied.

In many cases, the semen will appear to be non-motile. However, as the semen drop warms gradually side to side motility becomes noted. The continued warming eventually shows the cells to have achieved a normal forward progression. If no motility is noted after fifteen minutes, the sample is most likely non-viable. If this occurs the collector of the semen should be contacted to determine, if possible, the cause of the semen's demise. In other cases where only partial semen recovery is noted, the inseminator must use judgment based on the connection of the semen, estimated total spermatozoa numbers and the percent recovered. It may also be necessary to alter the insemination method to that of an intra-uterine deposition of the fresh chilled sperm to further remove sperm cell stress and to aid its arrival at the fallopian tubes.

TIMING OF INSEMINATION

The average heat cycle for a dog is approximately 3 weeks and since this an average, some cycles are shorter (as little as 7-10 days), others are longer (4 weeks or more). Average times between heat periods are seven months but some dogs can cycle as early as every 4 months, some once a year. Lengths of heat cycles and intervals between cycles are different for each dog.

The first part of heat you will notice bleeding from the vulva, swelling of the vulva, possible increase in urination. During this period (pro-estrus), females will not allow the males to breed with them. The second part or estrus is the time in which the female will allow the male to breed her and this can last anywhere from 4-10 days. As the female starts to go out of heat or enter di-estrus, she will be less willing to breed. Again this stage can last 4-11 days but averages approximately 7 days. The next cycle usually begins about 7 months from the start of the last heat cycle, not the end of that cycle but again this varies from dog to dog. The interval stays the same even if she becomes pregnant.

Methods of timing the estrous-cycle of the bitch such as color of discharge, swelling of the vulva and flagging of the tail allowed breeders to get bitches bred, but using these signs, in many cases, created more confusion than answers. Veterinarians and breeders have used vaginal cytology, to "pinpoint" the time of ovulation. Vaginal smearing gives a retrospective view of the cycle with diestrus, day one, occurring six days post-ovulation.

Progesterone testing or luteinizing hormone (LH) testing will give the veterinarian a prospective view of the ovulation, ova maturation and the prime fertile period for using the fresh cooled semen.

PROGESTERONE

The release of progesterone from the ovary and its subsequent rise to an average of two to three ngm corresponds with luteinizing hormone release from the pituitary gland and signifies the start of the ovulatory process. The rise of progesterone is greater than five ngms (five to eight ngm) indicates that ovulation has occurred. Once the ovulation day has been confirmed, fresh cooled semen inserninations in two to three days. We can ship the first sample and then the following day ship another sample for optimal sucess.

Progesterone rises and continues to stay elevated for approximately two months in the bitch, whether she is pregnant or non-pregnant. If using progestrone the bitch needs to be tested every 48 hours to anticipate the prime breeding time.

When using the progesterone, be aware negative features include that hemolyzed blood samples will give lower than normal results. If the progestrone kits are not handled properly or warmed to room temperature, an artificially high result will be recorded.

Cortisol release needs to be a concern when doing progesterone testing as stressed bitches may have a delayed period between a rise of two to three ngm/ml and the time that the progesterone rises greater than five ngm/ml. Some bitches under stress have been shown not to ovulate even after a rise of progesterone above two ngm. It is essential if using progesterone testing to confirm that the bitch has risen above five ngm/ml and has indeed ovulated.

LUTEINIZING HORMONE

Luteinizing hormone (LH) is a species specific hormone arising from the pituitary gland. The release of the hormone spikes over a twelve to 24 hour period. The release of the LH triggers ovulation in 48 hours, allowing for a final meiotic division of the ova and shedding of the polar body (approximately another 48 hours) before the ova can be fertilized. An accurate evaluation of the LH spike can give the veterinarian and breeder four to five days anticipation of the prime insemination dates and reasonable confidence as to the maximum chance of conception.

Negatives to the LH test are that daily samples must be drawn (even greater than 24 hours between tests may miss the LH rise). The cost of daily testing, owner compliance and veterinarian availability for testing every day has created some problems for this testing method. Serum samples that are hemolyzed or lipemic also affect the testing results. LH testing is especially useful in bitches previously tested by progesterone assay that did not conceive or that showed irregular progesterone levels.

VAGINAL INSEMINATION

When proper timing of the estrous cycle is performed on the bitch and proper semen handling and delivery is accomplished, conception rates should rival those of natural breeding. Delivery technique problems such as improper placement of the insemination rod, improper semen placement or semen damage due to mishandling prior and during inseminations are just a few reasons your female did not have babies.

