Pedigree research

“You need to understand the strengths and weaknesses in a pedigree,” Battaglia said. “The conformation, health and behavior traits we want don’t show up in names, titles and certifications.”

Supplement, stimulate, socialize

By Dr. Marty Greer, DVM, JD

Cleanliness is next to godliness

What NOT to do

More myth busting and important advice

• Can you or should you save cleft palate puppies — Greer shares some of the hard choices to be made
• Goats milk and cataracts — use an appropriate formula for dogs
• Colostrum/plasma — frozen plasma can make all the difference
• Subcu fluids — how and why

“I can’t believe I ate the WHOLE thing….”

“What do you have in your mouth?!”

All kinds of bad bugs

Cleanliness is next godliness

Treatment

“It's really important from the beginning of the heat cycle to know when ovulation occurred,” Greer said, “because we know bitches are pregnant 63 days plus or minus 24 hours from ovulation. Normal pregnancy is not 58 to 72 days like we've been told for many decades prior to the time that we could do progesterone testing.”

1. Poorly timed breedings
2. Poor semen quality and/or quantity.
3. Failure to maintain a pregnancy

• Was there a Semen quality assessment?
  1. Was the sperm count low?
  2. Was there abnormal semen morphology? Was the semen stained and assessed by a veterinarian?
  3. Was there poor semen motility? The semen needs to be progressively normal.
  4. Was there poor semen longevity? Holding a small sample of semen in extended in the refrigerator and reassessing it 24 and 48 hours later can be useful.
  
  
• Was there timing failure? This is a good time to review the timing of the breeding.
• Did she complete her ovulation?
  1. Failure to complete the ovulation. Did the progesterone testing continue past 5 ng/dl? If not, she may have not had a complete ovulatory cycle.
  2. Cystic ovaries? An ovarian cyst can interfere with a complete ovulatory cycle.
  3. Split cycle? If she failed to complete her ovulation, she may have split her cycle and will come back into heat in the next 4 to 6 weeks.
  
  
• Failure of adequate semen deposition: Fertile sperm must reach a fertile egg.
  1. If this was a natural breeding, was there a tie? Was the breeding witnessed? Was there a normal length tie?
  2. If this was a vaginal AI, was the AI performed correctly with no spermicidal exposure. Some lubricants and reusable equipment can have spermicidal properties. Using all disposable supplies is recommended.
  3. Does the bitch have a defect in her reproductive tract? Structural abnormalities causing failure of semen passage from the vagina to the oviducts including male and female anatomical abnormalities.
  
  
• Do either the male or female have Brucellosis? Canine brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can be spread venerally and can cause sterility in the male or female as well as pregnancy failure and early neonatal death.
• Was the bitch exposed to Canine Herpesvirus? - This is a viral disease that can cause early or late fetal death as well as neonatal death. In the adult, Canine Herpervirus causes mild respiratory disease. During early pregnancy, the fetuses can die at any stage, causing apparent failure to conceive if it is contracted during early pregnancy.
• Does the bitch have a bacterial infection in the vagina or uterus? A low-grade metritis, not rising to the level of a pyometra can interfere with conception. The difficulty here is that even in 2017, we cannot identify what normal bacterial flora in the reproductive tract is.
• Did she have another bacterial or viral disease that are not yet well characterized?
• Does she have a systemic illness? Any disorder that causes a fever can interrupt a pregnancy. Did she have a complete blood panel test, checking for signs of infection or organ disease? Consider testing for Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichia before you breed.
• Failure of the ovary to maintain progesterone high enough to support pregnancy (hypoluteoidism) Rarely, a bitch will have the inability to keep her progesterone level high enough to maintain pregnancy. This can occur as early as day 14 of the pregnancy. Testing her progesterone level at her pregnancy ultrasound can be an important tool.
• Does the bitch have abnormalities in her uterine lining? Cystic endometrial hyperplasia and fibrosis of the uterus can prevent normal placental development.
• Is there genetic incompatibility? If there are fatal genes, conception with pregnancy failure can occur. Line breeding dogs with too little genetic diversity can lead to small or no litters.
• Was there inadequate maternal nutrition?
  1. Raw meat diets can contribute to an imbalanced nutritional plane. Micronutrients and macronutrients must be adequate to maintain pregnancy. Bitches require carbohydrates to maintain pregnancy as well as to lactate.
  
  
• Does she have parasites? Parasite migration can lead to placental failure. The stress of pregnancy can lead to latent parasites starting to migrate again. Using Fenbendazole from day 40 of pregnancy to day 14 of lactation can protect the fetuses from this condition.
• Was the bitch subjected to trauma? Blunt trauma can cause the placentas to fail.
• Was the bitch subjected to undue stress?
• Did the bitch receive anesthesia, or inappropriate drug or hormones? Many of these drugs can be toxic to developing fetuses. All drugs should be avoided during pregnancy unless required to save the bitch’s life.
• Is the bitch Hypothyroid? Low thyroid levels can contribute to pregnancy failure or failure to conceive. This is a rare cause of pregnancy failure but should be considered if the levels are profoundly low.

1. Brucellosis?
2. Herpesvirus?
3. Bacterial infections in the uterus. Cultures should be taken and antibiotics used if bacterial disease is suspected.
4. Other bacterial and viral diseases that are not yet well characterized.
5. Failure of the ovary to maintain progesterone high enough to support pregnancy...]]>Veterinary Voice: Progesterone Timing for Pregnancy Success Dr. Marty Greer and host Laura Reeves talk about progesterone, that wonderful chemical inside our girl dogs’ bodies that tells us so much. Knowing progesterone levels is imperative for not only getting the bitches pregnant, but also keeping them pregnant.

   “It's really important from the beginning of the heat cycle to know when ovulation occurred,” Greer said, “because we know bitches are pregnant 63 days plus or minus 24 hours from ovulation. Normal pregnancy is not 58 to 72 days like we've been told for many decades prior to the time that we could do progesterone testing.”

   “Get her pregnant and unpregnant by doing progesterone testing at the beginning of the breeding,” Greer said. *** Veterinary Village LLC/ICSB-WI/IL N11591 Columbia Drive Lomira WI 53048 Phone 920-269-4072 Fax 920-269-2345 veterinaryvillage.com       vv@k9stork.com Client handout regarding infertility: Why isn't my female pregnant? What can I do about it? You did your homework – and have the perfect bitch, in her best condition and found the ideal male to mate her to. Both of them have passed all of the health clearances recommended for your breed. They have the temperaments you are looking for and their traits are complimentary to one another. You know the most common causes of apparent or actual pregnancy failure are:
   1. Poorly timed breedings
   2. Poor semen quality and/or quantity.
   3. Failure to maintain a pregnancy
   
   Timing the breeding: The timing of the breeding, based on progesterone levels (bred 2 to 3 days post-ovulation depending on semen type used), was just right. Most veterinarians recommend breeding 2 days after ovulation with fresh and fresh chilled shipped semen and 3 days with frozen semen. Ovulation is assumed to occur when the progesterone reaches 5 ng/dl (different units are used in other countries) with a range of 4 to 10 ng/dl. LH testing is also done in some clinics. LH, Luteinizing hormone, directly indicates ovulation, while progesterone is an estimation of ovulation. Progesterone is easier to measure and test as it can be done every few days, using human technology. LH requires daily testing and is canine specific. Semen quality and quantity: You know the stud dog had good quality and quantity semen – there was a semen analysis completed prior to shipping the semen. Your vet looked at it prior to inseminating your bitch and said the semen looked great, based on the sperm count (for a Bernese Mountain dog, the count should be 1 billion total), the morphology (shape and appearance of each sperm cell) and motility (how active and progressively motile it was on a microscopic evaluation). Yet, she is not pregnant. Why? And if you try to breed her again, what can you do differently to improve the chances she will carry a litter to term? First, we need to determine if she failed to conceive, failed to achieve fetal/placental implantation, or conceived and lost the litter. If you don't have her ultrasounded, you won't know if she failed to conceive or failed to maintain the pregnancy. A relaxin test or palpation is not adequate – these do not assess for fetal viability. This information is big piece of the puzzle.  When you are trying to justify the decision to do an ultrasound, this is the best reason to do so – this is not the place to scrimp. If the ultrasound shows no pregnancy, and the semen and timing were good, then causes for failure to conceive or failure for fetuses to implant should be explored. These include:
   • Was there a Semen quality assessment?
     1. Was the sperm count low?
     2. Was there abnormal semen morphology? Was the semen stained and assessed by a veterinarian?
     3. Was there poor semen motility? The semen needs to be progressively normal.
     4. Was there poor semen longevity? Holding a small sample of semen in extended in the refrigerator and reassessing it 24 and 48 hours later can be useful.
     
     
   • Was there timing failure? This is a good time to review the timing of the breeding.
   • Did she complete her ovulation?
     1. Failure to complete the ovulation. Did the progesterone testing continue past 5 ng/dl? If not, she may have not had a complete ovulatory cycle.
     2. Cystic ovaries? An ovarian cyst can interfere with a complete ovulatory cycle.
     3. Split cycle? If she failed to complete her ovulation, she may have split her cycle and will come back into heat in the next 4 to 6 weeks.
     
     
   • Failure of adequate semen deposition: Fertile sperm must reach a fertile egg.
     1. If this was a natural breeding, was there a tie? Was the breeding witnessed? Was there a normal length tie?
     2. If this was a vaginal AI, was the AI performed correctly with no spermicidal exposure. Some lubricants and reusable equipment can have spermicidal properties. Using all disposable supplies is recommended.
     3. Does the bitch have a defect in her reproductive tract? Structural abnormalities causing failure of semen passage from the vagina to the oviducts including male and female anatomical abnormalities.
     
     
   • Do either the male or female have Brucellosis? Canine brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can be spread venerally and can cause sterility in the male or female as well as pregnancy failure and early neonatal death.
   • Was the bitch exposed to Canine Herpesvirus? - This is a viral disease that can cause early or late fetal death as well as neonatal death. In the adult, Canine Herpervirus causes mild respiratory disease. During early pregnancy, the fetuses can die at any stage, causing apparent failure to conceive if it is contracted during early pregnancy.
   • Does the bitch have a bacterial infection in the vagina or uterus? A low-grade metritis, not rising to the level of a pyometra can interfere with conception. The difficulty here is that even in 2017, we cannot identify what normal bacterial flora in the reproductive tract is.
   • Did she have another bacterial or viral disease that are not yet well characterized?
   • Does she have a systemic illness? Any disorder that causes a fever can interrupt a pregnancy. Did she have a complete blood panel test, checking for signs of infection or organ disease? Consider testing for Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichia before you breed.
   • Failure of the ovary to maintain progesterone high enough to support pregnancy (hypoluteoidism) Rarely, a bitch will have the inability to keep her progesterone level high enough to maintain pregnancy. This can occur as early as day 14 of the pregnancy. Testing her progesterone level at her pregnancy ultrasound can be an important tool.
   • Does the bitch have abnormalities in her uterine lining? Cystic endometrial hyperplasia and fibrosis of the uterus can prevent normal placental development.
   • Is there genetic incompatibility? If there are fatal genes, conception with pregnancy failure can occur. Line breeding dogs with too little genetic diversity can lead to small or no litters.
   • Was there inadequate maternal nutrition?
     1. Raw meat diets can contribute to an imbalanced nutritional plane. Micronutrients and macronutrients must be adequate to maintain pregnancy. Bitches require carbohydrates to maintain pregnancy as well as to lactate.
     
     
   • Does she have parasites? Parasite migration can lead to placental failure. The stress of pregnancy can lead to latent parasites starting to migrate again. Using Fenbendazole from day 40 of pregnancy to day 14 of lactation can protect the fetuses from this condition.
   • Was the bitch subjected to trauma? Blunt trauma can cause the placentas to fail.
   • Was the bitch subjected to undue stress?
   • Did the bitch receive anesthesia, or inappropriate drug or hormones? Many of these drugs can be toxic to developing fetuses. All drugs should be avoided during pregnancy unless required to save the bitch’s life.
   • Is the bitch Hypothyroid? Low thyroid levels can contribute to pregnancy failure or failure to conceive. This is a rare cause of pregnancy failure but should be considered if the levels are profoundly low.
   
   If no underlying cause for failure to conceive is found, surgical breeding may be considered to improve the chances of success at the next breeding. Some bitches will conceive pups when surgical breedings are used to deliver the semen directly into the uterine body. If the ultrasound shows a pregnancy was achieved but not maintained, this can result in fetal resorption (prior to day 45 of pregnancy) or fetal death and/or abortion (fetal loss after day 45 of pregnancy). This rules out poor timing, poor semen quality, or failure of semen to pass to the oviducts as causes for infertility. Causes of failure to maintain a pregnancy include (see descriptions above):
   1. Brucellosis?
   2. Herpesvirus?
   3. Bacterial infections in the uterus. Cultures should be taken and antibiotics used if bacterial disease is suspected.
   4. Other bacterial and viral diseases that are not yet well characterized.
   5. Failure of the ovary to maintain progesterone high enough to support pregnancy (hypoluteoidism). Serial progesterone levels should be run if hypoluteoidism is suspected.
   6. Uterine lining changes that interfere with maintained placental attachment.
   7. Inadequate maternal nutrition.
   8. Trauma, stress, anesthesia or drug and hormonal interference.
   
   A complete history should be taken. Diagnostics should include testing for brucellosis and Canine Herpesvirus. Cornell’s Veterinary Diagnostic lab has a blood profile called the “Canine Abortion Panel. Your veterinary clinic can submit tests for this. It is best done with paired samples, drawn 3 weeks apart and submitted together. The pregnancy can be monitored for viable fetuses with repeated ultrasounds. Whelpwise_TM can be used to manage high risk pregnancies. Antibiotics, progesterone and terbutaline may be indicated if uterine irritability is shown to be putting the pups at risk. These drugs help quiet the uterus and can keep the pups safely in the uterus until they reach full term. If no underlying cause for pregnancy failure or loss is found, uterine biopsy and cultures at about 60 days post-ovulation can be useful tools in determining if there is a treatable underlying cause and to help with determining a prognosis for future fertility. Treatment for causes suspected or found should be initiated prior to attempting the next breeding. Fertility is never guaranteed. Your veterinarian can perform testing to assure you have the best possible opportunity to produce a litter.]]>00964aa5-9f32-4960-a978-ff7e3a8d4fb0Thu, 02 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -070035:43falsefull390 – Mastitis: Causes, Prevention and TreatmentMastitis: Causes, Prevention and Treatment Dr. Marty Greer joins us for our Veterinary Voice. We’re talking about mastitis in lactating bitches. This infection can come on fast and furious with no warning. In some cases, it can be minor, in others life-threatening. Enjoy an excerpt here:

   Definition

   MG: Mastitis is inflammation or infection of the mammary glands, most commonly associated with a female that's nursing her puppies or recently nursing puppies. It can occur occasionally, not very often, associated with a false pregnancy or some other causes. But most commonly we see it in the mom dog that's just had a litter of puppies and for whatever reason there's developed an inflammation or an infection.

   Causes

   LR:  So what are those common causes? What do you see? Do you see it most frequently when you've just started to wean the litter? Do you see it (while) puppies are nursing? MG: Sometimes it's a litter with a small number of puppies and there's not enough puppies nursing to keep the mammary glands from engorging and becoming infected. Most of the time it's a bacterial infection that just spontaneously happens … you need to keep the whelping box and the area that the female is in really clean to try to prevent it, but I've seen it occur in places where I know that it's impeccably clean. The most common bacteria that we see are either the bacteria in the GI tract or… the ones that we usually see in the bitch’s own environment… so it can just happen that for some reason they send up into the mammary gland. It can be associated with trauma but most of the time it just spontaneously happens. Early mastitis can be a little bit tricky … so we look at every mammary gland. We express the milk out of every gland. Sometimes we’ll have to look at it under the microscope … many times it kind of slaps you in the face, it’s not that hard to see … when you walk in the room and everything was good when she went to bed, you get up the next morning and you see one big red hot swollen gland that's not a diagnostic challenge. It can occur in more than one gland, so it just depends on exactly how it initiates and what the source of the problem is.

   Re-occurence

   LR: So, then my next question continuing in the process of we don't really know what causes it do you see this run in families or breeds? Once you've seen it in an individual are you more likely to see it in that individual again? MG: Most of the literature says that it is not a familial or a breed specific trait… Most of the time it's just a one and done. The other thing is that you need to be just really vigilant. I think once you've seen it once you're probably a little bit more hyper vigilant. … mastitis can be very mild or it could be very serious. We can see a form of gangrenous mastitis caused by certain kinds of bacteria that is really, really nasty. Necrotizing mastitis. Fortunately, it's not common. I've had one case of it and I've seen a couple of others from other veterinarians. Those do require surgical excision of the abnormal tissue and in those cases gangrenous really means that the gland or multiple glands will just absolutely turn black and there's a very clear line where the tissue is normal, and the tissue is abnormal. So, it's not particularly difficult surgically to determine where you need to take tissue and where you need to leave it. But those are the only ones that I'll typically take to surgery. Most of the other mastitis cases, even if they tend to abscess open and leave a bit of a tissue gap, I usually don't close those surgically or remove any tissue surgically unless literally that tissue is black. In those cases, yes, surgery has to be done to save the bitch’s life.

