Your Trusted Partner
in Canine Reproduction

The technology that created this canine semen freezing technique has been around for 36 years and we are using semen that has been stored that long and getting puppies!!

We are assuming the semen will be good for an indefinite period of time as long as it is kept at a constant temperature in liquid nitrogen.

The storage tanks are completely self-contained using liquid nitrogen. No electricity is required so power failures are not a problem!!

Our entire staff at Sirius Canine Fertility, Inc take this very seriously and the level of passion they have in their work really shows! The technical staff is completely dedicated to ensuring your breedings are done according to your bitch’s schedule, not our schedule or convenience.

Our techs spend many hours educating clients to make sure the best possible procedures are done for that particular bitch. Our success rate with Transcervical Insemination done in our office is over 85%. With services like one hour progesterone testing, we can pinpoint ovulation timing even better.

We believe in always staying on the cutting edge of technology. Our equipment is state of the art, from our Sperm Vision CASA equipment, to our TCI machines, to the one hour progesterone assay testing equipment.

Fresh semen is when you have the dog and bitch available, the collection is done from the male and immediately inseminated into the bitch.

Fresh chilled semen is collected and added to our media and shipped to the bitch owner in one of our Sirius Shippers. The semen when mixed with our media lives for several days. I (Bridgett) preformed testing on one of my own dog’s semen and still had motility after 2 weeks!!

Frozen semen generally lives about 8-12 hours on average after thawing. Frozen semen can only be used through transcervical or surgical inseminations. Fresh or fresh chilled semen can be implanted with either vaginal inseminations, surgical inseminations or transcervical procedures.

Outstanding! We offer in-house, Transcervical inseminations for either fresh, fresh chilled, or frozen semen. Our success rates for these are over 85%, as good, if not better than natural breedings!!

We do not thaw your frozen semen prior to passing the catheter during the TCI procedure, as once thawed, semen cannot be refrozen. This way, we can ensure that the procedure can be done on your bitch prior to thawing semen, so if for any reason your bitch cannot be catheterized, your semen is not wasted.

If you want the best chance of success, then yes, progesterone testing is necessary. Behaviors like “flagging” and vaginal cytology indicating cornification are estrogen induced. Ovulation is progesterone induced. These should be in sync with each other, but we are finding over and over again, they are not.

If you are using frozen semen, progesterone testing must be done to ensure the semen, which only lives 8-12 hours, is implanted at the correct time.

This depends on the type of in-house test your vet utilizes. If they are using a color change test, I would recommend against it for the most accurate timing.

If your vet has the same equipment as we do, in-house, quantitative analyzers for progesterone assay (most do not) then this type of in-house testing would be recommended. When your vet or breeder friends are referring to “in-house” testing, make sure of which type they are talking about.

The progesterone levels here are recorded in nanograms and the testing done in Canada is recorded in nanomoles so it is not comparing apples to apples.

The nanogram is multiplied by 3.14 to compare to the Canadian system. Generally we say a bitch ovulated around 5.0ng on our system, it would be around 16nmol on the Canadian system. Not all labs report in Nanomoles, so be sure to check which one your results are reported in.

This can vary depending on age of bitch, reproductive history, etc. but generally speaking we recommend the Transcervical insemination. We prefer TCI to surgical because there is no surgery, no recovery time and we feel MUCH less stress to the bitch.

The two biggest factors affecting your success with TCI are accurate progesterone timing & the experience of the person doing the TCI. Have you confirmed ovulation? You want to make sure someone doing your TCI is very experienced with both the procedure, and correct timing.

No! We have some treatment options we can share with your veterinarian that can treat prostatitis. Generally Ovaban or Proscar are used for treatment, and we have seen outstanding results.

Of course, if the dog is not being shown and is no longer being used for breeding, it is the healthiest option to neuter him, but these treatments work well when neutering is not an option.

The best age is generally 2-5 years of age, although I feel the younger the better! Semen from a younger dog is stronger and survives the freezing process better.

Some breeds we collect as young as 1 year of age and have great results! In some occasions, dogs that are working or on the show circuit need to be done after they are retired or on a break.

The breeding window is NOT determined by a particular number, rather by the date of ovulation, which is confirmed through progesterone testing. Ovulation is confirmed by observing a 3 or more ng jump, in a 24 hour period.

When planning a TCI, your timing is determined by the type of semen being used. For frozen semen, we recommend two TCI procedures, done between days 3-5 post ovulation. If fresh or chilled semen is being used, we recommend breeding days 2 and 4 post ovulation.

Yes! We now offer a comprehensive Stud Directory where breeders can list their stud dogs, and those looking to breed can find an available match. You can easily browse our directory of elite genetic pedigrees to find the perfect fit for your program.