Vision, Mission & Values

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 speaking, ovulation occurs around 5 ng/ml (or approximately 15.7 nmol/L in the Canadian system).

Transcervical Insemination (TCI) is the preferred method for using frozen semen. The semen is deposited directly into the uterus using a specialized catheter, giving the best possible chance for conception.

Our success rates with TCI are over 85%, making it as effective as — if not better than — natural breedings.

If your dog has an enlarged prostate and you want to preserve his genetics, we recommend collecting and freezing his semen before any surgical procedure. This way, his legacy is preserved regardless of the treatment path chosen.

Please contact us to discuss your specific situation — we can help you make the best decision for your dog.

We recommend collecting your dog when he is young and in his prime — typically between 2 and 5 years of age. However, we can successfully collect and freeze semen from dogs of various ages.

The sooner you preserve his genetics, the better the quality and quantity of the collection will be.

Ovulation generally occurs at approximately 5 ng/ml. After ovulation, the eggs need about 48 hours to mature before they can be fertilized.

For frozen semen, we typically breed when progesterone levels are between 15-25 ng/ml, depending on the individual bitch's cycle. Precise timing is critical with frozen semen since it only lives 8-12 hours after thawing.

We maintain records of many stud dogs whose semen is stored at our facility. Please contact our office and we'll be happy to help connect you with available stud dog owners.