   Prevention & Treatment

   LR: What other precautions? Do you recommend antibiotics prophylactically? MG: We don't prophylactically use antibiotics on our bitches. What you do, if you do that, is just end up making more resistant bacterial disease if it does develop. Basically, keeping the whelping box clean. Keeping the bitch clean is good. You can spray her mammary glands with Chlorhexidine and then rinse them off so that she's less likely to have a problem. You can certainly use a probiotic, so those are the things you can do preventively. And then, if you do develop mastitis, it's definitely a disorder that you're going to need to use an antibiotic for. I typically will reach for clavamox. … You can certainly culture it, start on clavamox and then transition to a different antibiotic if it's indicated based on her clinical response and the culture. Additionally, I will frequently give a big bolus of IV fluids to those girls when they come into the hospital. I won't keep them because I want to get him back home with their puppies but while they're at the hospital for an hour, so I'll pretty aggressively give IV fluid and then along with that I'll put them on meloxicam as an anti-inflammatory and pain medication. We've been using meloxicam for close to 20 years on our postpartum bitches and the amount that transmits through into the milk is not going to cause a problem for the puppies. It reduces inflammation in the mammary gland makes the females feel a lot better. If they're feeling better they'll eat better they'll lay down for the puppies to nurse better … most of the time you don't need to remove the puppies from the lactating … you can usually send her home and let her continue to nurse her puppies, which is actually got the advantage of keeping the mammary glands more empty than if you just take her home and immediately wean the puppies. To hear the remainder of this interview, listen to the podcast audio on the player above. Dr. Greer also discusses complications of mastitis with blastomycosis. The link to our earlier podcast on the topic is here.]]>Mastitis: Causes, Prevention and Treatment Dr. Marty Greer joins us for our Veterinary Voice. We’re talking about mastitis in lactating bitches. This infection can come on fast and furious with no warning. In some cases, it can be minor, in others life-threatening. Enjoy an excerpt here:

   Definition

   MG: Mastitis is inflammation or infection of the mammary glands, most commonly associated with a female that's nursing her puppies or recently nursing puppies. It can occur occasionally, not very often, associated with a false pregnancy or some other causes. But most commonly we see it in the mom dog that's just had a litter of puppies and for whatever reason there's developed an inflammation or an infection.

   Causes

   LR:  So what are those common causes? What do you see? Do you see it most frequently when you've just started to wean the litter? Do you see it (while) puppies are nursing? MG: Sometimes it's a litter with a small number of puppies and there's not enough puppies nursing to keep the mammary glands from engorging and becoming infected. Most of the time it's a bacterial infection that just spontaneously happens … you need to keep the whelping box and the area that the female is in really clean to try to prevent it, but I've seen it occur in places where I know that it's impeccably clean. The most common bacteria that we see are either the bacteria in the GI tract or… the ones that we usually see in the bitch’s own environment… so it can just happen that for some reason they send up into the mammary gland. It can be associated with trauma but most of the time it just spontaneously happens. Early mastitis can be a little bit tricky … so we look at every mammary gland. We express the milk out of every gland. Sometimes we’ll have to look at it under the microscope … many times it kind of slaps you in the face, it’s not that hard to see … when you walk in the room and everything was good when she went to bed, you get up the next morning and you see one big red hot swollen gland that's not a diagnostic challenge. It can occur in more than one gland, so it just depends on exactly how it initiates and what the source of the problem is.

   Re-occurence

   LR: So, then my next question continuing in the process of we don't really know what causes it do you see this run in families or breeds? Once you've seen it in an individual are you more likely to see it in that individual again? MG: Most of the literature says that it is not a familial or a breed specific trait… Most of the time it's just a one and done. The other thing is that you need to be just really vigilant. I think once you've seen it once you're probably a little bit more hyper vigilant. … mastitis can be very mild or it could be very serious. We can see a form of gangrenous mastitis caused by certain kinds of bacteria that is really, really nasty. Necrotizing mastitis. Fortunately, it's not common. I've had one case of it and I've seen a couple of others from other veterinarians. Those do require surgical excision of the abnormal tissue and in those cases gangrenous really means that the gland or multiple glands will just absolutely turn black and there's a very clear line where the tissue is normal, and the tissue is abnormal. So, it's not particularly difficult surgically to determine where you need to take tissue and where you need to leave it. But those are the only ones that I'll typically take to surgery. Most of the other mastitis cases, even if they tend to abscess open and leave a bit of a tissue gap, I usually don't close those surgically or remove any tissue surgically unless literally that tissue is black. In those cases, yes, surgery has to be done to save the bitch’s life.

   Prevention & Treatment

   LR: What other precautions? Do you recommend antibiotics prophylactically? MG: We don't prophylactically use antibiotics on our bitches. What you do, if you do that, is just end up making more resistant bacterial disease if it does develop. Basically, keeping the whelping box clean. Keeping the bitch clean is good. You can spray her mammary glands with Chlorhexidine and then rinse them off so that she's less likely to have a problem. You can certainly use a probiotic, so those are the things you can do preventively. And then, if you do develop mastitis, it's definitely a disorder that you're going to need to use an antibiotic for. I typically will reach for clavamox. … You can certainly culture it, start on clavamox and then transition to a different antibiotic if it's indicated based on her clinical response and the culture. Additionally, I will frequently give a big bolus of IV fluids to those girls when they come into the hospital. I won't keep them because I want to get him back home with their puppies but while they're at the hospital for an hour, so I'll pretty aggressively give IV fluid and then along with that I'll put them on meloxicam as an anti-inflammatory and pain medication. We've been using meloxicam for close to 20 years on our postpartum bitches and the amount that transmits through into the milk is not going to cause a problem for the puppies. It reduces inflammation in the mammary gland makes the females feel a lot better. If they're feeling better they'll eat better they'll lay down for the puppies to nurse better … most of the time you don't need to remove the puppies from the lactating … you can usually send her home and let her continue to nurse her puppies, which is actually got the advantage of keeping the mammary glands more empty than if you just take her home and immediately wean the puppies. To hear the remainder of this interview, listen to the podcast audio on the player above. Dr. Greer also discusses complications of mastitis with blastomycosis. The link to our earlier podcast on the topic is here.]]>f0232e1d-97ec-4ff9-8d33-4b10dc5a9e45Thu, 07 May 2020 09:00:00 -070029:32falsefull406 – Veterinary Voice: Scary weird stuff that happens to girl dogsVeterinary Voice: Scary weird stuff that happens to girl dogs Dr. Marty Greer joins host Laura Reeves for a conversation about some of the scary, unusual medical emergencies and conditions which can affect our breeding bitches. On our list are prolapsed uterus, vaginal hyperplasia, inguinal hernia with the uterus in it, torsioned uterine horn, ovarian tumor, and spay or don't spay during a C-section. Included below is Dr. Greer’s peer-reviewed submission on the topic of not spaying bitches on the table during a C-section.

   Reasons NOT to spay your bitch at her c-section:

   1. Pregnancy is a uniquely thromboembolic event. This means she is more likely to form blood clots during late pregnancy and in the immediate post-partum period. All bitches, whether they have had a c-section or not, are at increased risk of developing blood clots. These clots, as in humans, can be life-threatening, particularly if they lodge in the heart or brain. If she were to be spayed at this fragile time, she is a greater risk of blood clots formed at the suture sites, increasing the risk of blood clots. This is the most common cause of death in the period shortly after a c-section.
   2. The bitch shares 1/3 of her blood volume with her puppies. Only a small portion of this shared blood volume will pass to the fetuses. Most is left in the uterine lumen or in the uterine wall and vasculature. Over time, this blood will be resorbed by the bitch to replenish her blood volume.
   3. During pregnancy, the blood flow to the uterus is expanded to support the pregnancy and placentas. When the blood vessels are ligated (tied off), her blood pressure is lowered. Some bitches as they recover from anesthesia and her blood pressure increases to normal, a blood vessel may leak or a suture may slip off, resulting in bleeding, which may either lead to the need for another interventional surgery, or if this is rapid and severe, she may die prior to getting her back to surgery.
   4. Additionally, all of the blood vessels in the broad ligament (where the blood vessels supporting the ovaries and uterus) need to be tied off. If any are missed, there will be bleeding and possible drop in blood pressure which can lead to death.
   5. When she loses blood rapidly from the removal of the uterus and ovaries (if she is spayed), she will suffer a rapid drop in blood pressure, which is likely to lead to cardiac and/or respiratory compromise or crisis during the procedure, leading to death.
   6. Depending on the surgeon and techniques used, performing a spay at the c-section will add at least 30 minutes to a c-section. This leads to a delay in her bonding to her pups and allowing them to nurse during this early and critical period when her pups need colostrum and energy.
   7. Be particularly wary if the veterinary staff wants to do an en bloc c-section – where they remove the uterus in its entirety with the pups still inside. This is an almost certain death sentence for your valuable litter.
   8. A second surgery for a spay is safer than a spay at c-section.
   
   ]]>Veterinary Voice: Scary weird stuff that happens to girl dogs Dr. Marty Greer joins host Laura Reeves for a conversation about some of the scary, unusual medical emergencies and conditions which can affect our breeding bitches. On our list are prolapsed uterus, vaginal hyperplasia, inguinal hernia with the uterus in it, torsioned uterine horn, ovarian tumor, and spay or don't spay during a C-section. Included below is Dr. Greer’s peer-reviewed submission on the topic of not spaying bitches on the table during a C-section.

   Reasons NOT to spay your bitch at her c-section:

   1. Pregnancy is a uniquely thromboembolic event. This means she is more likely to form blood clots during late pregnancy and in the immediate post-partum period. All bitches, whether they have had a c-section or not, are at increased risk of developing blood clots. These clots, as in humans, can be life-threatening, particularly if they lodge in the heart or brain. If she were to be spayed at this fragile time, she is a greater risk of blood clots formed at the suture sites, increasing the risk of blood clots. This is the most common cause of death in the period shortly after a c-section.
   2. The bitch shares 1/3 of her blood volume with her puppies. Only a small portion of this shared blood volume will pass to the fetuses. Most is left in the uterine lumen or in the uterine wall and vasculature. Over time, this blood will be resorbed by the bitch to replenish her blood volume.
   3. During pregnancy, the blood flow to the uterus is expanded to support the pregnancy and placentas. When the blood vessels are ligated (tied off), her blood pressure is lowered. Some bitches as they recover from anesthesia and her blood pressure increases to normal, a blood vessel may leak or a suture may slip off, resulting in bleeding, which may either lead to the need for another interventional surgery, or if this is rapid and severe, she may die prior to getting her back to surgery.
   4. Additionally, all of the blood vessels in the broad ligament (where the blood vessels supporting the ovaries and uterus) need to be tied off. If any are missed, there will be bleeding and possible drop in blood pressure which can lead to death.
   5. When she loses blood rapidly from the removal of the uterus and ovaries (if she is spayed), she will suffer a rapid drop in blood pressure, which is likely to lead to cardiac and/or respiratory compromise or crisis during the procedure, leading to death.
   6. Depending on the surgeon and techniques used, performing a spay at the c-section will add at least 30 minutes to a c-section. This leads to a delay in her bonding to her pups and allowing them to nurse during this early and critical period when her pups need colostrum and energy.
   7. Be particularly wary if the veterinary staff wants to do an en bloc c-section – where they remove the uterus in its entirety with the pups still inside. This is an almost certain death sentence for your valuable litter.
   8. A second surgery for a spay is safer than a spay at c-section.
   
   ]]>eb546ebe-6d70-442f-9fa7-3d1b49bd557fThu, 02 Jul 2020 09:00:00 -070028:54falsefull416 – Neonates: 6 Danger Signs to Watch for in Your New LitterNeonates: 6 Danger Signs to Watch for in Your New Litter Doctor Marty Greer joins Host Laura Reeves to talk about a topic that is near and dear to both of them. Troubleshooting guidelines for neonates and baby puppies.

   “About the time you think you know it all is when somebody puts their thumb on you and says ha just kidding,” Greer said.

   Greer's four “Hs” for newborn puppies are:
   • Hydration
   • Hypoxia
   • Hypothermia
   • Hypoglycemia
   
   “We need to start with making sure that the puppies get delivered quickly enough that they can get out of the birth canal, out of the sack, out of the C-section, whatever direction they come out, get the sac off the face, airway cleared and oxygen delivered as quickly as possible. That's really critical to good health, good brain development and the whole rest of the cascade starts with that,” Greer said. “Hydration goes along with food,” Greer observed. “With a puppy, if they're not nursing, they're going to dehydrate and if they're gonna not nurse, they're going to have low blood sugar. These all intertwine. “It's really important that we keep the puppies nursing. If they're not adequately nursing then the way to assess that is going to be if they're not gaining weight and if their urine color isn't a pale, pale yellow. Puppies should not have a dark colored urine after the first time that they urinate. So it should be pale yellow. The puppy should be gaining weight. You can't really assess hydration on a puppy the way you do an adult dog or cat where you pinch the skin on the back of their neck and see if it seems tacky or sticky because puppies don't have enough body fat to have that work the way it does another ages of animal. So we really have to look at urine color and weight gain.

   Danger Signs

   “You'll see a puppy that seems weak, seems lethargic, seems listless. It may be really quiet or it may be crying. It just depends on the puppy and what stage in which they are.

   “I see a puppy off by itself, it may not be that the bitch pushed the puppy away. It may simply be that that puppy needs to be warmed, needs to be hydrated, need some oxygen. You do those three things -- you feed it, you hydrate it, you warm it up, you get oxygen. And boom. All of a sudden, that puppy regains its strength and it starts to compete and be back with the rest of the group very quickly. Listen to today’s episode for more tips from Dr. Greer. For more information in previous episodes, check out some of these links. https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/127canine-herpes-and-puppy-fatalitiesdr-jean-doddspure-dog-talk-2/ https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/14-dr-gayle-watkins-2-breeders-guide-to-neonatal-puppies-2/  ]]>Neonates: 6 Danger Signs to Watch for in Your New Litter Doctor Marty Greer joins Host Laura Reeves to talk about a topic that is near and dear to both of them. Troubleshooting guidelines for neonates and baby puppies.

   “About the time you think you know it all is when somebody puts their thumb on you and says ha just kidding,” Greer said.

   Greer's four “Hs” for newborn puppies are:
   • Hydration
   • Hypoxia
   • Hypothermia
   • Hypoglycemia
   
   “We need to start with making sure that the puppies get delivered quickly enough that they can get out of the birth canal, out of the sack, out of the C-section, whatever direction they come out, get the sac off the face, airway cleared and oxygen delivered as quickly as possible. That's really critical to good health, good brain development and the whole rest of the cascade starts with that,” Greer said. “Hydration goes along with food,” Greer observed. “With a puppy, if they're not nursing, they're going to dehydrate and if they're gonna not nurse, they're going to have low blood sugar. These all intertwine. “It's really important that we keep the puppies nursing. If they're not adequately nursing then the way to assess that is going to be if they're not gaining weight and if their urine color isn't a pale, pale yellow. Puppies should not have a dark colored urine after the first time that they urinate. So it should be pale yellow. The puppy should be gaining weight. You can't really assess hydration on a puppy the way you do an adult dog or cat where you pinch the skin on the back of their neck and see if it seems tacky or sticky because puppies don't have enough body fat to have that work the way it does another ages of animal. So we really have to look at urine color and weight gain.

   Danger Signs

   “You'll see a puppy that seems weak, seems lethargic, seems listless. It may be really quiet or it may be crying. It just depends on the puppy and what stage in which they are.

   “I see a puppy off by itself, it may not be that the bitch pushed the puppy away. It may simply be that that puppy needs to be warmed, needs to be hydrated, need some oxygen. You do those three things -- you feed it, you hydrate it, you warm it up, you get oxygen. And boom. All of a sudden, that puppy regains its strength and it starts to compete and be back with the rest of the group very quickly. Listen to today’s episode for more tips from Dr. Greer. For more information in previous episodes, check out some of these links. https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/127canine-herpes-and-puppy-fatalitiesdr-jean-doddspure-dog-talk-2/ https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/14-dr-gayle-watkins-2-breeders-guide-to-neonatal-puppies-2/  ]]>083918df-90dd-4f05-b4ec-d1fb68129495Thu, 06 Aug 2020 09:00:00 -070035:41falsefull425 – Breeder Hacks, Tricks, Tips & Products for Healthier PuppiesBreeder Hacks, Tricks, Tips & Products for Healthier Puppies Dale Martenson, renowned breeder of Touche Japanese Chin, joins host Laura Reeves to talk about some of our favorite hacks, some of our favorite products, some of our favorite things as dog breeders that don't necessarily make it into the textbooks. LISTEN to the episode for more details, by clicking the triangle arrow above.

   Milk Balloons

   “Litters of puppies, if we were going to put it in the hands of Mother Nature,” Martenson noted, “it would often be more like sea turtles … a certain percentage of them were meant to make it to the water and a certain percentage are not. As breeders, we want to tip the scales. We can add some supportive care, just to give those little turtles a boost to the water, to make it to a healthy adulthood…” Martenson uses surgical gloves as an alternative method of supplemental feeding. Tube feeding can be difficult and even dangerous if not done properly. Plus, the actual process of suckling is important to the puppies’ digestion and development.

   Heat from Down Under

   Martenson shares methods for warming puppies while offering the bitch a cooler location in the whelping box, the dangers of heat lamps  in general and the importance of providing a heat source *under* the puppies.

   Do the Hoky Poky

   Flooring for puppies in the whelping box is critical. A number of studies indicate that puppies whose feet slip while nursing or navigating the box are more likely to develop hip dysplasia. Martenson recommends small carpet remnants for toy breeds. We agreed that large, rubber backed washable fleece pads are a better choice for larger breed dogs.

   Pumpkin Powder to the Rescue

   Only dog people are as obsessed with poopy. The product Martenson recommends helps pups transition to new water, new schedule, new environment, possibly new food with no intestinal upset.

   Eat up!

   “ENTYCE is a fantastic appetite builder. So say your female isn't wanting to eat and she's 50 days, she's trying to have pregnancy toxemia on you. Then you're looking at hand feeding, syringe feeding, whatever kind of feeding we can do to make this happen. We've had fantastic results with that or traveling to the dog show and they're not wanting to eat on the road. “]]>Breeder Hacks, Tricks, Tips & Products for Healthier Puppies Dale Martenson, renowned breeder of Touche Japanese Chin, joins host Laura Reeves to talk about some of our favorite hacks, some of our favorite products, some of our favorite things as dog breeders that don't necessarily make it into the textbooks. LISTEN to the episode for more details, by clicking the triangle arrow above.

