Hi, ive had my bitch blood tested after missing her last time, ive assumed in the past shes being ready very early.
Her results are as follows -

Day 6 - 0.8
Day 10 - 2.6
Day 13 (last friday) 0.8 ??!!

Is it normal for the readings to go down?
I have another appointment for tommorow which will be day 17, do you think she will ovulate at all? One of my boys did lose interest but hes now interested again. Im throwing my hands in the air as its costing a fortune, is it worth continuing or not i look forward to any comments.

Thanks
Anne

Hi Anne

I would do another test, what does Larry say? (Idexx)
we've had a female stick on a figure then move up, have never had 1 not ovulate yet,

Ive done this through my vet (have sinced learned from here its cheaper to send it myself) the invoice says test again today or tommorow, i did spot the name 'Larry' on it.

its a pain when this happens and a big expense,
we had this happen in December and was waiting to travel to Germany, after 4 tests she was ready, grr.
good luck with your litter x

I have also had a reading unexpectedly go the wrong way. However on the next test continued in the expected direction to ovulation.

Thankyou both for your replies which are a relief, they certainly like to keep us waiting.

Now you've started testing, I think you need to continue until you get a result.  It may seem a huge amount of money but hopefully you'll get a mating and puppies.

We had a dog come to our boy last year who was swabbed to test for ovulation.  She appeared to be static so it was suggested she come over to the stud dog and for him to try and mate her and hopefully this would help her to ovulate.  Unfortunately she was having none of it over several days so no mating therefore no puppies.

Good luck for tomorrow - let us know the reading.

we're going through this at the moment - I've done 5 progesterone tests so far ( my bitch is on day 28 of her season ! ) - the results have gone 1.4- 1.7 - minus 1 - 1.8 and 3.6 ( last Saturday ) she's flirting like mad - flagging her tail  - her vulva is very swollen and soft and her bleeding has almost stopped - if I was'nt testing I'd have mated her by now - I'm totally confused, and worried that if I leave it any longer she'll miss - this will ber second litter and we took her to be  mated for her first litter based on the physical signs she was showing and she had 8 healthy pups - I have to say my faith in the tests is diminishing plus its costing an absolute fortune !!

any suggestions ??

Yvonne

Could you not take her to the dog anyway, but keep testing just to be sure (if your finances allow!)?

Did you test today?  I would also think about taking her to see if the stud was interested.

OMG its not easy is it with a bitch thats not straight forward with her seasons think i may have one too done first test today  waiting on result from idex but i dont think she,s ready but you test anyway thinking WELL dont want to miss her  and so it goes on  THEN it starts getting dam expensive
Bet my little madam will be ready right on crufts day when im off with the boys then will be trying to get her in to go to stud dog who is also at crufts
Oohhhhhhhhhhhh think im getting stressed!!!!!!!

Hi Yvonne. Bijou has obviously been talking to Roxy :-)  We had  6 or 7 tests (IDEXX) done in the end and she was mated on day 26 and day 28 of her season. I was sure she was ready about a week before when the blood turned straw colored and Jazz was v interested & she was flagging her tail but  no she kept us waiting. Bijou'll probably be ready Weds to Friday :-)  Roxy was mated at the correct time as the scan has shown at least 8 puppies.  Good Luck
Valerie  X

Sorry Trevor, I replied to Yvonne by mistake :-)

Just wondering how much each test costs?

Mine was £32 I think.  That included the vet drawing blood and a consult.

i think thats about right :)
xxxx

My bitch has had another test today so get results tommorow morning, like Yvonnes bitch mine has been showing signs she is well ready.

I paid £67 for the first test and £56 for the last 3, it must be cheaper for a follow up consultation - years ago i remember them being free!
:( :( :(

I presume you are adding the vet taking the bloods onto the price there as it is £32.  What is the number when it's viable for the dog to be mated.  My girl was dead high and we were told it was to late

My £32 included the vet taking blood and sending it.  He also checked my girl over before hand.

yes he gives them a mot for that price too :) hes great!
xxxx

Perrodeagua, yes that includes taking bloods and sending them off.

