Can I ask for advice on getting a sperm count done on a 3 year old dog? He has been used four times (good ties on 3 occasions and one quickie) on two bitches without result.

Get your vet to do it for a good result, its really easier. You can check motility yourself with a "schoolboy"microscope....we do it ourselves, but the actual count is best done by vets. lab.

If you can arrange a 'teaser' in season bitch, it makes things much easier

I have had a problem recently with an old stud dog missing his bitches - I used Total Breeding Solutions Near Preston Manchester and he confirmed -nil count, yet the vet apparently did a test and said his count was normal... strange bearing in mind he has missed 5 bitches. let me know if you are in Manchester area and I'll forward on his details.

Sure most of you will know that if a dog has been ill or over heated 2 to 3 months before the service that can effect the count. If this was the case the dog should recover his fertility 3 months after he is fully returned to good health. JH

That can happen. As Jackie says if a dog has been ill he can become temporarily sterile and it can also happen for no apparent reason. A dog can also have a normal sperm test, yet never manage to get a bitch pregnant. A boy I bred was used on several different bitches, some of them already proven, and never produced pups. Yet he had at least three sperm checks at well separated times, all of them normal.