   Milk Balloons

   “Litters of puppies, if we were going to put it in the hands of Mother Nature,” Martenson noted, “it would often be more like sea turtles … a certain percentage of them were meant to make it to the water and a certain percentage are not. As breeders, we want to tip the scales. We can add some supportive care, just to give those little turtles a boost to the water, to make it to a healthy adulthood…” Martenson uses surgical gloves as an alternative method of supplemental feeding. Tube feeding can be difficult and even dangerous if not done properly. Plus, the actual process of suckling is important to the puppies’ digestion and development.

   Heat from Down Under

   Martenson shares methods for warming puppies while offering the bitch a cooler location in the whelping box, the dangers of heat lamps  in general and the importance of providing a heat source *under* the puppies.

   Do the Hoky Poky

   Flooring for puppies in the whelping box is critical. A number of studies indicate that puppies whose feet slip while nursing or navigating the box are more likely to develop hip dysplasia. Martenson recommends small carpet remnants for toy breeds. We agreed that large, rubber backed washable fleece pads are a better choice for larger breed dogs.

   Pumpkin Powder to the Rescue

   Only dog people are as obsessed with poopy. The product Martenson recommends helps pups transition to new water, new schedule, new environment, possibly new food with no intestinal upset.

   Eat up!

   “ENTYCE is a fantastic appetite builder. So say your female isn't wanting to eat and she's 50 days, she's trying to have pregnancy toxemia on you. Then you're looking at hand feeding, syringe feeding, whatever kind of feeding we can do to make this happen. We've had fantastic results with that or traveling to the dog show and they're not wanting to eat on the road. “]]>2fb42c00-4ac1-4c86-ba91-a0a52bf7e502Mon, 07 Sep 2020 09:00:00 -070029:03falsefull432 -- Infertility Issues: Regular, Random and Rare CausesInfertility Issues: Regular, Random and Rare Causes Dr. Marty Greer, DVM joins host Laura Reeves for a wide-ranging conversation on the causes of infertility in our breeding bitches. From split seasons, ovarian and uterine cysts, to semen allergy and genetic incompatibility, we cover a lot of ground. Marty was kind enough to provide the following "check list" of fertility issues to share with our listeners. Links to previous Pure Dog Talk podcasts on the topics noted are included in the underlined areas.

   Why isn't my female pregnant? What can I do about it?

   by Dr. Marty Greer, DVM

   You did your homework – and have the perfect bitch, in her best condition and found the ideal male to mate her to. Both of them have passed all of the health clearances recommended for your breed. They have the temperaments you are looking for and their traits are complimentary to one another. You know the most common causes of apparent or actual pregnancy failure are:
   1. Poorly timed breedings
   2. Poor semen quality and/or quantity.
   3. Failure to maintain a pregnancy
   
   

   Timing the breeding:

   The timing of the breeding, based on progesterone levels (bred 2 to 3 days post-ovulation depending on semen type used), was just right. Most veterinarians recommend breeding 2 days after ovulation with fresh and fresh chilled shipped semen and 3 days with frozen semen. Ovulation is assumed to occur when the progesterone reaches 5 ng/dl (different units are used in other countries) with a range of 4 to 10 ng/dl. LH testing is also done in some clinics. LH, Luteinizing hormone, directly indicates ovulation, while progesterone is an estimation of ovulation. Progesterone is easier to measure and test as it can be done every few days, using human technology. LH requires daily testing and is canine specific.

   Semen quality and quantity:

   You know the stud dog had good quality and quantity semen – there was a semen analysis completed prior to shipping the semen. Your vet looked at it prior to inseminating your bitch and said the semen looked great, based on the sperm count (for a Bernese Mountain dog, the count should be 1 billion total), the morphology (shape and appearance of each sperm cell) and motility (how active and progressively motile it was on a microscopic evaluation). Yet, she is not pregnant. Why? And if you try to breed her again, what can you do differently to improve the chances she will carry a litter to term? First, we need to determine if she failed to conceive, failed to achieve fetal/placental implantation, or conceived and lost the litter. If you don't have her ultrasounded, you won't know if she failed to conceive or failed to maintain the pregnancy. A relaxin test or palpation is not adequate – these do not assess for fetal viability. This information is big piece of the puzzle.  When you are trying to justify the decision to do an ultrasound, this is the best reason to do so – this is not the place to scrimp. If the ultrasound shows no pregnancy, and the semen and timing were good, then causes for failure to conceive or failure for fetuses to implant should be explored. These include:
   • Was there a Semen quality assessment?
     1. Was the sperm count low?
     2. Was there abnormal semen morphology? Was the semen stained and assessed by a veterinarian?
     3. Was there poor semen motility? The semen needs to be progressively normal.
     4. Was there poor semen longevity? Holding a small sample of semen in extended in the refrigerator and reassessing it 24 and 48 hours later can be useful.
     
     
   • Was there timing failure? This is a good time to review the timing of the breeding.
   • Did she complete her ovulation?
     1. Failure to complete the ovulation. Did the progesterone testing continue past 5 ng/dl? If not, she may have not had a complete ovulatory cycle.
     2. Cystic ovaries? An ovarian cyst can interfere with a complete ovulatory cycle.
     3. Split cycle? If she failed to complete her ovulation, she may have split her cycle and will come back into heat in the next 4 to 6 weeks.
     
     
   • Failure of adequate semen deposition: Fertile sperm must reach a fertile egg.
     1. If this was a natural breeding, was there a tie? Was the breeding witnessed? Was there a normal length tie?
     2. If this was a vaginal AI, was the AI performed correctly with no spermicidal exposure. Some lubricants and reusable equipment can have spermicidal properties. Using all disposable supplies is recommended.
     3. Does the bitch have a defect in her reproductive tract? Structural abnormalities causing failure of semen passage from the vagina to the oviducts including male and female anatomical abnormalities.
     
     
   • Do either the male or female have Brucellosis? Canine brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can be spread venerally and can cause sterility in the male or female as well as pregnancy failure and early neonatal death.
   • Was the bitch exposed to Canine Herpesvirus? - This is a viral disease that can cause early or late fetal death as well as neonatal death. In the adult, Canine Herpervirus causes mild respiratory disease. During early pregnancy, the fetuses can die at any stage, causing apparent failure to conceive if it is contracted during early pregnancy.
   • Does the bitch have a bacterial infection in the vagina or uterus? A low-grade metritis, not rising to the level of a pyometra can interfere with conception. The difficulty here is that even in 2017, we cannot identify what normal bacterial flora in the reproductive tract is.
   • Did she have another bacterial or viral disease that are not yet well characterized?
   • Does she have a systemic illness? Any disorder that causes a fever can interrupt a pregnancy. Did she have a complete blood panel test, checking for signs of infection or organ disease? Consider testing for Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichia before you breed.
   • Failure of the ovary to maintain progesterone high enough to support pregnancy (hypoluteoidism) Rarely, a bitch will have the inability to keep her progesterone level high enough to maintain pregnancy. This can occur as early as day 14 of the pregnancy. Testing her progesterone level at her pregnancy ultrasound can be an important tool.
   • Does the bitch have abnormalities in her uterine lining? Cystic endometrial hyperplasia and fibrosis of the uterus can prevent normal placental development.
   • Is there genetic incompatibility? If there are fatal genes, conception with pregnancy failure can occur. Line breeding dogs with too little genetic diversity can lead to small or no litters.
   • Was there inadequate maternal nutrition?
     1. Raw meat diets can contribute to an imbalanced nutritional plane. Micronutrients and macronutrients must be adequate to maintain pregnancy. Bitches require carbohydrates to maintain pregnancy as well as to lactate.
     
     
   • Does she have parasites? Parasite migration can lead to placental failure. The stress of pregnancy can lead to latent parasites starting to migrate again. Using Fenbendazole from day 40 of pregnancy to day 14 of lactation can protect the fetuses from this condition.
   • Was the bitch subjected to trauma? Blunt trauma can cause the placentas to fail.
   • Was the bitch subjected to undue stress?
   • Did the bitch receive anesthesia, or inappropriate drug or hormones? Many of these drugs can be toxic to developing fetuses. All drugs should be avoided during pregnancy unless required to save the bitch’s life.
   • Is the bitch Hypothyroid? Low thyroid levels can contribute to pregnancy failure or failure to conceive. This is a rare cause of pregnancy failure but should be considered if the levels are profoundly low.
   
   If no underlying cause for failure to conceive is found, surgical breeding may be considered to improve the chances of success at the next breeding. Some bitches will conceive pups when surgical breedings are used to deliver the semen directly into the uterine body. If the...]]>Infertility Issues: Regular, Random and Rare Causes Dr. Marty Greer, DVM joins host Laura Reeves for a wide-ranging conversation on the causes of infertility in our breeding bitches. From split seasons, ovarian and uterine cysts, to semen allergy and genetic incompatibility, we cover a lot of ground. Marty was kind enough to provide the following "check list" of fertility issues to share with our listeners. Links to previous Pure Dog Talk podcasts on the topics noted are included in the underlined areas.

   Why isn't my female pregnant? What can I do about it?

   by Dr. Marty Greer, DVM

   You did your homework – and have the perfect bitch, in her best condition and found the ideal male to mate her to. Both of them have passed all of the health clearances recommended for your breed. They have the temperaments you are looking for and their traits are complimentary to one another. You know the most common causes of apparent or actual pregnancy failure are:
   1. Poorly timed breedings
   2. Poor semen quality and/or quantity.
   3. Failure to maintain a pregnancy
   
   

   Timing the breeding:

   The timing of the breeding, based on progesterone levels (bred 2 to 3 days post-ovulation depending on semen type used), was just right. Most veterinarians recommend breeding 2 days after ovulation with fresh and fresh chilled shipped semen and 3 days with frozen semen. Ovulation is assumed to occur when the progesterone reaches 5 ng/dl (different units are used in other countries) with a range of 4 to 10 ng/dl. LH testing is also done in some clinics. LH, Luteinizing hormone, directly indicates ovulation, while progesterone is an estimation of ovulation. Progesterone is easier to measure and test as it can be done every few days, using human technology. LH requires daily testing and is canine specific.

   Semen quality and quantity:

   You know the stud dog had good quality and quantity semen – there was a semen analysis completed prior to shipping the semen. Your vet looked at it prior to inseminating your bitch and said the semen looked great, based on the sperm count (for a Bernese Mountain dog, the count should be 1 billion total), the morphology (shape and appearance of each sperm cell) and motility (how active and progressively motile it was on a microscopic evaluation). Yet, she is not pregnant. Why? And if you try to breed her again, what can you do differently to improve the chances she will carry a litter to term? First, we need to determine if she failed to conceive, failed to achieve fetal/placental implantation, or conceived and lost the litter. If you don't have her ultrasounded, you won't know if she failed to conceive or failed to maintain the pregnancy. A relaxin test or palpation is not adequate – these do not assess for fetal viability. This information is big piece of the puzzle.  When you are trying to justify the decision to do an ultrasound, this is the best reason to do so – this is not the place to scrimp. If the ultrasound shows no pregnancy, and the semen and timing were good, then causes for failure to conceive or failure for fetuses to implant should be explored. These include:
   • Was there a Semen quality assessment?
     1. Was the sperm count low?
     2. Was there abnormal semen morphology? Was the semen stained and assessed by a veterinarian?
     3. Was there poor semen motility? The semen needs to be progressively normal.
     4. Was there poor semen longevity? Holding a small sample of semen in extended in the refrigerator and reassessing it 24 and 48 hours later can be useful.
     
     
   • Was there timing failure? This is a good time to review the timing of the breeding.
   • Did she complete her ovulation?
     1. Failure to complete the ovulation. Did the progesterone testing continue past 5 ng/dl? If not, she may have not had a complete ovulatory cycle.
     2. Cystic ovaries? An ovarian cyst can interfere with a complete ovulatory cycle.
     3. Split cycle? If she failed to complete her ovulation, she may have split her cycle and will come back into heat in the next 4 to 6 weeks.
     
     
   • Failure of adequate semen deposition: Fertile sperm must reach a fertile egg.
     1. If this was a natural breeding, was there a tie? Was the breeding witnessed? Was there a normal length tie?
     2. If this was a vaginal AI, was the AI performed correctly with no spermicidal exposure. Some lubricants and reusable equipment can have spermicidal properties. Using all disposable supplies is recommended.
     3. Does the bitch have a defect in her reproductive tract? Structural abnormalities causing failure of semen passage from the vagina to the oviducts including male and female anatomical abnormalities.
     
     
   • Do either the male or female have Brucellosis? Canine brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can be spread venerally and can cause sterility in the male or female as well as pregnancy failure and early neonatal death.
   • Was the bitch exposed to Canine Herpesvirus? - This is a viral disease that can cause early or late fetal death as well as neonatal death. In the adult, Canine Herpervirus causes mild respiratory disease. During early pregnancy, the fetuses can die at any stage, causing apparent failure to conceive if it is contracted during early pregnancy.
   • Does the bitch have a bacterial infection in the vagina or uterus? A low-grade metritis, not rising to the level of a pyometra can interfere with conception. The difficulty here is that even in 2017, we cannot identify what normal bacterial flora in the reproductive tract is.
   • Did she have another bacterial or viral disease that are not yet well characterized?
   • Does she have a systemic illness? Any disorder that causes a fever can interrupt a pregnancy. Did she have a complete blood panel test, checking for signs of infection or organ disease? Consider testing for Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichia before you breed.
   • Failure of the ovary to maintain progesterone high enough to support pregnancy (hypoluteoidism) Rarely, a bitch will have the inability to keep her progesterone level high enough to maintain pregnancy. This can occur as early as day 14 of the pregnancy. Testing her progesterone level at her pregnancy ultrasound can be an important tool.
   • Does the bitch have abnormalities in her uterine lining? Cystic endometrial hyperplasia and fibrosis of the uterus can prevent normal placental development.
   • Is there genetic incompatibility? If there are fatal genes, conception with pregnancy failure can occur. Line breeding dogs with too little genetic diversity can lead to small or no litters.
   • Was there inadequate maternal nutrition?
     1. Raw meat diets can contribute to an imbalanced nutritional plane. Micronutrients and macronutrients must be adequate to maintain pregnancy. Bitches require carbohydrates to maintain pregnancy as well as to lactate.
     
     
   • Does she have parasites? Parasite migration can lead to placental failure. The stress of pregnancy can lead to latent parasites starting to migrate again. Using Fenbendazole from day 40 of pregnancy to day 14 of lactation can protect the fetuses from this condition.
   • Was the bitch subjected to trauma? Blunt trauma can cause the placentas to fail.
   • Was the bitch subjected to undue stress?
   • Did the bitch receive anesthesia, or inappropriate drug or hormones? Many of these drugs can be toxic to developing fetuses. All drugs should be avoided during pregnancy unless required to save the bitch’s life.
   • Is the bitch Hypothyroid? Low thyroid levels can contribute to pregnancy failure or failure to conceive. This is a rare cause of pregnancy failure but should be considered if the levels are profoundly low.
   
   If no underlying cause for failure to conceive is found, surgical breeding may be considered to improve the chances of success at the next breeding. Some bitches will conceive pups when surgical breedings are used to deliver the semen directly into the uterine body. If the ultrasound shows a pregnancy was achieved but not maintained, this can result in fetal resorption (prior to day 45 of pregnancy) or fetal death and/or abortion (fetal loss after day 45 of pregnancy). This rules out poor timing, poor semen quality, or failure of semen to pass to the oviducts as causes for infertility. Causes of failure to maintain a pregnancy include (see descriptions above):
   1. Brucellosis?
   2. Herpesvirus?
   3. Bacterial infections in the uterus. Cultures should be taken and antibiotics used if bacterial disease is suspected.
   4. Other bacterial and viral diseases that are not yet well characterized.
   5. Failure of the ovary to maintain progesterone high enough to support pregnancy (hypoluteoidism). Serial progesterone levels should be run if hypoluteoidism is suspected.
   6. Uterine lining changes that interfere with maintained placental attachment.
   7. Inadequate maternal nutrition.
   8. Trauma, stress, anesthesia or drug and hormonal interference.
   
   A complete history should be taken. Diagnostics should include testing for brucellosis and Canine Herpesvirus. Cornell’s Veterinary Diagnostic lab has a blood profile called the “Canine Abortion Panel. Your veterinary clinic can submit tests for this. It is best done with paired samples, drawn 3 weeks apart and submitted together. The pregnancy can be monitored for viable fetuses with repeated ultrasounds. Whelpwise_TM can be used to manage high risk pregnancies. Antibiotics, progesterone and terbutaline may be indicated if uterine irritability is shown to be putting the pups at risk. These drugs help quiet the uterus and can keep the pups safely in the uterus until they reach full term.]]>e4be06ac-e97d-4c49-952a-94300a4ac948Thu, 01 Oct 2020 09:00:00 -070029:38falsefull440 – Successfully Collecting, Shipping and Freezing “Swimmers”Successfully Collecting, Shipping and Storing “Swimmers”

   Shannon and Sydney Stone from ICSB NorCal join host Laura Reeves for a detailed and educational conversation about collecting, shipping and freezing a stud dog’s semen, aka “swimmers.”

   Mother and daughter share their vast experience with different extender media, freezing methods and tips and tricks for a successful collection of the stud dog.

   Test drive extenders

   For fresh chilled collections, Shannon strongly advocates for collecting a potential stud dog and doing a “chill test.” This enables the practitioners to save the semen in a variety of available media in order to be sure which one works best with the specific dog. Dogs are individuals and not all semen will survive in every media. It is critical to know this *before* that super important, exciting breeding that has been planned for years.