FRESH CHILLED SEMEN

Fresh chilled semen uses energy as it is cooled to 40'F (4'C) and eventually

re-warmed to body temperature. Fresh semen is thought to live four to six days

i in-utero.The life in-utero of spermatozoa having experienced the chilling and

subsequent warming process is 24 to 72 hours, necessitating a more precise manner of

ovulation timing and breeding. When sperm is frozen for future use, it is eventually stored

at-322'F.(-180'C). This extreme temperature preserves a sperm cell indefinitely but not without

stress and energy output. The thawed spermatozoa have a maximum life span of twelve to 24 hours after insemination into the bitch, which Bulldogs of Timber Ridge chooses to use Fresh Chilled Semen for this very reason.

The ultra-short life span makes success with frozen semen only possible with precise mapping of the bitch's estrous cycle with definitive detection of the LH release and the subsequent time of ovulation. When a veterinarian receives a fresh chilled sample, the package should immediately be opened. Attention should be paid to the "impression of coolness". The ice packs should be at least cold, if not still frozen. The package containing the semen should be removed from the packaging material (usually newsprint). The tube should contain the extended semen in a liquid state. Unfortunately, occasional mishandling by the shipping company or by the shipper placing the semen package in a non-pressurized compartment of the airplane will cause the sample to arrive frozen. The freezing kills the sperm cell and renders the sample useless. One of the reasons we like to ship Fed-Ex, when we ship by plane we explain to the airline what problems could occur if not handled properly.

One drop of the sample should be placed on a warmed microscope slide. The rest of the sample should be refrigerated in the bottom of the refrigerator in the vegetable bin. Allowing the chilled sample to warm to room temperature only allows the sperm cells to speed up, using precious energy and shortening their life span.

As the drop warms on the slide, motility should be studied. The semen drop is then analyzed.

In many cases, the semen will appear to be non-motile. However, as the semen drop warms gradually side to side motility becomes noted. The continued warming eventually shows the cells to have achieved a normal forward progression. If no motility is noted after fifteen minutes, the sample is most likely non-viable. If this occurs Bulldogs of Timber Ridge should be contacted to determine, if possible, the cause of the semen's demise. In other cases where only partial semen recovery is noted, the inseminator must use judgment based on the connection of the semen, estimated total spermatozoa numbers and the percent recovered. It may also be necessary to alter the insemination method to that of an intra-uterine deposition of the fresh chilled sperm to further remove sperm cell stress and to aid its arrival at the fallopian tubes.

It is recommended that the refrigerated fresh chilled sample not be warmed to room temperature or body temperature before insemination. Having the sample in the uterus as it warms makes maximum use of the conserved energy. All fresh chilled semen samples are handled in a similar manner. However,all veternarians handle semen, determining the correct time to breed and breeding in different ways. This is the reason we offer a rebreed to the same female if she does not take.

TIMING for INSEMINATION

Methods of timing to breed your bitch such as color of discharge, swelling of the vulva and flagging of the tail allows breeders to get bitches bred. Some have used (vaginal cytology) microscope slide smears, a rough gauge of estrogen level, to "pinpoint" the time of ovulation. Bulldogs of Timber Ridge does use this method. The serial testing of serum samples from the bitch for progesterone testing will give you a prospective view of ovulation timing also.

PROGESTERONE

The release of progesterone from the ovary and its subsequent rise indicates that ovulation has occurred. Once the ovulation day has been confirmed, fresh cooled semen inserninations in two to three days, semen insemination in three to four days can be planned. Progesterone, not being specific, can be tested by many methods.

Progesterone rises and continues to stay elevated for approximately two months in the bitch, whether she is pregnant or non-pregnant. The bitch needs to be tested every 48 hours to anticipate the prime breeding time.

Stressed females may have a delayed period between a rise of the progesterone. Some bitches under stress have been shown not to ovulate even after a rise of progesterone. It is essential if using progesterone testing to confirm that the bitch has risen and has indeed ovulated.

ARTIFICAL INSEMINATION

Artificial insemination has been a commonly used procedure in the reproduction process of English Bulldogs.

There are two techniques of artificial insemination that are routinely performed with breeding of your English Bulldog. The two techniques are vaginal insemination and the surgical intra-uterine deposition of semen.

VAGINAL INSEMINATION

When proper timing (the most important thing of breeding your bulldog) of the estrous cycle is performed on your female and proper semen handling and delivery is accomplished, conception rates should rival those of natural breeding. Here at Bulldogs of fTimber Ridge this is the method we use on our girls.

SURGICAL INTRA-UTERINE DEPOSITION OF SEMEN

A technique for surgical insemination of your female for the intrauterine deposition use of canine semen. Surgical deposition of semen into the uterus has become a routine technique used in numerous situations encountered in canine reproductive medicine. I do not think personally you have a better chance at a litter using this technique. I also believe that this is a unnecessary surgery for you female. But this is just my opinon and everybody has their own. We are here at Bulldogs of Timber Ridge to help in any way we can. We also wish you many, many sleepness nights and very happy healthy puppies!