Just wondered what opinions you have on the Premate test.
I have never used one but have heard of them.
What is their reliability, etc.
I heard a vet had told someone that if the hormone level did not rise then even if the bitch got pregnant she would not be able to carry??? I thought a bitch had to ovulate before she could get pregnant and if her hormone level did not rise then not ovulating??? _confused_

Hi staffie
I never quite know what to make of pre-mate tests I do think in some cases it is better to be guided by the dog rather than a test result but having said that my sister had a bitch who had failed to stand for the dog on her previous two seasons so they hadnt been able to mate her, she had the swab test done and it showed ready cells at 3 days into her season so the bitch was taken to the stud at 4 days and stood well and went on to produce 9 puppies!
A couple of months ago our labrador came in season but didnt bleed much and we were concerned she may be having a silent heat so took her to the same person for the same test (at this time I guessed her to be about 5 days into her season) the test again revealed ready cells and he told me to get her to the stud that day so we did, she was deffinatly not ready the stud had no interest in her at all ,she was finally ready to be mated some nine days later and I hopefull that she is in pup.
I have never used the blood test but hopefully some one will be along shortly that has!!

I have made use of the blood test and have always had pups afterwards - including the bitch that was not ready untill Day 23 and who I first took to the dog at around the usual time (he was a long way away as well which is why I then used the test every 48 hours till she was ready.)

Christine

Thanks for your replies.
Am I right that the blood test shows that ovulation is due to occur because the hormone levels increase.
Also if the hormone levels do not change does it mean the bitch is not ovulating or that she could have ovulated but unable to carry?? I know this sounds a stupid statement but some one has stated this to me but I cannot see how the bitch could get pregnant if she did not ovulate??????Also once pregnat surely the hormones kick in then as with humans.
We have always either used the cells under the microscope method or just relied on our male letting us know - think natures way the best though :D

No, you're right that if a bitch doesn't ovulate then she cannot get pregnant. I think one of the tests measures the levels of luteinising (sp?) hormone which will trigger ovulation when it reaches a certain level.

But I still think leaving it to the dog is the best method! (Of course this isn't particularly practical if the dog is 400 miles away and you have to travel hopefully>)

Thanks for that - thought my biology lessons had been a waste of time when I heard that! :-)
Think this must have been a case of the vet not explaining it too well to the person or them getting the wrong end of the stick.

As I want totry my maiden bitch with her maiden suitor again on the next season I am going for premate tests, as she showed none of the classic ready signs, and I am not willing to go solely on his reactions due to his experience.

My bitch wanted to take the lead role in the ehole maqting process, which meant I had to intervene, and am unsure that when we got the slip matings/wasted eforts, whether this was through bad timing or just frustrating inexperience of both parties!

In my breed the bitches seem to be ready generally after day 14 (none of mine have had a litter when mated earlier than this) so wondered when it was best to start the tests?

Hi Guys,

I only have one expereince to share, I was adviced not to use the tests and just to go by day 12. So I booked my trian tickets etc for day 12 but my bitch suddenly appeared to be ready by her interest in my dog and certainly by his behaviour on day 9, so I decided to have the tests done, straght to the vet I went and they did them while I waited. Vets result verbally was "take her to the stud now". So I had to quickly book another train and off we went. She was mated on day 10 and day 11 and she is in whelp. The experienced stud dog owner did think that had I came on day 12 anyway it would have been fine and I do agree this was right as when we returned her behaviour was certainly still very if not more interested in my dog , who was prompt evicted to my mothers. :-) So I probably would have been fine but I am still glad I did the test as I knew were were very near and did not want to travel all that distance and me be way off.

Pam

Hi Staffie,
The blood tests measuring progesterone levels are the surest way to go.
Unlike humans, the level of progesterone will continue to rise in the bitch, even if she is not pregnant. This is why we cannot use a progesterone levels as an indicator of pregnancy in dogs as we do in humans. This is also why most bitches develop some level of "phantom" prenancy after each season.
It is beleived that the LH spike occurs when the progesterone reading is around .3, so this would tell you that the bitch will ovulate in 48 hours. It is hard to "catch" this spike, however, without testing every day at the same time and even oftener. Most people just wait for the progesterone level to hit.5 or more and then breed. Of course, a bitch's ova are shed not fully developed as in other mammals and will need about two days to mature and be ready to fertilize. A natural breeding should cover this, since the sperm can be viable for quite some days in the bitch, but when using frozen or chilled, you must be right on, which means waiting another 48 hours after ovulation. This is nerve racking as the bitch is all set to go before that!
TiaLee