   “It just basically boils down to finding the best media for your dog,” Shannon said. “There's so many good medias on the market right now, it's just what's the best fit for your dog and what works best for you as a stud owner.

   “Some of the best collections we see are ones where either the owner has a centrifuge or they took the dog to the vet and the collection is centrifuged and we're only getting that sperm rich fraction added to the media.

   “Kind of a rule of thumb that we've seen is, no matter what media you're using, you can expect that … the loss of integrity to be about 20% per day that you're holding a sample. So say you get a sample in on Friday or Saturday but the bitch really isn't gonna be ready to breed til like Monday or Tuesday. We can check the semen and if we need to add a little bit, as long as we know what media was sent in, you can sometimes add a little fresh media to perk it up.

   “What we say to our clients that are going to be shipping basically … a sample is always better in the bitch than in the box.”

   Pellets vs straws

   Frozen semen is stored in one of two methods. As “straws,” the original method developed by cattle breeders, often called “cattle straws” and “pellets” the method developed originally by ICSB. Sydney recommends, again, a freeze test to be sure which method is best for the individual stud dog.

   The primary importance, Shannon noted, is to work with a veterinarian who is accustomed to the type of freezing method chosen. Thawing pellets and straws is two completely different processes. Using the wrong thaw method for the type of frozen semen will kill it immediately.

   Collection Tips and Tricks

   Technique, a teaser bitch and a relaxed stud dog are the keys to success, the team agreed.

   “You have to know your dog and kind of change things up to accommodate him,” Shannon said. “It's not one size fits all.”

   Listen to our previous stud dog series with Shannon and Sydney here, here, here and here.

   ]]>Successfully Collecting, Shipping and Storing “Swimmers”

   Shannon and Sydney Stone from ICSB NorCal join host Laura Reeves for a detailed and educational conversation about collecting, shipping and freezing a stud dog’s semen, aka “swimmers.”

   Mother and daughter share their vast experience with different extender media, freezing methods and tips and tricks for a successful collection of the stud dog.

   Test drive extenders

   For fresh chilled collections, Shannon strongly advocates for collecting a potential stud dog and doing a “chill test.” This enables the practitioners to save the semen in a variety of available media in order to be sure which one works best with the specific dog. Dogs are individuals and not all semen will survive in every media. It is critical to know this *before* that super important, exciting breeding that has been planned for years.

   “It just basically boils down to finding the best media for your dog,” Shannon said. “There's so many good medias on the market right now, it's just what's the best fit for your dog and what works best for you as a stud owner.

   “Some of the best collections we see are ones where either the owner has a centrifuge or they took the dog to the vet and the collection is centrifuged and we're only getting that sperm rich fraction added to the media.

   “Kind of a rule of thumb that we've seen is, no matter what media you're using, you can expect that … the loss of integrity to be about 20% per day that you're holding a sample. So say you get a sample in on Friday or Saturday but the bitch really isn't gonna be ready to breed til like Monday or Tuesday. We can check the semen and if we need to add a little bit, as long as we know what media was sent in, you can sometimes add a little fresh media to perk it up.

   “What we say to our clients that are going to be shipping basically … a sample is always better in the bitch than in the box.”

   Pellets vs straws

   Frozen semen is stored in one of two methods. As “straws,” the original method developed by cattle breeders, often called “cattle straws” and “pellets” the method developed originally by ICSB. Sydney recommends, again, a freeze test to be sure which method is best for the individual stud dog.

   The primary importance, Shannon noted, is to work with a veterinarian who is accustomed to the type of freezing method chosen. Thawing pellets and straws is two completely different processes. Using the wrong thaw method for the type of frozen semen will kill it immediately.

   Collection Tips and Tricks

   Technique, a teaser bitch and a relaxed stud dog are the keys to success, the team agreed.

   “You have to know your dog and kind of change things up to accommodate him,” Shannon said. “It's not one size fits all.”

   Listen to our previous stud dog series with Shannon and Sydney here, here, here and here.

   ]]>3f32bd04-de1d-4af7-ab14-844e8c7bafc2Mon, 02 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -070031:07falsefull441 – Veterinary Voice: Infertility in the Stud DogVeterinary Voice: Infertility in the Stud Dog

   November is all about boy dogs! Dr. Marty Greer joins host Laura Reeves for a conversation about the causes of infertility in the stud dog. From poor collection technique to managing enlarged prostate and more uncommon problems, Greer provides invaluable insight into the causes and potential treatments of sterility or low fertility in male dogs.

   “We can start with defining the difference between fertility, infertility and sterility,” Greer said. “Infertility is low fertility. Sterility is a permanent condition. So if your dog is sterile, there's no going back. The implication is that his fertility is low and in some cases, not all but in some cases, we can restore fertility with the combination of appropriate diagnostic work up, appropriate intervention for medications and nutritional supplements and diet.

   “So those are kind of the four hallmarks of what we can do for your stud dog. Sterile would be, by my definition, on more than one occasion doing a collection of the stud dog and getting no sperm. Zero live or dead sperm on multiple collections. So there may be sperm that are there that are dead. There may be sperm there in low numbers. But if you see absolutely no sperm on more than one occasion, and you think you had a pretty good collection based on his libido, then I would probably classify him a sterile. But we can certainly talk about some of the diagnostic testing that should be done.

   “The sperm are made in the testicle and then the epididymis is the conduit by which the sperm leave the testicle and make it up into the urethra and are ejaculated. So it's this series of really cool, tightly little coiled tubules that run on the backside of the testicle and up around and then into the urethra where the ejaculate comes from. So the epididymis, if it's blocked somewhere in that on both sides, then you're not going to get sperm.

   Hands off the junk, lady!

   Some young or inexperienced stud dogs may not fully ejaculate because “their head’s not in the game,” Greer noted. She shared tips for getting a better collection from the male.

   “Mostly it's practice. A lot of those are dogs that have been in pet type home, not a breeders type home. You basically need some practice. You need a dog that has a really good female in heat standing in front of him. A really cooperative female. So not a bulldog that's making weird snorting noises, even if she's nice, 'cause sometimes that's misconstrued as a growl. Not a dog that's going to turn around and kind of nibble at the boy. But a girl that's going to back into him and send an engraved invitation, ‘hey big boy it's over here.’ So you want to have an experienced, really cooperative, in heat, at the appropriate time in heat, female. That's not always easy to achieve, as you know, you don't always get to pull one off the shelf when you need one.”

   Prostate myths

   “Many people are confused about what to do with prostate disease,” Greer observed. “There's basically four different categories of disorders we can see in the prostate. We can see benign prostatic hypertrophy, prostatitis, prostatic cysts and there can be cancer of the prostate. So those are the four general diseases that we see. A lot of dogs when they’re age 5 and older, when they're around a female in heat … will stimulate the dog to develop some enlargement of his prostate. After age 5 will see these dogs stand up from laying down or walk into the house and blood will be dripping from the penis. Every veterinarian that doesn't do reproduction says ‘oh OK, there's two things we have to do here. One we have to put him on an antibiotic and two we have to neuter him.’ Well actually, both of those things are incorrect.”

   ]]>Veterinary Voice: Infertility in the Stud Dog

   November is all about boy dogs! Dr. Marty Greer joins host Laura Reeves for a conversation about the causes of infertility in the stud dog. From poor collection technique to managing enlarged prostate and more uncommon problems, Greer provides invaluable insight into the causes and potential treatments of sterility or low fertility in male dogs.

   “We can start with defining the difference between fertility, infertility and sterility,” Greer said. “Infertility is low fertility. Sterility is a permanent condition. So if your dog is sterile, there's no going back. The implication is that his fertility is low and in some cases, not all but in some cases, we can restore fertility with the combination of appropriate diagnostic work up, appropriate intervention for medications and nutritional supplements and diet.

   “So those are kind of the four hallmarks of what we can do for your stud dog. Sterile would be, by my definition, on more than one occasion doing a collection of the stud dog and getting no sperm. Zero live or dead sperm on multiple collections. So there may be sperm that are there that are dead. There may be sperm there in low numbers. But if you see absolutely no sperm on more than one occasion, and you think you had a pretty good collection based on his libido, then I would probably classify him a sterile. But we can certainly talk about some of the diagnostic testing that should be done.

   “The sperm are made in the testicle and then the epididymis is the conduit by which the sperm leave the testicle and make it up into the urethra and are ejaculated. So it's this series of really cool, tightly little coiled tubules that run on the backside of the testicle and up around and then into the urethra where the ejaculate comes from. So the epididymis, if it's blocked somewhere in that on both sides, then you're not going to get sperm.

   Hands off the junk, lady!

   Some young or inexperienced stud dogs may not fully ejaculate because “their head’s not in the game,” Greer noted. She shared tips for getting a better collection from the male.

   “Mostly it's practice. A lot of those are dogs that have been in pet type home, not a breeders type home. You basically need some practice. You need a dog that has a really good female in heat standing in front of him. A really cooperative female. So not a bulldog that's making weird snorting noises, even if she's nice, 'cause sometimes that's misconstrued as a growl. Not a dog that's going to turn around and kind of nibble at the boy. But a girl that's going to back into him and send an engraved invitation, ‘hey big boy it's over here.’ So you want to have an experienced, really cooperative, in heat, at the appropriate time in heat, female. That's not always easy to achieve, as you know, you don't always get to pull one off the shelf when you need one.”

   Prostate myths

   “Many people are confused about what to do with prostate disease,” Greer observed. “There's basically four different categories of disorders we can see in the prostate. We can see benign prostatic hypertrophy, prostatitis, prostatic cysts and there can be cancer of the prostate. So those are the four general diseases that we see. A lot of dogs when they’re age 5 and older, when they're around a female in heat … will stimulate the dog to develop some enlargement of his prostate. After age 5 will see these dogs stand up from laying down or walk into the house and blood will be dripping from the penis. Every veterinarian that doesn't do reproduction says ‘oh OK, there's two things we have to do here. One we have to put him on an antibiotic and two we have to neuter him.’ Well actually, both of those things are incorrect.”

   ]]>9d4cde49-3c4c-40cc-83ae-10fb9d82f8bfThu, 05 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -070029:34falsefull448 – Nutrition Recommendations in Breeding DogsNutrition Recommendations in Breeding Dogs Dr. Marty Greer and Sheryl Bradbury, owned brands manager at Revival Animal Health, join Host Laura Reeves for a discussion about micronutrients and supplements for breeding dogs. “One of the concepts that we need to discuss is that there's a likelihood that some of the commercial diets are not as nutritionally complete as they need to be for all stages of the dog’s life and that includes reproduction,” Greer said. “Reproduction truly is a luxury in the body and it's only going to happen if the body has already been able to take care of its vital organs. Then your body can start thinking about making sperm, making eggs, growing babies, all those parts. So it's really important that we don't overlook the micronutrients that sometimes are not mainstream enough for the general pet food company diets to be included in the food. “Folic acid, of course, is important to reduce the risk of midline defects. These are primarily thought of as being cleft palates, but it can be cleft lips, it can be umbilical hernias, it can be open abdominal walls, spina bifida, any number of those types of midline defects where, during development, the right side and the left side of the body don't find each other. “A 5 milligram per dog per day dose (of Folic Acid) regardless of the size of the dog. That's a pretty big dose. A lot of times, we only see something like 400 micrograms in a capsule or caplet when it's purchased over the counter. So, you have to read the label. You have to make sure that you're getting the product that you want. Revival's been working on raising the amount of folic acid in their supplements to make sure that it's sufficient. “Studies show that the dogs that are clinically and genetically predisposed to developing cleft palates, such as the French bulldog, Chihuahua, the bulldog, they can significantly reduce by 50 to 60% the incidence of cleft palates. The most important thing to remember is you need to start it six weeks before the dog is bred, so you can't wait until she comes into heat. “DHA has been determined, through a really nice study from Canine Companions for Independence, to be essential in brain and eye development for puppies. Carbohydrates over the last few years have fallen into some interesting categories of the grain free diets. We lost some of the oatmeal, barley, rice, wheat, corn, those kinds of things and they've been replaced by peas, beans and lentils which are concerning. “There's a lot of other really little tiny nutrients that are difficult to really completely follow … that's going to include tyrosine, arginine, taurine, vitamin E, biotin, vitamin A and vitamin C. Now vitamin A, we have to be really careful with because excessive amounts of vitamin A, found in things like too much liver or certain supplements, can actually cause midline defects. So it's important that we're paying attention to the details. There’s just a whole bunch of these little tiny nutrients that we assume are all in our foods but perhaps are not in the levels that we need for our bitches. “The typical young male dog, up until the age of about four or five, is probably fine on most of the diets that we feed. But there are changes that happen in the kind of testosterone that is made in the testicles … so at that point, we really need to step up our nutrient profiles for the stud dogs. “(An anecdotal survey of veterinarians regarding stud dog supplementation indicated that) typically there was a fatty acid supplement, there was some kind of an anti-inflammatory, whether it was ICSB-CF plus or one of the other glycoflex types of products. Sometimes selenium was included in that. And then L carnitine. L carnitine is important in the tail function and development in the stud dog’s sperm. So, it's an assortment. It tends to be a little cocktail that most people put together in their practice for their stud dogs.”]]>Nutrition Recommendations in Breeding Dogs Dr. Marty Greer and Sheryl Bradbury, owned brands manager at Revival Animal Health, join Host Laura Reeves for a discussion about micronutrients and supplements for breeding dogs. “One of the concepts that we need to discuss is that there's a likelihood that some of the commercial diets are not as nutritionally complete as they need to be for all stages of the dog’s life and that includes reproduction,” Greer said. “Reproduction truly is a luxury in the body and it's only going to happen if the body has already been able to take care of its vital organs. Then your body can start thinking about making sperm, making eggs, growing babies, all those parts. So it's really important that we don't overlook the micronutrients that sometimes are not mainstream enough for the general pet food company diets to be included in the food. “Folic acid, of course, is important to reduce the risk of midline defects. These are primarily thought of as being cleft palates, but it can be cleft lips, it can be umbilical hernias, it can be open abdominal walls, spina bifida, any number of those types of midline defects where, during development, the right side and the left side of the body don't find each other. “A 5 milligram per dog per day dose (of Folic Acid) regardless of the size of the dog. That's a pretty big dose. A lot of times, we only see something like 400 micrograms in a capsule or caplet when it's purchased over the counter. So, you have to read the label. You have to make sure that you're getting the product that you want. Revival's been working on raising the amount of folic acid in their supplements to make sure that it's sufficient. “Studies show that the dogs that are clinically and genetically predisposed to developing cleft palates, such as the French bulldog, Chihuahua, the bulldog, they can significantly reduce by 50 to 60% the incidence of cleft palates. The most important thing to remember is you need to start it six weeks before the dog is bred, so you can't wait until she comes into heat. “DHA has been determined, through a really nice study from Canine Companions for Independence, to be essential in brain and eye development for puppies. Carbohydrates over the last few years have fallen into some interesting categories of the grain free diets. We lost some of the oatmeal, barley, rice, wheat, corn, those kinds of things and they've been replaced by peas, beans and lentils which are concerning. “There's a lot of other really little tiny nutrients that are difficult to really completely follow … that's going to include tyrosine, arginine, taurine, vitamin E, biotin, vitamin A and vitamin C. Now vitamin A, we have to be really careful with because excessive amounts of vitamin A, found in things like too much liver or certain supplements, can actually cause midline defects. So it's important that we're paying attention to the details. There’s just a whole bunch of these little tiny nutrients that we assume are all in our foods but perhaps are not in the levels that we need for our bitches. “The typical young male dog, up until the age of about four or five, is probably fine on most of the diets that we feed. But there are changes that happen in the kind of testosterone that is made in the testicles … so at that point, we really need to step up our nutrient profiles for the stud dogs. “(An anecdotal survey of veterinarians regarding stud dog supplementation indicated that) typically there was a fatty acid supplement, there was some kind of an anti-inflammatory, whether it was ICSB-CF plus or one of the other glycoflex types of products. Sometimes selenium was included in that. And then L carnitine. L carnitine is important in the tail function and development in the stud dog’s sperm. So, it's an assortment. It tends to be a little cocktail that most people put together in their practice for their stud dogs.”]]>d0a9727a-809f-4b96-bb3f-060284906abdMon, 30 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -070025:12falsefull449 – Dr. Jerold Bell: Popular Sire Syndrome Defined
   
   ]]>
   
   ]]>54379957-9f14-4370-a981-0ab9d6c7236bThu, 03 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -070028:48falsefull461 -- Genetic Ancestry – Deep Dive on Genetic TestingGenetic Ancestry – Deep Dive on Genetic Testing Aaron Sams, the principal scientist at Embark, joins host Laura Reeves to take us through the algorithms and data sets that create the genetic codes for each purebred dog breed. “Dog population and dog evolutionary history is really complex,” Sams noted. “There's a lot of dogs in the world and most of them are what we call village dogs. They are just free-breeding free-ranging dogs that live with human populations … then you have some of these ancient breeds … salukis and other what I think of as landrace breeds, these are dogs that are living with humans, they are purpose bred, they’re adapted to the region in which they live… Then you’ve got the purebred dog breeds that we are most familiar with in Europe and America. “A registration organization decides these are the standards, this is what this dog has to conform to to be a registered purebred of this breed. But genetic variation is a lot more complex. Within each of those breeds, there are genetic variation across those dogs. They're not clones of each other. They're not genetically identical. A lot of breeds are related to each other.

   “So it's all pretty complex. How do you do ancestry testing and decide, given some random dog, what ancestry is the best fit for that dog? What's our best estimate of the ancestry of that dog? So rather than thinking of it from a single reference genome, we have to think about it as a population. We have a reference database with large numbers of individuals that serve as references for that given population.

