The easiest and least technical form of canine artificial insemination is an artificial insemination with fresh semen (also can be used with chilled collection), when the semen is collected from a dog and inserted into a bitch intravaginally. This simple and quick method has beed very popular and successful because it yields a number of clear benefits in comparison to just leaving two dogs together for a natural mating.

Advantages of Fresh AI:

• suitable for any breed;
• easy on the dog and the bitch;
• avoids the problems of a difficult-to-mate female or an incompatibility of the two animals (e.g. difference in size or personalities);
• 100% safe for both, if performed by trained and experienced technicians;
• does not require any form of sedation;
• feels very natural for both dogs and bitches;
• can be used with fresh and chilled semen;
• easier than assisted natural matings in a lot of cases;
• provides the assurance of a successful ejeculation and visual analysis of a collected sample (if not analysed and evaluated professionally) in terms of colour, presence of blood and volume;
• gives certainty that a successful mating has taken place.

Transcervical insemination is an alternative method of inseminating with frozen semen but for fresh or chilled semen this method is widely recommended and generally successful. When frozen canine semen is placed into vaginal tract, the conception rate is lower then for transcervical insemination and surgical implant. We have performed a few inseminations with frozen semen which resulted in normal size litter but we would not recommend using this way if alternative ways are available. (Opinions may vary in different clinics.)

The necessity to bypass the cervix and place the semen into the uterine lumen is beneficial in improving the conception rates in numerous situations.

Two methods are used to achieve the intrauterine deposition of semen, the transcervical insemination and the surgical insemination. These techniques each have their own usage guidelines and one does not replace the other as has been mistakenly represented to dog breeders.

The transcervical insemination (TCI) is performed with the bitch in a standing position. No sedation nor anesthesia is required. A fiber optic cystourethoscope is used vaginally to visualize the opening to the cervix. A flexible catheter is maneuvered through the cervix into the uterus. It is important that the breeder realize that the veterinarian is not visualizing the inside of the uterus and this technique does not allow for evaluation of the uterus.

The TCI procedure is visualized on a television monitor and does allow for examination of the vaginal tract, however. The semen is gently pushed through the catheter from a syringe. The veterinarian can visualize that the semen flows easily into the uterus and does not flow back into the vaginal tract.

The transcervical insemination does not replace the surgical insemination as it does not allow for uterine evaluation, but is a significant improvement over the vaginal method of artificial insemination. The TCI is recommended for any type semen, especially frozen and fresh-cooled and can significantly increase conception when poor quality semen and lowered sperm numbers are used. The TCI technique should be used in bitches less than 5 years of age where there is not a reason to suspect uterine changes or uterine disease.

The surgical method of artificial insemination is especially useful when breeding "middle age" and older bitches (5 years of age and older) (This matter seems to be one of the few in reproduction, on which all researchers agree). For over 60 days every season progesterone affects the uterine lining and causes inflammation, whether she is pregnant or not, subsequently changing it.

The changes to the uterine lining can affect conception in many ways. The endometrial cysts can affect the semen's ability to reach the fallopian tubes where conception occurs (regardless of the method of insemination). The cystic changes can also prevent implantation of the fertilized ova, which occurs 17-18 days after ovulation and can inhibit placental development and growth.

A surgical insemination, performed by our specialised veterinarian is a minor surgical procedure that allows the surgeon to inject the semen directly into the uterus. The skin is cut at the position where the muscle tissue is at its thinnest to ensure quickest possible healing time. As the surgeon has the uterus in his hands, cysts, uterine wall thickness and muscular texture can be evaluated. There is no more accurate method to perform this vital examine. In many bitches, that have a surgical insemination, a veterinarian performing the insemination can correct the uterus and the bitch will conceive. Having a surgical semen implant gives any bitch much better chances for conception.

The surgical procedure is performed under sterile conditions and general aneastetic.

A bitch that has had surgical inseminations is not more prone to needing a caesarean section nor having whelping difficulties. Having a surgical insemination does not decrease the number of times a bitch can be bred. A surgical insemination should be considered anytime there is a reason to evaluate the uterus (bitches 5 years and older) or where the semen being used can benefit from intrauterine implantation.