My vet tells me it needs to be 5

Hi Val ! -  yes it's Yvonne even though my posting name is Trevor - (it's a long story !! )  We took Bijou to be mated to Vegas yesterday - she was a complete tart and he mated her straight away with a good long tie - am going back to Mandy's tommorrow ( Thurs) for another mating - this will be day 31 of her season !! - her test result was 3.6 on Saturday and the lab reckoned she'd roughly  double every 48 hours so by Monday she'd be 7 by Wednesday she'd be 14 and by Friday 28 - I'm hoping that by mating her Tues and Thurs we'll cover all the bases - especially given that sperm live for around 5 days....my gut feeling is that she'll ovulate today ( Wednesday ) - I could test again but the problem is the time lapse betwen taking the bloods and getting the results - we don't have a lab close enough for me to drive to and get the results the same day so it's 48 hours to get the results which could leave it too late  - honestly technology's a wonderful thing but it does'nt half confuse things !!.

See you at Crufts ? - It'll be just me  going on Belgian day as Trev is staying at home to look after the other dogs - we're on so late that by the time we get home the dogs will have been left for far too long if we both go-  he's going back to see the Best in Show judging on Sunday ...trouble is I won't be able to go shopping as he usually stays at the bench whilst I have my annual Crufts shopping fix - still once I get the bill for all those progesterone tests perhaps that'll be a good thing !

Yvonne

Hi Yvonne. Sounds like you'll be fine with the matings.

Yes we are entered at Crufts but I am not sure I want to leave Roxy :-( Definately one of us needs to stay with her and it may well be me and Bob'll bring Anoushka, I'll see how Roxy is doing by then - she 's very fat already ?????? 

We are not on late are we? I thought we were in first thing?????

Valerie

Ive got results back just now and they are 9.4 , lab says with a prediction for mating this saturday and should test again tommorow.

Im confused again now as im sure my vet said it needed to be a 5.

Good news for you Yvonne :)

Are they testing in nmol/L or ng/L?

The following is from a previous CD thread on progesterone testing that may help:

To convert to Progesterones in ng/l MULTIPLY BY  3.18 = progesterone in nmol/l
To convert nmmol/l DIVIDE BY 3.18 = progesterone in ng/l

0-2  nmol/L           Baseline concentrations too early to estimate ovulation
3 - 6 nmol /L        Minimum 2 days before ovulation expected however result of 3 - 4 nmol/L may persist for a week or longer before increasing. Earliiest estimating breeding 4 - 6 days but could be longer (re test needed)
7 - 12 nmol/L   Minimum 1 day before ovulation. Estimated window for breeding 3 - 5 days but could be longer  ( re test recommended)
13 - 18 nmol/L   Ovulation impending or just occurred. Estimated breeding window 2 - 4 days 
19 - 31 nmol/L   Ovulation recently occurred. Estimated breeding window 1 - 3 days
32 - 64 nmol/L   Ova have matured, optimal potential for fertility.  Estimated breeding window  0 - 2 days
65 - 90 nmol/L   Ova have matured but aging, decreased potential for fertility.  Breed  at once
Above 90 nmol/L    Too late

I dont know but looks like they are testing with the info you have given, thankyou!

on which day of the season would you send off your 1st test?

^^
I am not experienced to say but if you look at my original post i tested far too early, the 3rd test was the right time i think as you have to catch them before.

Pedlee, sounds like the lab is giving one reading and my vet is giving it in another.

We are not on late are we? I thought we were in first thing?????

- Malinois are'nt on until after 10 and I think Groens are on after them - I'll do a post on the BSD scene to see if we can clarify things !

Yvonne

From advise I have read it is best to do vaginal cytology and once 60% of the cells are cornified commence testing.

There is an excellent article at the link below on progesterone testing in dogs. The article includes some graphs showing what stage a dog is at depending on the progesterone levels and explains what and why is the best time to mate.

John.

http://www.oldefashion.com/PROGESTERONETESTING.html

That is really useful John.

So really, you shouldn't rush to the stud dog when you get an 'ovulation imminent' reading, but should wait for the first 'ovulation occurred' reading.  (As the best time is 2-4 days after.) 

Hmm, this is v helpful.

That's the advice I had from Idexx also. My girl had just ovulated on the Thursday - reading 20.4 - and was mated Sat/Sun.