   “What we're trying to do is capture as much of that genetic diversity that represents that population as we can, so that anytime we take a new dog and we compare it to those reference individuals we can see that this dog shares DNA that's very, very similar to those reference individuals. “There's different levels of genetic diversity in each of these populations. If you have a very inbred breed that doesn't have very much genetic diversity, you might need a smaller number of individuals to capture the genetic diversity for that entire population. The more individuals you add to your reference, the more accurate you're going to get, the more you can match those individuals that you're testing identically. “Let’s say you send one of your dogs in and we say it's around 90% German wirehaired pointer and 10% English pointer … that happens. Those are very closely related breeds. Sometimes you have lineages of that breed that we don't have in our reference database. So sometimes you'll see that kind of thing happen. But a year later, you come back and we've added more registered German wirehaired pointers. Now we have dogs in our reference data set that are actually better matched for that DNA … Over time these things are going to change. “If you take a frozen semen sample from several generations ago, say 5-6 generations in the past, then you bring that forward and you breed a dog with that frozen semen sample. If there was more outcrossing or the breed was still kind of information (when that dog was alive), there's definitely a good chance that if we now have a very well-established reference data set for that breed, that you bring that genetic diversity forward, it may not actually be present in most dogs in that breed today. Now you've got ancestry or DNA from earlier in the population that's maybe been lost over time and you're reproducing it … if we don't have that in our reference data set for that breed it's going to be called as something else….” For more on this absolutely fascinating deep dive on genetic ancestry DNA testing, listen to the podcast episode above.]]>Genetic Ancestry – Deep Dive on Genetic Testing Aaron Sams, the principal scientist at Embark, joins host Laura Reeves to take us through the algorithms and data sets that create the genetic codes for each purebred dog breed. “Dog population and dog evolutionary history is really complex,” Sams noted. “There's a lot of dogs in the world and most of them are what we call village dogs. They are just free-breeding free-ranging dogs that live with human populations … then you have some of these ancient breeds … salukis and other what I think of as landrace breeds, these are dogs that are living with humans, they are purpose bred, they’re adapted to the region in which they live… Then you’ve got the purebred dog breeds that we are most familiar with in Europe and America. “A registration organization decides these are the standards, this is what this dog has to conform to to be a registered purebred of this breed. But genetic variation is a lot more complex. Within each of those breeds, there are genetic variation across those dogs. They're not clones of each other. They're not genetically identical. A lot of breeds are related to each other.

   “So it's all pretty complex. How do you do ancestry testing and decide, given some random dog, what ancestry is the best fit for that dog? What's our best estimate of the ancestry of that dog? So rather than thinking of it from a single reference genome, we have to think about it as a population. We have a reference database with large numbers of individuals that serve as references for that given population.

   “What we're trying to do is capture as much of that genetic diversity that represents that population as we can, so that anytime we take a new dog and we compare it to those reference individuals we can see that this dog shares DNA that's very, very similar to those reference individuals. “There's different levels of genetic diversity in each of these populations. If you have a very inbred breed that doesn't have very much genetic diversity, you might need a smaller number of individuals to capture the genetic diversity for that entire population. The more individuals you add to your reference, the more accurate you're going to get, the more you can match those individuals that you're testing identically. “Let’s say you send one of your dogs in and we say it's around 90% German wirehaired pointer and 10% English pointer … that happens. Those are very closely related breeds. Sometimes you have lineages of that breed that we don't have in our reference database. So sometimes you'll see that kind of thing happen. But a year later, you come back and we've added more registered German wirehaired pointers. Now we have dogs in our reference data set that are actually better matched for that DNA … Over time these things are going to change. “If you take a frozen semen sample from several generations ago, say 5-6 generations in the past, then you bring that forward and you breed a dog with that frozen semen sample. If there was more outcrossing or the breed was still kind of information (when that dog was alive), there's definitely a good chance that if we now have a very well-established reference data set for that breed, that you bring that genetic diversity forward, it may not actually be present in most dogs in that breed today. Now you've got ancestry or DNA from earlier in the population that's maybe been lost over time and you're reproducing it … if we don't have that in our reference data set for that breed it's going to be called as something else….” For more on this absolutely fascinating deep dive on genetic ancestry DNA testing, listen to the podcast episode above.]]>98149b5b-b82f-4e36-ab94-70af5d74b539Mon, 25 Jan 2021 09:00:00 -070031:36falsefull458 -- Dog Breeding: Back to Basics with Dr. Marty GreerDog Breeding: Back to Basics with Dr. Marty Greer Dr. Marty Greer joins host Laura Reeves for a review of breeding basics for our bitches. How old? How often? How many Csections? What about an oops? We start with these basic questions and detour into deep dives on critical micronutrients, breed specific cysts, what dog bodies are most difficult for abdominal surgeries and much more of the fascinating exploration of knowledge with one of the country’s pre-eminent canine reproductive specialists.

   At what age should I breed my bitch for the first time?

   That depends on the breed. If it's a breed that needs to have hips X rayed after the age of two, then after the age of two is appropriate. A lot of people want to wait until the bitches are older, either because they want to see what kind of health problems they have or the bitch may have a career… when we start to see people breeding when (the bitch is) six or seven years old for the first time, we struggle a lot with fertility. So my recommendation is to not wait too long. If you have a breed that you can do hips early on or don't need to do hips or you don't worry about seizures when they are five, then breeding young is fine. I like to breed young bitches with a shiny pink healthy new unused straight off the showroom floor kind of not beat up and bedraggled when she's seven years old and now you want to use this really valuable frozen semen. Please don't do that. The higher the stress of the semen, like frozen and fresh chilled, the younger and more fertile the bitch needs to be. We can't have a subfertile male and a subfertile female and expect to have a good outcome. I don't like breeding on the first heat cycle for a couple of reasons. One is they tend not to be a fertile cycle. Two is the bitch tends not to be mature emotionally or psychologically. And three is she tends not to be physically mature. So I think that pushing to breed on the first heat is not a great idea. That does that mean it doesn't work … plenty of bitches that plan their own breedings with their own stud dogs in their house. That may have been the breeding that you planned to do after she turned 2 and she and he decided that they would preemptively do a strike.

   What happens if my bitch has an accidental breeding?

   You know when you get an accidental breeding, statistically it's 62% that get pregnant 38% don't. There are methods to interrupt those, but I generally recommend against them unless it's a really strong reason, like a brother sister or something along those lines. We have a lot of people who are embarrassed in their breed club, they're worried that people are going to drum them out. If someone tells you, and they have males and females that are intact in their homes, and they tell you ‘I have never had that happen to me,’ either they are lying to you or it hasn't happened to them yet. Because at some point the sex drive is strong and males will chew through doors and females will crawl over kennels. There are ways to interrupt pregnancy if it happens. You have three choices if you do have a mating that went better than you wanted it to. Most the time when we have people crying at the ultrasound it’s because their bitch didn't get pregnant. Sometimes it’s because their bitch did. You can either let her have the puppies and teach her to be a good mom. #2 is you can spay her, which of course is the end of her breeding career. #3 is there is a series of injections and oral medications that can be used that are not estrogen. So please, please, please no diethylstilbestrol, no ECP. None of those drugs. They cause bone marrow suppression and can cause your bitch to die. We can see pyometras and we still see people giving those drugs. So basically, we give prostaglandin and another oral medication. If somebody gets herself into a pickle, email me I'll help you out. I'm not going to go through the whole protocol because it's not really the kind of thing that we want to talk about today but there are choices for what you can do that are safe for the bitch and will not interfere with future breeding.

   How often should I breed my bitch?

   We did use to say skip a cycle in between (breedings) but you're right, the uterus starts to age and progesterone is what causes the aging. So, every time she's exposed to progesterone during each cycle and not bred, you beat up the uterus little bit more. So, breeding back to back makes a lot of sense. Now I also know from the other side of things … it takes a bitch eight months nutritionally to get back to where she was before she was bred. My middle ground on that is to breed back to back, then skip a cycle, then breed back to back again. That's four litters in five cycles, if you're going to breed that many times.

   Secret recipe to success?

   Make sure that nutritionally you really workin’ it when it comes to (nutrition). She should be on puppy food. The other information that we know is from (a) study that was done with the collaboration of Eukanuba with Canine Companions for Independence, CCI, out of Santa Rosa, CA that raises service dogs. They discovered that on a bitch’s first litter, 50% of her puppies were successfully graduating as service dogs. By her fifth litter they were down to 25%. It was determined that was a DHA deficiency, based on 5800 puppies in the study. There really isn't a published dose (for DHA) but basically if you use a reasonable number of capsules, like one capsule a day (of the human supplement) that makes a lot of sense. We have clients that have anecdotally reported that they think their puppies are smarter now. It's a fatty acid, so I typically will give it to them between heat cycles as well as during because you don't want to wait until the very last minute to administer it. Go ahead and start it as soon as you get ahold of it. You can start it now. It's going to help the bitches and I just give it on a daily basis. Pay attention to this kind of nutritional micronutrient that you may or may not find in adequate levels in your pet food. Supplementing it above and beyond (what is in some puppy food) is certainly not going to hurt the bitch or the puppies.

   Can a bitch whelp naturally after having a c-section?

   A C-Section does not interfere with her ability to have a vaginal birth at a future breeding. Just like in people, “Vbacks,” OK vaginal birth after C-section, it's safe for her to have another litter born vaginally if she's had a C-section. I've done as many as five C-sections on one individual bitch and I don't have a problem with that. I do try to avoid surgical breedings if it's also a breed that's going to have a C-section. Seventy-five percent of C-sections are maternal causes. 25% are fetal causes. Fetal causes are things like an oversized fetus, and deformed fetus, like a walrus puppy. A puppy that malpresents, in other words it comes down and it starts to come down out of one uterine horn and instead of coming down to the cervix, it makes a U turn and goes back up into the other horn. Those are all fetal causes. Those do not necessarily mean that you're going to need another C-section. So it's really a good idea to have a conversation at the time of the C-section with your veterinarian to find out if they could determine the underlying cause for the C-section.]]>Dog Breeding: Back to Basics with Dr. Marty Greer Dr. Marty Greer joins host Laura Reeves for a review of breeding basics for our bitches. How old? How often? How many Csections? What about an oops? We start with these basic questions and detour into deep dives on critical micronutrients, breed specific cysts, what dog bodies are most difficult for abdominal surgeries and much more of the fascinating exploration of knowledge with one of the country’s pre-eminent canine reproductive specialists.

   At what age should I breed my bitch for the first time?

   That depends on the breed. If it's a breed that needs to have hips X rayed after the age of two, then after the age of two is appropriate. A lot of people want to wait until the bitches are older, either because they want to see what kind of health problems they have or the bitch may have a career… when we start to see people breeding when (the bitch is) six or seven years old for the first time, we struggle a lot with fertility. So my recommendation is to not wait too long. If you have a breed that you can do hips early on or don't need to do hips or you don't worry about seizures when they are five, then breeding young is fine. I like to breed young bitches with a shiny pink healthy new unused straight off the showroom floor kind of not beat up and bedraggled when she's seven years old and now you want to use this really valuable frozen semen. Please don't do that. The higher the stress of the semen, like frozen and fresh chilled, the younger and more fertile the bitch needs to be. We can't have a subfertile male and a subfertile female and expect to have a good outcome. I don't like breeding on the first heat cycle for a couple of reasons. One is they tend not to be a fertile cycle. Two is the bitch tends not to be mature emotionally or psychologically. And three is she tends not to be physically mature. So I think that pushing to breed on the first heat is not a great idea. That does that mean it doesn't work … plenty of bitches that plan their own breedings with their own stud dogs in their house. That may have been the breeding that you planned to do after she turned 2 and she and he decided that they would preemptively do a strike.

   What happens if my bitch has an accidental breeding?

   You know when you get an accidental breeding, statistically it's 62% that get pregnant 38% don't. There are methods to interrupt those, but I generally recommend against them unless it's a really strong reason, like a brother sister or something along those lines. We have a lot of people who are embarrassed in their breed club, they're worried that people are going to drum them out. If someone tells you, and they have males and females that are intact in their homes, and they tell you ‘I have never had that happen to me,’ either they are lying to you or it hasn't happened to them yet. Because at some point the sex drive is strong and males will chew through doors and females will crawl over kennels. There are ways to interrupt pregnancy if it happens. You have three choices if you do have a mating that went better than you wanted it to. Most the time when we have people crying at the ultrasound it’s because their bitch didn't get pregnant. Sometimes it’s because their bitch did. You can either let her have the puppies and teach her to be a good mom. #2 is you can spay her, which of course is the end of her breeding career. #3 is there is a series of injections and oral medications that can be used that are not estrogen. So please, please, please no diethylstilbestrol, no ECP. None of those drugs. They cause bone marrow suppression and can cause your bitch to die. We can see pyometras and we still see people giving those drugs. So basically, we give prostaglandin and another oral medication. If somebody gets herself into a pickle, email me I'll help you out. I'm not going to go through the whole protocol because it's not really the kind of thing that we want to talk about today but there are choices for what you can do that are safe for the bitch and will not interfere with future breeding.

   How often should I breed my bitch?

   We did use to say skip a cycle in between (breedings) but you're right, the uterus starts to age and progesterone is what causes the aging. So, every time she's exposed to progesterone during each cycle and not bred, you beat up the uterus little bit more. So, breeding back to back makes a lot of sense. Now I also know from the other side of things … it takes a bitch eight months nutritionally to get back to where she was before she was bred. My middle ground on that is to breed back to back, then skip a cycle, then breed back to back again. That's four litters in five cycles, if you're going to breed that many times.

   Secret recipe to success?

   Make sure that nutritionally you really workin’ it when it comes to (nutrition). She should be on puppy food. The other information that we know is from (a) study that was done with the collaboration of Eukanuba with Canine Companions for Independence, CCI, out of Santa Rosa, CA that raises service dogs. They discovered that on a bitch’s first litter, 50% of her puppies were successfully graduating as service dogs. By her fifth litter they were down to 25%. It was determined that was a DHA deficiency, based on 5800 puppies in the study. There really isn't a published dose (for DHA) but basically if you use a reasonable number of capsules, like one capsule a day (of the human supplement) that makes a lot of sense. We have clients that have anecdotally reported that they think their puppies are smarter now. It's a fatty acid, so I typically will give it to them between heat cycles as well as during because you don't want to wait until the very last minute to administer it. Go ahead and start it as soon as you get ahold of it. You can start it now. It's going to help the bitches and I just give it on a daily basis. Pay attention to this kind of nutritional micronutrient that you may or may not find in adequate levels in your pet food. Supplementing it above and beyond (what is in some puppy food) is certainly not going to hurt the bitch or the puppies.

   Can a bitch whelp naturally after having a c-section?

   A C-Section does not interfere with her ability to have a vaginal birth at a future breeding. Just like in people, “Vbacks,” OK vaginal birth after C-section, it's safe for her to have another litter born vaginally if she's had a C-section. I've done as many as five C-sections on one individual bitch and I don't have a problem with that. I do try to avoid surgical breedings if it's also a breed that's going to have a C-section. Seventy-five percent of C-sections are maternal causes. 25% are fetal causes. Fetal causes are things like an oversized fetus, and deformed fetus, like a walrus puppy. A puppy that malpresents, in other words it comes down and it starts to come down out of one uterine horn and instead of coming down to the cervix, it makes a U turn and goes back up into the other horn. Those are all fetal causes. Those do not necessarily mean that you're going to need another C-section. So it's really a good idea to have a conversation at the time of the C-section with your veterinarian to find out if they could determine the underlying cause for the C-section.]]>10e0f7fa-17fe-4168-a5ab-a94ad3bf4138Mon, 04 Jan 2021 09:00:00 -070034:30falsefull453 – Dr. Jerold Bell: Dog Breeding is Not “Paint by Numbers”
   
   ]]>
   
   ]]>b13140fe-0350-494a-b04f-86e361844150Thu, 17 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -070030:13falsefull475 – Multiple Sired Litters: When, Why and How with Dr. Marty GreerMultiple Sired Litters: When, Why and How with Dr. Marty Greer Dr. Marty Greer and host Laura Reeves review the when, why and how of multiple-sired litters. AKC instituted the policy for multiple-sired litters in 2000 with the advent of reliable parentage DNA testing. Planning for a multiple-sired litter requires taking a variety of factors into consideration.
   1. The quality and condition of the semen. Greer notes that poor-quality semen should get a “head start” and be inseminated first. Frozen, fresh chilled and live semen all have different rates of motility and viability as they journey toward the eggs.
   2. The age and reproductive viability of the bitch. Greer advocates for a first litter. “I like a pink, shiny, healthy new uterus,” Greer said. “But it's got the risk of not knowing what her fertility is and it's got the risk of not knowing what kind of maternal skills she has.”
   3. Cost is a factor, as sire, dam and all puppies require DNA parentage testing through AKC in order to be properly registered.
   4. The “relatedness” of the sires being considered. While DNA testing can differentiate related sires, a father and son or similar closely related dogs can be more challenging to nail down. “We had a Border Terrier… usually they go out, I think, 13 genes and they had to go out 23 because the dogs were so closely related,” Greer said.
   5. The knowledge and experience of your veterinarian. “(Work) with somebody that does a lot of canine reproduction. This is not for your ordinary, garden variety veterinarian. Those are good people, don't get me wrong, but when you're doing something of this level of sophistication, you need to have somebody that doesn't misunderstand what you want to do and doesn't think that fresh chilled semen goes in the freezer and knows how to put it in so that it gets into the uterus.”
   6. Freeze potential sires while they are young and healthy. “If you have a young up and coming stud dog, freeze early and freeze often. Even if it's not up and coming, even if it just might be up and coming … if he's good enough for you to keep, freeze him. You can always do the health screenings later.”
   7. Consider creating a “sperm bank” for your national breed club. Working with AKC, Greer said the prototype created by the Otterhound Club of America is now available to all clubs. “We've got a tool kit put together. Our next step is to start educating breed clubs. So if you're listening and you have a breed club and you're on the genetics committee or you’re a member or you have a dog that you would like to have semen retained on this is really really, really super important. We're going to need to breed our way out of some of these corners and without that genetic material stored, it's not going to happen. So, you now have the opportunity to work with your breed club, your veterinarian, the AKC, the society for theriogenology… there's a whole bunch of people that are involved in this because everybody sees the big picture value of this.”
   
