So I have a potential stud dog at hand; he is has just turned 17 months.

I have never bred before and fairly new to this. I relieved him for the first time on a Thursday (performed well and very calm) where he was then tested the following Tuesday (5 days apart), under examination on the Tuesday sperm count was high and no visual abnormalities however majority of the sperm appeared dead with no motility. However he did have a bad experience and become very stressed after being shouted at by the women.

A week later on the Monday I went to someone else and I had him tested again (6 days later) the same results occurred. (He again wouldn’t perform for the man and become stressed but did immediately produce when I decided to collect the sample)

Can anyone tell me why this is the case and how I could increase motility, as I have a bitch at home and believe these two would make a great pairing.

Thanks

Just food for thought; Is it wise to breed from dogs who cannot reproduce naturally?

All studs in his line all produced naturally, however AI has become increasingly popular especially within Bully breeds for more accurate results and avoid any health complications or accidents.

My point being I have relieved him to get his use to producing and get him tested. If I was to use him I would attempt one natural tie and one AI just as personal preference. I just wanted advice on his results that was all as he has a beautiful temperament and perfect confirmation and fully health tested. If he is infertile that is fine as he is a pet first and always will be very special to us.

I once watched a program that claimed that low or infertility was becoming a common issue in male bulldogs, If its true,  As the olde English is from bulldogs it wouldn't be surprising if it can also be an issue in them to.

You could speak to a repo vet but I'd not think there is much to do about a dog with naturally low fertility. I've read Certain meds can negatively effect sperm quality later on. You could retest in say 6 months to a year's time but it could just be him.

Regarding the registration of litters from AI in the UK, I checked because years ago the UK wouldn't accept known AI 'mating'.

I found this - https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/breeding/breeding-from-your-dog/artificial-insemination-ai/

I have a suspicion that this goes on amongst more breeders than we know about!!

Back in Canada, and going down to the States for the stud dog I wanted, he wasn't interested so having tried, we took both to their vet where his sperm was checked, and she was checked to make sure she was right on and an AI was done - sperm collection to insemination via the 'normal way'!   No surgery.  Before leaving for home, we tried again the next morning, without success.  The result was two pups, one DOA.   As the breeder welcomed us for a repeat, we went back the next time - another AI and this time 5 puppies.

Many popular stud dogs in the States never naturally mate with their bitches mainly, it's said, to prevent infection.

https://www.revivalanimal.com/pet-health/managing-males-hot-weather-breeding/learning-center
Some of this article may help. 

If the sire of this dog is still alive, and available, you might be better to use him?   It's said that the (proven!) sire of the nice dog may be the better option.

Just to add - has the dog had any surgery recently - years ago now I had planned to use a male here but when my bitch finally came into season and I phoned his owner, I was told he'd just had an inter-digital cyst taken off (in time to heal before Crufts).   I changed my mind about using him and went elsewhere.

Were the people testing him vets or just lay people who gave a vested interest in breeding dogs via AI ? If they are not vets what are their qualifications?

If he comes from a line of natural breeding stud dogs why are you investing time & money in having him "relieved" unnaturally.

I could understand if he was a valuable stud from an "at risk" breed, but if he is from such successful lines he cannot be unique. You state he is of perfect conformation & fully health tested is this your opinion & that of your GP vet or experts in the "breed" & BVA test results ?

I do have my rams tested before they are put to the ewes, but as I have rare breed sheep this cannot be competed to breeding dogs

He has been fully health checked at a vetinary practice, DNA tested for genetic disorders and has had a clean bill of health with no surgeries from the day I took him home as a puppy. I have done everything to ensure he is fit enough for breeding, with this one hiccup with regards to his sperm motility. I was only asking if anyone has come across this before and if there are any supplements that may help (vitamin E and Omega 3 and 6 I’ve heard).

With regards to AI some people are not keen and some are it’s a matter of preference. I personally see no problem with it as is less stressful and like mentioned can prevent infections occurring.

This is still a developing breed correcting faults and passing on preferred characteristic through each generation. My boy is a better dog physically than his sire but from what I can see he may be infertile. Which once again is absolutely fine because I love him to pieces but I would have liked him to sire one litter with my bitch at home as I would have liked to carry on his bloodline.

So your GP vet is an orthopedic specialist able to score hips & elbows & also an opthalimic eye specialist able to identify eye conditions. Wow that's very different to most GP vets.