I took my bitch  back for the third mating yesterday but did not get a mating - she was still standing but the  stud dog was not really interested - I think she is now past her peak and he's sensed this ( he's a very experienced dog ) - If I'd waited for the results of another blood test I think it would have been too late to get a succesful mating - my problem is that I have to wait 48 hours between collecting the blood and getting the results and so I simply never got an accurate relevant  reading .

Fingers crossed for pups !

Yvonne

Hi Yvonne - How come you had to wait 48 hrs?  Thanks

If I do the test through my vet its 48 hours, I get them to take the blood then I post recorded next day before 9am delivery its another £13 postage but worth it.

Had a 5th blood test yesterday, results just come back that she ovulated yesterday and should mate saturday - tommorow :)

Im so glad ive done this now i would have mated her last week otherwise, tommorow will be day 21 of season. All systems go!!

Thanks guys

Yeah Yvonne why so long?  Last time I had my girls bloods taken at the vets at 4.45, rushed to the post office and sent it first class normal post, it was there the next morning and Larry phoned with the results that afternoon.

Perro, was there a reason you didn't send it Special Delivery? 

Oh dear, I thought we were on earlier. Now it seems we won't be on until the afternoon :-(  I will get there for midday then :-) Or Bob will.  Glad you got 2 sucessful matings !!!!

Valerie

Nah just wrapped it up really well and sent it first class, as I say it was there first thing in the morning, so why pay more.  In reality I wasn't really sure whether I wanted to mate her anyway.

Yeah Yvonne why so long?  Last time I had my girls bloods taken at the vets at 4.45, rushed to the post office and sent it first class normal post, it was there the next morning and Larry phoned with the results that afternoon.

example :  bloods taken  8.30 am on Thursday - it was sent special deliver to arrive at the lab by 9a.m Friday day and the results given to me late that afternoon so that's almost two days before getting the results in fact my last one took even longer to get the results - bloods taken 8.30 am Saturday - arrived at Lab 9am Monday results given 4.30 Monday afternoon  ! - no wonder I just could'nt get an accurate reading - my vets been great and has'nt charged me a single penny for taking the blood but I've spent £150 on 5 tests and in the end went when my bitch told me she was ready - and now I'm thinking I might have left it too late as the stud just did'nt want to know at our last attempt on Thursday ....this is despite the lab telling me they thought she'd be ready for mating this weekend !!

I really don't think I'd bother with testing again !

Yvonne

I think it's all a question of timing. My plan is always have the blood taken mid afternoon. Post myself to Idexx by 4.00pm by Special Delivery before 9a.m. I usually get an email from Larry about 11a.m. So result within less than 24hrs and Larry has never failed me yet!

Special attention to timing needed if testing required from Friday to Monday as Idexx are closed on Sunday. Not much point in a sample taken Friday not arriving until Monday.So blood taken Friday needs to arrive very early on Saturday for same day result.

Yvonne

I have a friend who had the same experience - waiting for the blood results meant that they went to the stud a bit too late and had a very small litter - possibly as a result of that. 

However, Croft are apparently open 24/7 which is a reason to use them instead of Idexx, I think.

This is one of the reasons why I'm still considering using the inhouse Premate tests instead; at least you get the result immediately.  If it were all a bit cheaper, I'd do both and hope that between them, I'd be able to make some sense of things.

We were offered the in house pre-mate for £56 a time by our old vet.  They told me to start on day four.  £££££ me thinks

Hmm well todays the day and my bitch was very difficult, eventually getting a slip mating. She stood so positively for him afterwards but it was too late.
Should i worry?

ETA The dog is not experienced.

ive had a google and i wont worry for now, i should learn to stop fussing.

> i should learn to stop fussing.

Lol.  Easier said than done, especially with our girls.

She may be ready but not at her peak fertility (two to 3 days after ovulation) so the male may just not be that wild for her yet. 

Just because the hormones say she can be mated now does not mean the dog or bitch will, some will only stand at the optimum time or just as they are going over, some males are the same.

I have had bitches eager for mating about two days before the male would mate them.

Hopefully you'll get a proper mating the next day.

Hi everyone
I had a progesterone test done yesterday on my girl and the reading they have given me is 8.2 , she has to go back for a re test on friday ...... could someone tell me what the ideal number is i'm looking for as i have searched the net and i am not sure how it has been worked out . not sure if its in nmol/L or ng/L?

Do i use the post made by pedlee as a guide ?

Many Thanks