   ]]>Multiple Sired Litters: When, Why and How with Dr. Marty Greer Dr. Marty Greer and host Laura Reeves review the when, why and how of multiple-sired litters. AKC instituted the policy for multiple-sired litters in 2000 with the advent of reliable parentage DNA testing. Planning for a multiple-sired litter requires taking a variety of factors into consideration.
   1. The quality and condition of the semen. Greer notes that poor-quality semen should get a “head start” and be inseminated first. Frozen, fresh chilled and live semen all have different rates of motility and viability as they journey toward the eggs.
   2. The age and reproductive viability of the bitch. Greer advocates for a first litter. “I like a pink, shiny, healthy new uterus,” Greer said. “But it's got the risk of not knowing what her fertility is and it's got the risk of not knowing what kind of maternal skills she has.”
   3. Cost is a factor, as sire, dam and all puppies require DNA parentage testing through AKC in order to be properly registered.
   4. The “relatedness” of the sires being considered. While DNA testing can differentiate related sires, a father and son or similar closely related dogs can be more challenging to nail down. “We had a Border Terrier… usually they go out, I think, 13 genes and they had to go out 23 because the dogs were so closely related,” Greer said.
   5. The knowledge and experience of your veterinarian. “(Work) with somebody that does a lot of canine reproduction. This is not for your ordinary, garden variety veterinarian. Those are good people, don't get me wrong, but when you're doing something of this level of sophistication, you need to have somebody that doesn't misunderstand what you want to do and doesn't think that fresh chilled semen goes in the freezer and knows how to put it in so that it gets into the uterus.”
   6. Freeze potential sires while they are young and healthy. “If you have a young up and coming stud dog, freeze early and freeze often. Even if it's not up and coming, even if it just might be up and coming … if he's good enough for you to keep, freeze him. You can always do the health screenings later.”
   7. Consider creating a “sperm bank” for your national breed club. Working with AKC, Greer said the prototype created by the Otterhound Club of America is now available to all clubs. “We've got a tool kit put together. Our next step is to start educating breed clubs. So if you're listening and you have a breed club and you're on the genetics committee or you’re a member or you have a dog that you would like to have semen retained on this is really really, really super important. We're going to need to breed our way out of some of these corners and without that genetic material stored, it's not going to happen. So, you now have the opportunity to work with your breed club, your veterinarian, the AKC, the society for theriogenology… there's a whole bunch of people that are involved in this because everybody sees the big picture value of this.”
   
   ]]>f84ee1e6-7f3f-4f70-b31f-3215b38f092eMon, 03 May 2021 09:00:00 -070035:41falsefull480 – Which Comes First: Show Ring or Whelping Box?Which Comes First: Show Ring or Whelping Box? Dr. Marty Greer, DVM, joins host Laura Reeves for a discussion about whether we should show or breed our dogs first. Our consensus? Breed them, *then* show them. “The whole reason that we show our dogs in AKC,” Greer said, “and the whole reason that AKC makes us show dogs that are intact, is because they are meant to be reproducing. “I really think we need put a bitch's breeding career way up the list of priorities. It is difficult when you've got a bitch, or a male for that matter, out there winning. It's hard to pull them. It's hard to miss that opportunity. But I look at it as most bitches, most dogs, get better with age. They look better when they get to being mature at five, six years old. But fertility isn't so kind. Fertility is an elusive and a God given right. If we don't take advantage of the youth and the fertility associated with youth, I think we're missing a big opportunity.”

   Better living through chemistry

   Greer runs through the pros and cons of using drugs to inhibit heat cycles in bitches, including including Cheque drops and Ovaban. She also covers medication that can be used to bring bitches into season as well as nutritional considerations that may need to be addressed first. Greer’s advice for breeders on how to transition a nursing bitch successfully into a show career following a litter includes exercise and Witch Hazel. Discussing the importance of collecting males for frozen semen while they are young, Greer again offers this advice.

   “I have people that come in all the time with older dogs. They may be sick. They may be elderly. And they're just like I really, really, really wanna puppy out of this guy. I really need semen… and they've got three sperm and two of them are swimming backwards and there's nothing we can do with that. Nothing you can do. We have a sign on our wall in big letters that says ‘Freeze early and freeze often.’”

      ]]>Which Comes First: Show Ring or Whelping Box? Dr. Marty Greer, DVM, joins host Laura Reeves for a discussion about whether we should show or breed our dogs first. Our consensus? Breed them, *then* show them. “The whole reason that we show our dogs in AKC,” Greer said, “and the whole reason that AKC makes us show dogs that are intact, is because they are meant to be reproducing. “I really think we need put a bitch's breeding career way up the list of priorities. It is difficult when you've got a bitch, or a male for that matter, out there winning. It's hard to pull them. It's hard to miss that opportunity. But I look at it as most bitches, most dogs, get better with age. They look better when they get to being mature at five, six years old. But fertility isn't so kind. Fertility is an elusive and a God given right. If we don't take advantage of the youth and the fertility associated with youth, I think we're missing a big opportunity.”

   Better living through chemistry

   Greer runs through the pros and cons of using drugs to inhibit heat cycles in bitches, including including Cheque drops and Ovaban. She also covers medication that can be used to bring bitches into season as well as nutritional considerations that may need to be addressed first. Greer’s advice for breeders on how to transition a nursing bitch successfully into a show career following a litter includes exercise and Witch Hazel. Discussing the importance of collecting males for frozen semen while they are young, Greer again offers this advice.

   “I have people that come in all the time with older dogs. They may be sick. They may be elderly. And they're just like I really, really, really wanna puppy out of this guy. I really need semen… and they've got three sperm and two of them are swimming backwards and there's nothing we can do with that. Nothing you can do. We have a sign on our wall in big letters that says ‘Freeze early and freeze often.’”

      ]]>452929a7-db4c-4717-ba5b-8e802c58bd8eMon, 07 Jun 2021 09:00:00 -070031:54falsefull482 – Nutrition in Breeding Dogs with Dr. Gayle WatkinsNutrition in Breeding Dogs with Dr. Gayle Watkins

   Dr. Gayle Watkins, founder of Avidog and Head of Education at Good Dog, joins host Laura Reeves for a fascinating and informative conversation on the nutrition requirements for breeding dogs.

   Watkins addresses raw feeding, kibble and specific nutrient requirements, especially calcium:phosphorus percentages, that enable the animals in our breeding programs to be successful in conceiving and raising their litters.

   “We don't have a lot of really good research on optimizing nutrition for breeding animals, either stud dogs or bitches, and we have a lot of myths,” Watkins said.

   “If you are in the US, you need to feed an all-life stages or growth and reproduction diet to your breeding dogs. Ideally, that is also for stud dogs, but we don't have much information on that. Definitely your bitches, as they prepare to breed, while they're being bred, during pregnancy and during lactation. Adult maintenance food is inadequate for reproduction. It is not designed for reproduction.

   “Dogs are scavengers … think about the stuff they eat! But breeding animals, we're asking those bitches to do so much. They not only have to create puppies, they have to maintain their own body while that's happening and they have to maintain their brain. So I think we have an obligation to not do homemade foods with our breeding bitches.

   “I'm a big fan, if we can find those foods that are also certified by AAFCO through feeding trials. The all life stages feeding trial covers just prior to being bred, pregnancy and it covers their puppies for 10 weeks. So it's a big feeding trial and that food has been tested as much as it could possibly be tested.”

   Watkins continues with specific recommendations on additional micronutrients, fatty acids, probiotics and other supplements.

   For previous Pure Dog Talk episodes on breeding topics with Dr. Watkins, click here, here, here and here.

   ]]>Nutrition in Breeding Dogs with Dr. Gayle Watkins

   Dr. Gayle Watkins, founder of Avidog and Head of Education at Good Dog, joins host Laura Reeves for a fascinating and informative conversation on the nutrition requirements for breeding dogs.

   Watkins addresses raw feeding, kibble and specific nutrient requirements, especially calcium:phosphorus percentages, that enable the animals in our breeding programs to be successful in conceiving and raising their litters.

   “We don't have a lot of really good research on optimizing nutrition for breeding animals, either stud dogs or bitches, and we have a lot of myths,” Watkins said.

   “If you are in the US, you need to feed an all-life stages or growth and reproduction diet to your breeding dogs. Ideally, that is also for stud dogs, but we don't have much information on that. Definitely your bitches, as they prepare to breed, while they're being bred, during pregnancy and during lactation. Adult maintenance food is inadequate for reproduction. It is not designed for reproduction.

   “Dogs are scavengers … think about the stuff they eat! But breeding animals, we're asking those bitches to do so much. They not only have to create puppies, they have to maintain their own body while that's happening and they have to maintain their brain. So I think we have an obligation to not do homemade foods with our breeding bitches.

   “I'm a big fan, if we can find those foods that are also certified by AAFCO through feeding trials. The all life stages feeding trial covers just prior to being bred, pregnancy and it covers their puppies for 10 weeks. So it's a big feeding trial and that food has been tested as much as it could possibly be tested.”

   Watkins continues with specific recommendations on additional micronutrients, fatty acids, probiotics and other supplements.

   For previous Pure Dog Talk episodes on breeding topics with Dr. Watkins, click here, here, here and here.

   ]]>ed1e1ed8-bed2-4c70-8030-0e2883df3e82Mon, 21 Jun 2021 09:00:00 -070037:23falsefull484 – Five Ps in Passport to Successful ReproductionFive Ps in Passport to Successful Reproduction Dr. Marty Greer, DVM, joins host Laura Reeves to discuss the five Ps in the passport to successful dog breeding.

   Progesterone

   “We need to start progesterone testing early enough and repeating the testing often enough and long enough to make sure that she's ovulate plus one test beyond that. So ovulation in most people's labs is going to be between four and eight nanograms per mil. “Be sure you start early enough and you go long enough that you've got one progesterone past five. If you stop at 4.7 and then she doesn't get pregnant, we don't know if she actually did or not (ovulate)… It's not only to get the breeding done successfully, it's also so that you can time when she's doing to whelp. “I cannot overemphasize the importance of progesterone timing. If nothing else, you're going to have the vet clinic on your side when you call, (instead of) saying, ‘Well, really I have no idea when she’s actually due.’ I don't know if you're overstating the crisis that you're in, if you're underestimating the crisis you're in, but without that data we really, as a veterinary community, don't have the information we need to start initiating early care to save your bitch to save your litter.

   Prenatal Care

   “We know from the human side how important good prenatal care is. There's a reason that women that are pregnant go to the doctor frequently. We need to monitor the bitch during prenatal care but even before she gets pregnant, we need to start folic acid 6 to 8 weeks before she comes into heat. We need to have her in an ideal body condition. We need to make sure she's on an appropriate diet that doesn't contain legumes, peas and beans. And we need to make sure she's on a diet that's got the macro and micro nutrients that she's going to need to be pregnant and sustain a pregnancy. “We want to make sure vaccines are up to date, because you can't vaccinate during pregnancy and if she comes due during the time she's pregnant, we cannot vaccinate. We want to make sure she's an appropriate heartworm and flea and tick preventives that are safe for breeding dogs. “We want to make sure that we've brucellosis tested her well enough in advance that if she comes back positive we can do the confirmatory test, because up to 10% of the brucellosis test will come back positive, and that can be a false positive. Now, that being said, it's easy to say ‘Oh yeah, brucellosis doesn't happen in the United states anymore.’ And guess what that's not true.

   Puppy Count X-ray

   “Take the X-ray somewhere between day 55 and a 60 of her pregnancy. “People say, ‘oh I'm not going to do that… it's not safe or it's not accurate…’ I'm going to give you some tips that can make it accurate. If you are taking X rays with a digital machine … it's very safe. The exposure to X-rays is very, very low. In fact if you live in Denver, where the altitude is high, you have the equivalent from sun exposure and radiation of five to 10 chest X-rays a year, just living in that environment. “Go to a vet that has a digital X-ray machine. Take your bitch fasting. She needs to not have breakfast the morning you take her in for the X-ray. (Make sure she has a bowel movement) before you go in, so her hair colon is empty because the more food and the more stool in the colon the harder it is for us to see the puppies on the X-ray. “We take two lateral X-rays, meaning that they lay on their side. We put them on the right side down and we put them on the left side down. I don't care what order you do it in, but I don't take them on their back. What's really cool about it is, many times you'll see seven puppies on first X-ray and you roll them over and an eighth puppy appears. (Most likely) they were perfectly aligned in the uterus and you missed one but that roll, that repositioning of the uterus by putting her on the opposite side, will illustrate another puppy.

   Preparing for Whelping

   Supply and Equipment List: •       Whelping box •       Puppy Scale •       Rectal thermometer •       Room thermometer •       Vaseline •       Notebook •       Cotton balls •       Method to identify puppies – fingernail polish or fabric paint •       Heat source •       Graph paper •       Exam Gloves •       Starter mousse •       Soap •       Whelping pads •       Towels •       Ice cream •       Brats •       Oatmeal •       Puppy or kitten formula •       Feeding tubes and syringes •       Feeding bottles •       Electrolytes •       Car with a full tank of gas •       Cell phone and charger •       Ice chest or other transport device with heat for taking puppies to and from the vet •       Lubricant – non petroleum •       Hemostat •       Dental floss to tie off cords •       Gauze •       Scissors •       Tincture of iodine •       Chlorhexidine disinfectant and shampoo •       Vanilla ice cream •       Cotton balls •       Tarps or flannel backed tablecloths to cover the floor

   Drug and medical equipment list: •       Fenbendazole •       Frozen Plasma •       5 Hour Energy •       Dopram •       Vitamin K •       Oral Cal plus calcium gel •       Nuture-mate •       Probiotics •       Forti-cal •       Delee mucus trip •       Bulb syringe •       Feeding tube syringe and formula •       25 g needles •       Oxy momma •       Adaptil or ThunderEase Pheromone collar •       Glucometer and strips •       Oxygen concentrator •       Pulse oximeter •       Pyrantel pamoate •       Stethoscope •       Oxytocin •       Fluids for SQ use •       Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk •       Needles and syringes •       A great friend who knows about dogs and can remain calm

    

   Planning C-section

   “Planning ahead can make the difference between great puppy survival and heartbreak. If you were planning to whelp (naturally) and things don't go well, then having a plan in place can turn a bad situation around. You need to have a vet that you know you can call. You need to have an emergency clinic that you know is available. Find out before you go in what kind of anesthesia they use, if they're going to hold your bitch hostage and only do the C-section if you let them spay her. Which is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. I never spay at C-section because bitches lose up to 30% of their blood volume and can go into shock."]]>Five Ps in Passport to Successful Reproduction Dr. Marty Greer, DVM, joins host Laura Reeves to discuss the five Ps in the passport to successful dog breeding.

   Progesterone

   “We need to start progesterone testing early enough and repeating the testing often enough and long enough to make sure that she's ovulate plus one test beyond that. So ovulation in most people's labs is going to be between four and eight nanograms per mil. “Be sure you start early enough and you go long enough that you've got one progesterone past five. If you stop at 4.7 and then she doesn't get pregnant, we don't know if she actually did or not (ovulate)… It's not only to get the breeding done successfully, it's also so that you can time when she's doing to whelp. “I cannot overemphasize the importance of progesterone timing. If nothing else, you're going to have the vet clinic on your side when you call, (instead of) saying, ‘Well, really I have no idea when she’s actually due.’ I don't know if you're overstating the crisis that you're in, if you're underestimating the crisis you're in, but without that data we really, as a veterinary community, don't have the information we need to start initiating early care to save your bitch to save your litter.

   Prenatal Care

   “We know from the human side how important good prenatal care is. There's a reason that women that are pregnant go to the doctor frequently. We need to monitor the bitch during prenatal care but even before she gets pregnant, we need to start folic acid 6 to 8 weeks before she comes into heat. We need to have her in an ideal body condition. We need to make sure she's on an appropriate diet that doesn't contain legumes, peas and beans. And we need to make sure she's on a diet that's got the macro and micro nutrients that she's going to need to be pregnant and sustain a pregnancy. “We want to make sure vaccines are up to date, because you can't vaccinate during pregnancy and if she comes due during the time she's pregnant, we cannot vaccinate. We want to make sure she's an appropriate heartworm and flea and tick preventives that are safe for breeding dogs. “We want to make sure that we've brucellosis tested her well enough in advance that if she comes back positive we can do the confirmatory test, because up to 10% of the brucellosis test will come back positive, and that can be a false positive. Now, that being said, it's easy to say ‘Oh yeah, brucellosis doesn't happen in the United states anymore.’ And guess what that's not true.

   Puppy Count X-ray

   “Take the X-ray somewhere between day 55 and a 60 of her pregnancy. “People say, ‘oh I'm not going to do that… it's not safe or it's not accurate…’ I'm going to give you some tips that can make it accurate. If you are taking X rays with a digital machine … it's very safe. The exposure to X-rays is very, very low. In fact if you live in Denver, where the altitude is high, you have the equivalent from sun exposure and radiation of five to 10 chest X-rays a year, just living in that environment. “Go to a vet that has a digital X-ray machine. Take your bitch fasting. She needs to not have breakfast the morning you take her in for the X-ray. (Make sure she has a bowel movement) before you go in, so her hair colon is empty because the more food and the more stool in the colon the harder it is for us to see the puppies on the X-ray. “We take two lateral X-rays, meaning that they lay on their side. We put them on the right side down and we put them on the left side down. I don't care what order you do it in, but I don't take them on their back. What's really cool about it is, many times you'll see seven puppies on first X-ray and you roll them over and an eighth puppy appears. (Most likely) they were perfectly aligned in the uterus and you missed one but that roll, that repositioning of the uterus by putting her on the opposite side, will illustrate another puppy.

