Hi all.... new to this website.

I would like some insight into people and breeding. I have a [small breed] bitch who was mated on the 20th january and had a ultrasound to confirm pregnancy yesterday. Unfortunately, she is not pregnant, the lady saw one sac shaped circle which was empty.

I am thinking she may have reabsorbed the litter?

A week before her season came she was given a booster vaccination and a week after mating she had a yellowish discharge. Do you think she could have an infection which prompted the absorption?

Any recommendations for tests I should conduct or things to do next time to avoid this occurring again?

Thanks
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There are many reasons that cause fetuses to be reabsorbed/aborted.

What did your vet say about the discharge she had ? Did she receive any medication for the discharge ? Did you have her general health checked before breeding from her to ensure she was in good health ? Is the stud used regularly ? Is he health checked before every bitch to ensure he isn't carrying any infection ?

I had a friend who used a very popular stud dog, unfortunately he had contracted an infection from a previous bitch & he infected their bitch, not only did she not conceive, they nearly lost her & she had to be spayed as a result

She was outnon antibiotics for 5 days. Prior to this she has been in good health and been dna/health tested clear.

The stud i used I am not sure he is health tested every time. I opted for AI but he also allows self tie to bitches.

Would the crv vaccine be a good option next time? I am taking my girl to the vets tomorrow to check for any viruses of infections.

Are you in the UK ? if so why did you use AI & was it done by a repro vet or professional AI operative ? Did the vet do a culture from the discharge ?

I can understand a breeder wanting to use AI if the dog is abroad & the breed is in need of widening their gene pool, but for a breed with so many people breeding it & lots of stud dogs in the UK(and everywhere else to be honest)there really is no need. AI adds to the risk of not producing a litter & littr sizes are usually lower too.

I don't breed dogs & AI has never been popular amongst shepherds. We do however have all tups & ewes checked by vets before putting them together & I always have the tups swab tested before putting them in with the ewes & since reducing my flock I also swab test the ewes(they are rare/primitive breeds) not practical to swab test 100s of ewes

We should not be using AI routinely unless we want to produce dogs which can only mate by AI and come to lack the physical ability to mate naturally.

It is impossible to know why the mating didn't work - she may never have been pregnant.  You may have bred her on the wrong days - since you don't mention any timing involved.  The most common reason for bitches to miss, is because they were mated at the wrong time...

> AI adds to the risk of not producing a litter & littr sizes are usually lower too.

I don't think this is totally accurate.   AI is often used in America, especially with popular studs, to help avoid the risk of infection.   We didn't, other than once when we'd travelled to a stud dog in America from Toronto (12 hour trip).   When we got there, although she was more than encouraging the male I wanted, he really wasn't interested.  In the end she literally heaved a sigh, and sat down with her back to him - she was our English-bred foundation and if it hadn't been so frustrating it would have been funny (a Yankee not interested in a British girl??).   The next morning we took both to their vet and after he checked her for timing (bang on) and him for fertility (not huge but OK) he went ahead and did an AI, collection and putting in at the same time.   At least, having made that long journey, we came back with something.  She only had 2 puppies admittedly but I think that was due to his lowish sperm count.   We went back the following year for a repeat and she had a natural mating and 5 pups.  Again I guess his sperm count had improved as he was keener to do the job.

The number of pups in a natural and a side by side AI is about the same - there is not a noticeable decrease in fertility. 

Of course you can put semen in a bitch via AI when she is not ready more easily than you can achieve a mating when she is not ready (she is more likely to permit a little tube going up there than a natural breeding when she is not ready) - so you may miss because, regardless of how you put it in, it has to go in at the right time.  But between a natural and a side by side AI put in at the same time, it will have a very similar success rate.

Other types of AI, like TCI and surgical AI definitely see decreased success in terms of litter sizes and misses.  Surgical AI has just been banned in the UK, without much in the news about this either.  If surgical AI was banned in the US, there would be outcry(!) but since almost no one uses it in the UK at this point, there has been little to no reaction to this announcement by the BVA:  https://www.bva.co.uk/professional-development/vet-record/articles/canine-surgical-ai-now-a-prohibited-procedure/

My issues with AI are that:  Dogs should be able to breed naturally.  This is as important as conformation, as temperament, as performance qualities.  If a male dog can't breed naturally, that is a huge fault in my eyes.  (And if the breed cannot breed naturally, don't get me started!!  It should not exist in its current form and breeders should be breeding away from any conformation which prevents natural matings!) 

If the worry is about brucellosis (which we don't have in the UK), then I am a bit more sympathetic to AIs - although I wouldn't want to see them used in generation after generation - the real answer is to test male and female before breeding for brucellosis.  There are not really any other STDs in dogs besides brucellosis to be concerned about and want to do an AI for.

> My issues with AI are that:  Dogs should be able to breed naturally.  This is as important as conformation, as temperament, as performance qualities.  If a male dog can't breed naturally, that is a huge fault in my eyes.  (And if the breed cannot breed naturally, don't get me started!!  It should not exist in its current form and breeders should be breeding away from any conformation which prevents natural matings!)

Strongly agree, especially as I have noticed mating behaviour is quite strongly inherited.