What are your dog's hip & elbow scores ? Dogs don't have to be KC reg to have their X rays scored by the BVA panel, same goes for clinical eye tests.

So your aim on breeding from your dog is what ? It should be to improve the "breed", however I very much doubt that the"breed"will ever be recognised as the ideal dog would be suited to "bull baiting"a "sport"that has been banned for 183 years along with dog fighting etc

Yes a blood sport which is banned but that’s what they were traditionally used for, this is nothing anyone to date agrees with and is awful. I fell in love with the temperament of the standard English as they are very loving family members and just daft sods. The Olde was created to try and eliminate those health issues you see today. By breeding dogs with longer muzzles, less excessive skin better stamina etc. With the same loving temperament!

Unless you know about this breed it’s very hard to explain what breeders today are trying to achieve. I wanted advice on sperm motility alone nothing else, if you don’t have the knowledge then fine.

I do not breed for a living as many do in the bully realm and ship them out after a few litters. These two are my pets and they will only ever be pets first. Buying bulldogs as it is, is an expensive game and I did my research to make sure I was getting a functional and happy dog. It actually disgusts me some of the crap people are breeding today; bulldogs with horrendous breathing difficulties, bowed legs and bitches that are unable to whelp naturally. This breed is a good start to try and improve that!

Why not answer questions about hip & elbow scores & other health tests ?

I've seen a few of your dog's type , quite a motley set of dogs including siblings that look nothing like each other. A couple had severe HD & another ED at it's worst. These were youngish (under 9 months)that hasn't been over exercised etc.

The only thing I don't quite see is why AI would avoid "health complications" or "accidents" the whole purpose of breeding away from the unhealthy look of the standard bulldog is surely to produce a dog who can do all his natural functions without interference.

Good breeders I know follow the rule - first mating must be performed naturally and be successful, whether it is a dog or a bitch, then there is no problem doing the AI for future matings as you know all is well with the dogs and they can reproduce naturally.

Sadly some breeds are in deeper peril where they can't give birth naturally, forget the AI....

> So your aim on breeding from your dog is what ? It should be to improve the "breed", however I very much doubt that the"breed"will ever be recognised as the ideal dog would be suited to "bull baiting"a "sport"that has been banned for 183 years along with dog fighting etc

I'm not sure the main breeders of the alternate bulldog types want them to be kc recognised. There seem to be a few different lines/type of them, Leavitt bulldog, olde English bulldog and olde tyme bulldog are one's I can think of off the top of my head.
I believe the idea isn't to create a dog breed/type capable of bull baiting or to bait but to recreate the conformation of those earlier bulldogs before the current show type became the norm for them. I believe a simmaler thing to the king Charles and the cavalier king Charles spaniel.

The best thing i can advise is go and see a repro vet. There are a few in the country. They can test and offer suggestions if there are any for the situation you are in.

I wouldn't write him off just yet, but as you've said have him restested in 6 months. Sperm can be easily killed off by an infection in the scrotum, perhaps he lay down on a rough surface, scratched his scrotum and you didn't notice and maybe it was infected, causing higher temperatures and killing his swimmers off?

I had this happen to a dog of mine once, in his case it was a bit of a disaster. We had travelled from Edinburgh to Birmingham to the main repro specialist at the time (early 90s). Got a collection, good sample with good motility to be sent to New Zealand. Unfortunately the freezer malfunctioned and the collection was lost. It was a couple of months before I could get down there again and in the meantime the dog had an infected scrotum, it cleared up with antibiotics and I didn't think anything of it. The next collection was useless, very few sperm moving, I was advised to bring him back in 6 months but unfortunately he died not long after that, unrelated cancer. The breeder in New Zealand who wanted to use him had nothing to show for the expenses she had paid out, blood tests (NZ are very strict, even on imported frozen semen), repro specialist fees etc :(

Look up wheatgerm oil and fertility whilst you are exploring other medical routes x

I am just gobsmacked at this post. I would have thought, obviously, incorrectly that we would breed from healthy examples of the breed, to enhance the breed standard.

> I am just gobsmacked at this post. I would have thought, obviously, incorrectly that we would breed from healthy examples of the breed, to enhance the breed standard.

Lynneb that came up in notifications as a reply to my comment? My dog was a champion and a champ show group winner, obviously we didn't know he would die of cancer when we bred from him or done this collection for NZ.