   Preparing for Whelping

   Supply and Equipment List: •       Whelping box •       Puppy Scale •       Rectal thermometer •       Room thermometer •       Vaseline •       Notebook •       Cotton balls •       Method to identify puppies – fingernail polish or fabric paint •       Heat source •       Graph paper •       Exam Gloves •       Starter mousse •       Soap •       Whelping pads •       Towels •       Ice cream •       Brats •       Oatmeal •       Puppy or kitten formula •       Feeding tubes and syringes •       Feeding bottles •       Electrolytes •       Car with a full tank of gas •       Cell phone and charger •       Ice chest or other transport device with heat for taking puppies to and from the vet •       Lubricant – non petroleum •       Hemostat •       Dental floss to tie off cords •       Gauze •       Scissors •       Tincture of iodine •       Chlorhexidine disinfectant and shampoo •       Vanilla ice cream •       Cotton balls •       Tarps or flannel backed tablecloths to cover the floor

   Drug and medical equipment list: •       Fenbendazole •       Frozen Plasma •       5 Hour Energy •       Dopram •       Vitamin K •       Oral Cal plus calcium gel •       Nuture-mate •       Probiotics •       Forti-cal •       Delee mucus trip •       Bulb syringe •       Feeding tube syringe and formula •       25 g needles •       Oxy momma •       Adaptil or ThunderEase Pheromone collar •       Glucometer and strips •       Oxygen concentrator •       Pulse oximeter •       Pyrantel pamoate •       Stethoscope •       Oxytocin •       Fluids for SQ use •       Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk •       Needles and syringes •       A great friend who knows about dogs and can remain calm

    

   Planning C-section

   “Planning ahead can make the difference between great puppy survival and heartbreak. If you were planning to whelp (naturally) and things don't go well, then having a plan in place can turn a bad situation around. You need to have a vet that you know you can call. You need to have an emergency clinic that you know is available. Find out before you go in what kind of anesthesia they use, if they're going to hold your bitch hostage and only do the C-section if you let them spay her. Which is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. I never spay at C-section because bitches lose up to 30% of their blood volume and can go into shock."]]>61a9739d-01c7-4b7b-92ae-b3d0d672ee23Mon, 05 Jul 2021 09:00:00 -070037:54falsefull488 – Veterinary Voice: Congenital and/or Hereditary DefinitionsVeterinary Voice: Congenital and/or Hereditary Definitions Dr. Marty Greer, DVM joins host Laura Reeves for a deep dive on the question of congenital vs hereditary disease definitions. “So congenital is something you're born with, not necessarily inherited, but something you're born with. Genetic is something that you carry the DNA for,” Greer said. “If you're born with something, it's congenital. So, if you're born with the umbilical cord wrapped around the puppies leg and the leg doesn't fully develop, that's congenital because they were born with it but it wasn't genetic, it was an accident that the cord wrapped around the way. Just 'cause you see it at birth doesn't mean it's genetic. Many diseases, Greer noted, “there is a genetic basis” with a “trigger.” “An epigenetic or an environmental trigger, is there a nutritional component to it, was there some exposure to a chemical that predisposed the patient to it. So that's where it starts to get muddy. Not everything that's genetic is easy to figure out the inheritance pattern for. The things that we can DNA test for now are pretty much autosomal recessive genes,” Greer said. “Are we throwing dogs out of our gene pool because they have something that's genetic and we don't have the right test for it, then we may never have a test for it or it’s not genetic or have some genetic and epigenetic and environmental component to it? As much as we think we understand this stuff, it's not easy,” Greer added. “The more we know, the less we know. As we start adding this information to our knowledge base, it's going to become evident to us that what we thought isn't really true… all information is valuable, but if you don't apply it correctly, you're going to end up bottlenecking your gene pool, as you're going to throw good dogs out.”    ]]>Veterinary Voice: Congenital and/or Hereditary Definitions Dr. Marty Greer, DVM joins host Laura Reeves for a deep dive on the question of congenital vs hereditary disease definitions. “So congenital is something you're born with, not necessarily inherited, but something you're born with. Genetic is something that you carry the DNA for,” Greer said. “If you're born with something, it's congenital. So, if you're born with the umbilical cord wrapped around the puppies leg and the leg doesn't fully develop, that's congenital because they were born with it but it wasn't genetic, it was an accident that the cord wrapped around the way. Just 'cause you see it at birth doesn't mean it's genetic. Many diseases, Greer noted, “there is a genetic basis” with a “trigger.” “An epigenetic or an environmental trigger, is there a nutritional component to it, was there some exposure to a chemical that predisposed the patient to it. So that's where it starts to get muddy. Not everything that's genetic is easy to figure out the inheritance pattern for. The things that we can DNA test for now are pretty much autosomal recessive genes,” Greer said. “Are we throwing dogs out of our gene pool because they have something that's genetic and we don't have the right test for it, then we may never have a test for it or it’s not genetic or have some genetic and epigenetic and environmental component to it? As much as we think we understand this stuff, it's not easy,” Greer added. “The more we know, the less we know. As we start adding this information to our knowledge base, it's going to become evident to us that what we thought isn't really true… all information is valuable, but if you don't apply it correctly, you're going to end up bottlenecking your gene pool, as you're going to throw good dogs out.”    ]]>50545723-7f29-4284-8ee8-f37d822b05dbTue, 03 Aug 2021 09:00:00 -070029:55falsefull516 — Singleton Puppies: Whelping and Raising StrategiesSingleton Puppies: Whelping and Raising Strategies For Valentine’s Day, Susan Patterson, moderator of the fabulous Canine, Fertility, Reproduction and Neonatal Issues Facebook group (invite required) and host Laura Reeves team up to talk about the dreaded Singleton… puppy that is. Susan and Laura discuss proper progesterone timing to help avoid a singleton litter in the first place, planning and managing a c-section if needed.

   One is the Lonliest Number…

   Singleton puppies present unique challenges for whelping and raising successfully. In large breed dogs, frequently the single puppy in utero does not release sufficient hormones to trigger the dam to start labor. “This is again where progesterone timing, knowing your ovulation date, is important,” Susan said. “What most people fail to account for is placentas have an expiration date. You can't go past that date or you will lose your puppy, there's just no ifs, ands, or buts, and possibly your bitch. So knowing when the bitch is due is critical. “Once you know when she's due, you can be watching for labor to commence. I would strongly suggest you plan a C-section as a back-up, knowing you’re probably going to use it, but plan it as a backup. Give your bitch the chance to whelp naturally and then pull the trigger. "The other thing, especially a day before you think you're gonna have to pull the trigger, you're gonna wanna be monitoring heartbeats. You don't want your Singleton puppy to go into distress. If (the heartbeat) drops below 180 or 170 (bpm) I start getting really concerned.”

   Management is job #1

   Without the interaction of littermates, the singleton can overeat, under-exercise and may well need additional guidance to understand proper dog interactions. Susan and Laura discuss monitoring the bitch for mastitis and the puppy to avoid gaining too much weight too quickly. “The first thing I would do, is the minute she comes out of anesthesia is I would put her on sunflower lecithin,” Susan noted. “What the sunflower lecithin does, is it makes the milk less sticky, thins it down slightly, so that it passes through the memory glands much easier … it's basically one teaspoon of sunflower lecithin for every 20 pounds of dog. “A swimmer puppy is, it's not just a condition of obesity, but that is definitely a contributing factor. So what you wanna do is you wanna have in your whelping box lots of hills and valleys. You wanna use pool noodles, rolled up bathroom rugs, anything to make that puppy work for dinner.” Socializing singletons in other litters if possible and absolutely with safe adult dogs enables them to learn the critical life skill of appropriate interaction with other dogs as well as people. Tune in for more of this great conversation.]]>Singleton Puppies: Whelping and Raising Strategies For Valentine’s Day, Susan Patterson, moderator of the fabulous Canine, Fertility, Reproduction and Neonatal Issues Facebook group (invite required) and host Laura Reeves team up to talk about the dreaded Singleton… puppy that is. Susan and Laura discuss proper progesterone timing to help avoid a singleton litter in the first place, planning and managing a c-section if needed.

   One is the Lonliest Number…

   Singleton puppies present unique challenges for whelping and raising successfully. In large breed dogs, frequently the single puppy in utero does not release sufficient hormones to trigger the dam to start labor. “This is again where progesterone timing, knowing your ovulation date, is important,” Susan said. “What most people fail to account for is placentas have an expiration date. You can't go past that date or you will lose your puppy, there's just no ifs, ands, or buts, and possibly your bitch. So knowing when the bitch is due is critical. “Once you know when she's due, you can be watching for labor to commence. I would strongly suggest you plan a C-section as a back-up, knowing you’re probably going to use it, but plan it as a backup. Give your bitch the chance to whelp naturally and then pull the trigger. "The other thing, especially a day before you think you're gonna have to pull the trigger, you're gonna wanna be monitoring heartbeats. You don't want your Singleton puppy to go into distress. If (the heartbeat) drops below 180 or 170 (bpm) I start getting really concerned.”

   Management is job #1

   Without the interaction of littermates, the singleton can overeat, under-exercise and may well need additional guidance to understand proper dog interactions. Susan and Laura discuss monitoring the bitch for mastitis and the puppy to avoid gaining too much weight too quickly. “The first thing I would do, is the minute she comes out of anesthesia is I would put her on sunflower lecithin,” Susan noted. “What the sunflower lecithin does, is it makes the milk less sticky, thins it down slightly, so that it passes through the memory glands much easier … it's basically one teaspoon of sunflower lecithin for every 20 pounds of dog. “A swimmer puppy is, it's not just a condition of obesity, but that is definitely a contributing factor. So what you wanna do is you wanna have in your whelping box lots of hills and valleys. You wanna use pool noodles, rolled up bathroom rugs, anything to make that puppy work for dinner.” Socializing singletons in other litters if possible and absolutely with safe adult dogs enables them to learn the critical life skill of appropriate interaction with other dogs as well as people. Tune in for more of this great conversation.]]>254639b9-2bef-4ef4-bf00-898b25c284bdMon, 14 Feb 2022 09:00:00 -070029:30falsefull523 – Special Reproductive Considerations for Rare BreedsSpecial Reproductive Considerations for Rare Breeds Dr. Marty Greer, DVM joins host Laura Reeves to discuss some of the special reproductive considerations for rare breeds. Rare dog breeds offer specific challenges for their breeders including health concerns, limited gene pools, DNA testing mazes and infertility issues.

   April is Rare Breeds month here at Pure Dog Talk! Watch for upcoming episodes with deep dives into Norrbottenspets, Chinooks and Nederlandse Kooikerhondje.

   “Pick one thing a year that you're going to try to work through in your breed,” Greer said, quoting from Dr. Ian Dunbar. “Pick what your priorities are. You have to pick. I can't pick for you. You know your breed. You know your genes. At some point we have to really say this is what I'm going to focus on, this is what I'm going to try to breed for or away from, and try to take those incremental steps. You're not gonna get it all in one generation.”

   How do you eat an elephant...

   “I think that's so important in the rare breed community to emphasize the you eat the elephant one bite at a time,” Reeves added. “It's really important to recognize that and not get discouraged because you're trying to swallow a whole elephant. Be committed to that long term process. From a rare breed perspective, that's one of the things I always emphasize, this is not a fly by night operation. It’s a process, something you're going to dedicate your entire life to.” “You work with other people and you're honest with other people,” Greer emphasized. “So we need to stop hiding things. We need to stop backbiting. We need to stop saying bad things about other people and we need to be really honest with each other and with ourselves so that when you look in the mirror you can say ‘I'm breeding the best dog that I possibly can.’

   Full disclosure

   “Nobody goes out and deliberately breeds a bad dog but there's so many aspects to how you have to make these decisions. Without full disclosure you really can't get there. So we have to be honest with each other. No breeder deliberately produced a dog with a genetic problem, but you've got to tell people if you have it because if you double up on it you're going to have surprises in your litter. “Longevity, I think, is seriously under-appreciated. I love breeding females that can still have puppies when they're older. I love breeding old males that still produce sperm. Now that doesn't mean you can't freeze semen when he's young, and you should because then you'll have access to him, but if he lives to be 16 years old and he was fertile till he was 14, you rock man! That means he didn't die of orthopedic disease, he didn't die of bad temperament, he didn't die because he ran away from home and got hit by a car. He didn't die from 1,000 things that he could have died from.

   Longevity for the win

   “Don't forget about those old guys and their genetics. Go back to the old publications of your breed. Go back to the old pedigrees and take a look and where are those dogs and what are they doing and how long did they live and what was their lifestyle like and what did they die from.” Greer also strongly recommends purchasing Dr. Jerold Bell, DVM’s book for learning more information on genetic diseases in specific breeds.]]>Special Reproductive Considerations for Rare Breeds Dr. Marty Greer, DVM joins host Laura Reeves to discuss some of the special reproductive considerations for rare breeds. Rare dog breeds offer specific challenges for their breeders including health concerns, limited gene pools, DNA testing mazes and infertility issues.

   April is Rare Breeds month here at Pure Dog Talk! Watch for upcoming episodes with deep dives into Norrbottenspets, Chinooks and Nederlandse Kooikerhondje.

   “Pick one thing a year that you're going to try to work through in your breed,” Greer said, quoting from Dr. Ian Dunbar. “Pick what your priorities are. You have to pick. I can't pick for you. You know your breed. You know your genes. At some point we have to really say this is what I'm going to focus on, this is what I'm going to try to breed for or away from, and try to take those incremental steps. You're not gonna get it all in one generation.”

   How do you eat an elephant...

   “I think that's so important in the rare breed community to emphasize the you eat the elephant one bite at a time,” Reeves added. “It's really important to recognize that and not get discouraged because you're trying to swallow a whole elephant. Be committed to that long term process. From a rare breed perspective, that's one of the things I always emphasize, this is not a fly by night operation. It’s a process, something you're going to dedicate your entire life to.” “You work with other people and you're honest with other people,” Greer emphasized. “So we need to stop hiding things. We need to stop backbiting. We need to stop saying bad things about other people and we need to be really honest with each other and with ourselves so that when you look in the mirror you can say ‘I'm breeding the best dog that I possibly can.’

   Full disclosure

   “Nobody goes out and deliberately breeds a bad dog but there's so many aspects to how you have to make these decisions. Without full disclosure you really can't get there. So we have to be honest with each other. No breeder deliberately produced a dog with a genetic problem, but you've got to tell people if you have it because if you double up on it you're going to have surprises in your litter. “Longevity, I think, is seriously under-appreciated. I love breeding females that can still have puppies when they're older. I love breeding old males that still produce sperm. Now that doesn't mean you can't freeze semen when he's young, and you should because then you'll have access to him, but if he lives to be 16 years old and he was fertile till he was 14, you rock man! That means he didn't die of orthopedic disease, he didn't die of bad temperament, he didn't die because he ran away from home and got hit by a car. He didn't die from 1,000 things that he could have died from.

   Longevity for the win

   “Don't forget about those old guys and their genetics. Go back to the old publications of your breed. Go back to the old pedigrees and take a look and where are those dogs and what are they doing and how long did they live and what was their lifestyle like and what did they die from.” Greer also strongly recommends purchasing Dr. Jerold Bell, DVM’s book for learning more information on genetic diseases in specific breeds.]]>e61c07b0-304f-4381-8802-dbbb591dd46aMon, 04 Apr 2022 09:00:00 -070029:45falsefull527 – Pre-Breeding Veterinary Exams and Why They MatterPre-Breeding Veterinary Exams and Why They Matter Dr. Marty Greer, DVM joins host Laura Reeves to discuss pre-breeding veterinary exams for female dogs and why they matter. Among the important clinical observations may be vaginal strictures. “I think stricture kind of lumps together a couple of different disorders that probably shouldn't really be categorized together,” Greer said. “But we don't know where else to put them. So, a stricture is, by definition, the inability of the vaginal vault or vaginal opening to stretch adequately to allow either a natural mating with a tie and a penis or the vaginal delivery of puppies. “So what does that really mean? That means that when we do a vaginal exam, for whatever reason the normal amount of space isn't there. It can be that the lips of the vulva, the skin part are really tight and you just can't adequately get them to stretch. It can mean that there's a circumferentially stricture meaning all the way around, it's just not stretchy enough once you get into the vaginal vault. It can mean that there is a column of tissue, a septum, down the middle, usually it runs from top to bottom, so we can reach in sometimes and feel these when we're doing our pre breeding exams. “If you do find one, you may decide that you're not going to do the breeding at that point. You may see if it's something that's surgically correctable. Some of them are and frankly some of them aren't and until you're in that situation it can be really hard to know. Then we have to make a decision, do we put the semen in? Do we plan a C-section? Do we see what's going to happen…” Greer noted that brucellosis tests are currently being sent to outside diagnostic labs, so results are taking much longer to return. Regular testing of breeding animals should take place at least every 6 months, she added. Listen in for Greer’s recommendations about additional complications that may hinder natural matings, including size mismatches, lack of libido or pain in the stud dog and poor ovulation timing.  ]]>Pre-Breeding Veterinary Exams and Why They Matter Dr. Marty Greer, DVM joins host Laura Reeves to discuss pre-breeding veterinary exams for female dogs and why they matter. Among the important clinical observations may be vaginal strictures. “I think stricture kind of lumps together a couple of different disorders that probably shouldn't really be categorized together,” Greer said. “But we don't know where else to put them. So, a stricture is, by definition, the inability of the vaginal vault or vaginal opening to stretch adequately to allow either a natural mating with a tie and a penis or the vaginal delivery of puppies. “So what does that really mean? That means that when we do a vaginal exam, for whatever reason the normal amount of space isn't there. It can be that the lips of the vulva, the skin part are really tight and you just can't adequately get them to stretch. It can mean that there's a circumferentially stricture meaning all the way around, it's just not stretchy enough once you get into the vaginal vault. It can mean that there is a column of tissue, a septum, down the middle, usually it runs from top to bottom, so we can reach in sometimes and feel these when we're doing our pre breeding exams. “If you do find one, you may decide that you're not going to do the breeding at that point. You may see if it's something that's surgically correctable. Some of them are and frankly some of them aren't and until you're in that situation it can be really hard to know. Then we have to make a decision, do we put the semen in? Do we plan a C-section? Do we see what's going to happen…” Greer noted that brucellosis tests are currently being sent to outside diagnostic labs, so results are taking much longer to return. Regular testing of breeding animals should take place at least every 6 months, she added. Listen in for Greer’s recommendations about additional complications that may hinder natural matings, including size mismatches, lack of libido or pain in the stud dog and poor ovulation timing.  ]]>e8797eca-40ac-4dc5-9e65-f1492a35194fMon, 02 May 2022 09:00:00 -070033:52falsefull540 — Dr. Marty Greer’s Deep Dive on Umbilical HerniasUmbilical Hernias – What are they and what does this mean? Dr. Marty Greer, DVM shares a deep dive into the question of hernias, different types, and whether dogs with hernias should be included in breeding programs. By Dr. Marty Greer, DVM An umbilical hernia is a weakness or opening in the muscle wall of the abdomen where the umbilical blood vessels pass prior to birth. Frequently abdominal fat is in the hernia but the skin is intact across the hernia, so there are no exposed abdominal organs. The fat may be omentum or part of the falciform ligament. There are several disorders seen in mammals that are similar to an umbilical hernia and may add confusion to the discussion.

   Other types of hernias

   Gastroschisis is when a puppy’s intestines protrude outside abdomen through an opening off to the right side of the belly button/umbilicus with a bridge of skin between the umbilicus and defect. The intestines and abdominal contents are not covered by a protective membrane. Because the intestines are not covered by a sac, they can be damaged by exposure to amniotic fluid in utero, which causes inflammation and irritation of the intestine.  This can result in complications such as problems with movements of the intestines, scar tissue, and intestinal obstruction. It is also difficult to keep the intestines and other organs sterile, moist, contained, and undamaged during birth and handling shortly after birth. Omphalocele occurs when the newborn pup’s intestines, liver or other organs protrude outside the abdomen though the umbilicus. Embryologically, as the puppy develops during the first trimmest of pregnancy, the intestines get longer and push out from the belly into the umbilical cord. The intestines normally go back into the belly. If this does not happen, an omphalocele occurs. The omphalocele can be small, with only some of the intestines outside of the belly, or it can be large, with many organs outside of the belly. In this situation, the organs are covered with a thin, transparent sac of peritoneal tissue. There are often other associated birth defects including heart and kidney defects. Additionally, the abdominal cavity may not be large enough to accommodate the organs when replacing them surgically. In humans, it is associated with heart and neural tube defects as well as other genetic syndromes. An omphalocele is worse than gastroschisis – it has more associated anomalies and a higher rate of mortality than gastroschisis. When a puppy is born with intestines exposed, whether an omphalocele or gastroschisis, immediate surgery is necessary. If the pup is born at the veterinary hospital, there is a better chance of successful interventional surgery. However, despite the best efforts of the veterinary team, some pups cannot or should not be saved. Surgery includes protecting the organs while transporting and preparing for surgery, keeping more intestines from pushing out of the abdominal cavity while handling, keeping the intestines sterile, and protected from damage, anesthesia of the newborn pup, enlarging the abdominal wall defect to reposition organs into the abdominal cavity, appropriate suture techniques, post op antibiotics, and post op pain medications. For most pups born at home, this cannot be accomplished. For some pups born by c-section, this can be accomplished with quick thinking veterinary team members, a skilled surgeon, owners willing to put forth the money and effort, no additional genetic disorders, and a lot of luck. Other hernias seen in humans and animals include inguinal hernias (in the groin region), diaphragmatic hernias, peritoneal-pericardia diaphragmatic hernias (PPHD) and traumatic hernias anywhere on the body cavity. Inguinal hernias are second to umbilical hernias in frequency. An open thoracic wall rarely occurs. In this case, the pup can rarely be saved as there is usually inadequate chest wall (ribs and skin) to close. Additionally, surgical intervention is too slow to keep the pup breathing during intervention. Other midline defects also include cleft palate, cleft lip, open thoracic wall, open fontanelle and spina bifida.

   Back to umbilical hernias

   It is generally considered that umbilical hernias have a genetic basis. Despite the wish that umbilical hernias are caused by trauma to the umbilical stump at birth, this is rarely the case.  Veterinary staff is very careful to tie and handle umbilical cords carefully. Even when a bitch is aggressive while chewing the cords, they do not result in hernias. There are some veterinary experts who recommend avoiding breeding all dogs umbilical hernias, stating that these dogs when bred will have progressive severity, resulting in gastroschisis and omphalocele. Other veterinary experts do not believe this is the case. Should you allow a dog with an umbilical hernia to be used in a breeding program? That depends on several factors. There is no perfect dog. In my opinion, we need to rate genetic and congenital disorders based on severity. I rate disorders on a scale of one through three. To me, level one is a minor disorder that is easy to live with or easy to correct. This includes umbilical hernias, distichia (extra eyelashes), entropion (rolled in eyelids), and retained testicle(s). Level two are disorders requiring long-term management but that are not life-threatening or life-altering. This includes hypothyroidism, anxiety, and allergies. These require life-long medication and management but other than the associated costs, do not seriously impact the dog’s quality or quantity of life. Level three includes life-threatening, life-altering, or life-shortening disorders. This includes bad temperament, seizures, orthopedic disorders (hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, cruciate disease) and at some point cancers (when we can DNA test for these). These cancers will include lymphosarcoma, malignant histiocytosis, hemangiosarcoma, and osteosarcoma. Many people make excuses for bad temperament, but when a dog is a threat to humans, I am of the opinion that these dogs should never be in a breeding program. The biggest problem with the level one disorders are that veterinarians and breeders can detect these at an early age. As a result, these pups are booted out of a breeding program before other disorders can be detected and eliminated. In many cases, by the time level two and three disorders are found in a dog or line of dogs, it is too late – they have already produced pups. Once we have better DNA tests, we can do a better job of eliminating some of these disorders. Another concern many veterinarians have is the risk of abdominal organ strangulation and/or entrapment if the umbilical hernia is left unmanaged surgically. According to the unpublished literature, this condition is rare and is easily managed if it becomes a concern. The AKC and AVMA allow and encourage the surgical correction of umbilical hernias should this be medically indicated. If a pup or pups are produced that do have umbilical hernias, the recommendation is to correct them surgically if they don’t close on their own (many do) and at the time of spaying or neutering if they don’t close. In summary, umbilical hernias are genetic disorders in most breeds and most cases. However, they can easily be corrected surgically if indicated. It is exceptionally rare to need to use mesh or other complex surgical techniques to close the vast majority of umbilical hernias.  This single genetic condition should not be a reason to eliminate mildly affected dogs from a breeding program if the dog has other qualities that merit the inclusion in a program.]]>Umbilical Hernias – What are they and what does this mean? Dr. Marty Greer, DVM shares a deep dive into the question of hernias, different types, and whether dogs with hernias should be included in breeding programs. By Dr. Marty Greer, DVM An umbilical hernia is a weakness or opening in the muscle wall of the abdomen where the umbilical blood vessels pass prior to birth. Frequently abdominal fat is in the hernia but the skin is intact across the hernia, so there are no exposed abdominal organs. The fat may be omentum or part of the falciform ligament. There are several disorders seen in mammals that are similar to an umbilical hernia and may add confusion to the discussion.

   Other types of hernias

   Gastroschisis is when a puppy’s intestines protrude outside abdomen through an opening off to the right side of the belly button/umbilicus with a bridge of skin between the umbilicus and defect. The intestines and abdominal contents are not covered by a protective membrane. Because the intestines are not covered by a sac, they can be damaged by exposure to amniotic fluid in utero, which causes inflammation and irritation of the intestine.  This can result in complications such as problems with movements of the intestines, scar tissue, and intestinal obstruction. It is also difficult to keep the intestines and other organs sterile, moist, contained, and undamaged during birth and handling shortly after birth. Omphalocele occurs when the newborn pup’s intestines, liver or other organs protrude outside the abdomen though the umbilicus. Embryologically, as the puppy develops during the first trimmest of pregnancy, the intestines get longer and push out from the belly into the umbilical cord. The intestines normally go back into the belly. If this does not happen, an omphalocele occurs. The omphalocele can be small, with only some of the intestines outside of the belly, or it can be large, with many organs outside of the belly. In this situation, the organs are covered with a thin, transparent sac of peritoneal tissue. There are often other associated birth defects including heart and kidney defects. Additionally, the abdominal cavity may not be large enough to accommodate the organs when replacing them surgically. In humans, it is associated with heart and neural tube defects as well as other genetic syndromes. An omphalocele is worse than gastroschisis – it has more associated anomalies and a higher rate of mortality than gastroschisis. When a puppy is born with intestines exposed, whether an omphalocele or gastroschisis, immediate surgery is necessary. If the pup is born at the veterinary hospital, there is a better chance of successful interventional surgery. However, despite the best efforts of the veterinary team, some pups cannot or should not be saved. Surgery includes protecting the organs while transporting and preparing for surgery, keeping more intestines from pushing out of the abdominal cavity while handling, keeping the intestines sterile, and protected from damage, anesthesia of the newborn pup, enlarging the abdominal wall defect to reposition organs into the abdominal cavity, appropriate suture techniques, post op antibiotics, and post op pain medications. For most pups born at home, this cannot be accomplished. For some pups born by c-section, this can be accomplished with quick thinking veterinary team members, a skilled surgeon, owners willing to put forth the money and effort, no additional genetic disorders, and a lot of luck. Other hernias seen in humans and animals include inguinal hernias (in the groin region), diaphragmatic hernias, peritoneal-pericardia diaphragmatic hernias (PPHD) and traumatic hernias anywhere on the body cavity. Inguinal hernias are second to umbilical hernias in frequency. An open thoracic wall rarely occurs. In this case, the pup can rarely be saved as there is usually inadequate chest wall (ribs and skin) to close. Additionally, surgical intervention is too slow to keep the pup breathing during intervention. Other midline defects also include cleft palate, cleft lip, open thoracic wall, open fontanelle and spina bifida.

   Back to umbilical hernias

   It is generally considered that umbilical hernias have a genetic basis. Despite the wish that umbilical hernias are caused by trauma to the umbilical stump at birth, this is rarely the case.  Veterinary staff is very careful to tie and handle umbilical cords carefully. Even when a bitch is aggressive while chewing the cords, they do not result in hernias. There are some veterinary experts who recommend avoiding breeding all dogs umbilical hernias, stating that these dogs when bred will have progressive severity, resulting in gastroschisis and omphalocele. Other veterinary experts do not believe this is the case. Should you allow a dog with an umbilical hernia to be used in a breeding program? That depends on several factors. There is no perfect dog. In my opinion, we need to rate genetic and congenital disorders based on severity. I rate disorders on a scale of one through three. To me, level one is a minor disorder that is easy to live with or easy to correct. This includes umbilical hernias, distichia (extra eyelashes), entropion (rolled in eyelids), and retained testicle(s). Level two are disorders requiring long-term management but that are not life-threatening or life-altering. This includes hypothyroidism, anxiety, and allergies. These require life-long medication and management but other than the associated costs, do not seriously impact the dog’s quality or quantity of life. Level three includes life-threatening, life-altering, or life-shortening disorders. This includes bad temperament, seizures, orthopedic disorders (hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, cruciate disease) and at some point cancers (when we can DNA test for these). These cancers will include lymphosarcoma, malignant histiocytosis, hemangiosarcoma, and osteosarcoma. Many people make excuses for bad temperament, but when a dog is a threat to humans, I am of the opinion that these dogs should never be in a breeding program. The biggest problem with the level one disorders are that veterinarians and breeders can detect these at an early age. As a result, these pups are booted out of a breeding program before other disorders can be detected and eliminated. In many cases, by the time level two and three disorders are found in a dog or line of dogs, it is too late – they have already produced pups. Once we have better DNA tests, we can do a better job of eliminating some of these disorders. Another concern many veterinarians have is the risk of abdominal organ strangulation and/or entrapment if the umbilical hernia is left unmanaged surgically. According to the unpublished literature, this condition is rare and is easily managed if it becomes a concern. The AKC and AVMA allow and encourage the surgical correction of umbilical hernias should this be medically indicated. If a pup or pups are produced that do have umbilical hernias, the recommendation is to correct them surgically if they don’t close on their own (many do) and at the time of spaying or neutering if they don’t close. In summary, umbilical hernias are genetic disorders in most breeds and most cases. However, they can easily be corrected surgically if indicated. It is exceptionally rare to need to use mesh or other complex surgical techniques to close the vast majority of umbilical hernias.  This single genetic condition should not be a reason to eliminate mildly affected dogs from a breeding program if the dog has other qualities that merit the inclusion in a program.]]>ae6562aa-eb91-4bf7-8e76-f8b45efecfadMon, 01 Aug 2022 09:00:00 -070033:23falsefull547 – Canine Herpes Virus: Early Detection Saves PuppiesCanine Herpes Virus: Early Detection Saves Puppies Alaskan Malamute breeder Wendy Corr joins host Laura Reeves to share her story of early detection of Canine Herpes Virus in her pregnant bitch and how she managed the situation to produce healthy puppies. This is the first of a two-part series which also includes an interview with Corr’s lead veterinarian. [caption id="attachment_10885" align="alignleft" width="286"] November 2021 4-6 Beginner Puppy. Later, breeder, owner, handler Wendy Corr related his story, told here.[/caption] Corr said she had never really thought about CHV much, as a long-time breeder, but had recently heard a presentation on the dangers of the disease to pregnant females. On a whim, she asked her veterinarian, Dr. Bruce Christensen, to pull blood a CHV titer test on her confirmed pregnant 3-year-old Malamute. She was shocked to hear back a couple weeks later that the bitch had titer levels off the charts. At the direction of Dr. Christensen and his team at Kokopelli Assisted Reproductive Canine Services in Sacramento, CA, Corr started her bitch on a course of acyclovir, a human anti-viral. Corr, who is a clinical nurse in human medicine, said she was concerned about potential side effects from the drug, which could include cleft palate, but committed to the treatment with that understanding. She also opted for a C-section, rather than a vaginal whelp, in order to limit the puppies’ exposure to the virus in the dam’s body. Primary among the handling of the four healthy puppies at birth (none with clefts) was incorporating an incubator to keep their body temperature above 99 degrees, the point at which the virus cannot replicate, for the first 2 ½ weeks. Putting the puppies on to nurse every two hours, monitoring temps and keeping mom and puppies content during that time was a daunting challenge, Corr said. “We had friends who brought us dinner,” Corr said. “We had people who offered to come in and just sit with the dog so I could sleep or take a shower or we could go grocery shopping.” The entire process took place during the height of COVID lockdowns, enhancing Corr’s challenges. Stay tuned next week for insight from Dr. Christensen directly on his experience and recommendations on the topic.  ]]>Canine Herpes Virus: Early Detection Saves Puppies Alaskan Malamute breeder Wendy Corr joins host Laura Reeves to share her story of early detection of Canine Herpes Virus in her pregnant bitch and how she managed the situation to produce healthy puppies. This is the first of a two-part series which also includes an interview with Corr’s lead veterinarian. [caption id="attachment_10885" align="alignleft" width="286"] November 2021 4-6 Beginner Puppy. Later, breeder, owner, handler Wendy Corr related his story, told here.[/caption] Corr said she had never really thought about CHV much, as a long-time breeder, but had recently heard a presentation on the dangers of the disease to pregnant females. On a whim, she asked her veterinarian, Dr. Bruce Christensen, to pull blood a CHV titer test on her confirmed pregnant 3-year-old Malamute. She was shocked to hear back a couple weeks later that the bitch had titer levels off the charts. At the direction of Dr. Christensen and his team at Kokopelli Assisted Reproductive Canine Services in Sacramento, CA, Corr started her bitch on a course of acyclovir, a human anti-viral. Corr, who is a clinical nurse in human medicine, said she was concerned about potential side effects from the drug, which could include cleft palate, but committed to the treatment with that understanding. She also opted for a C-section, rather than a vaginal whelp, in order to limit the puppies’ exposure to the virus in the dam’s body. Primary among the handling of the four healthy puppies at birth (none with clefts) was incorporating an incubator to keep their body temperature above 99 degrees, the point at which the virus cannot replicate, for the first 2 ½ weeks. Putting the puppies on to nurse every two hours, monitoring temps and keeping mom and puppies content during that time was a daunting challenge, Corr said. “We had friends who brought us dinner,” Corr said. “We had people who offered to come in and just sit with the dog so I could sleep or take a shower or we could go grocery shopping.” The entire process took place during the height of COVID lockdowns, enhancing Corr’s challenges. Stay tuned next week for insight from Dr. Christensen directly on his experience and recommendations on the topic.  ]]>9e360c9a-1c4d-4c9d-9441-16d2f5ecd4e1Mon, 19 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -070027:37falsefull548 – Canine Herpes Virus from the Veterinary PerspectiveCanine Herpes Virus from the Veterinary Perspective [caption id="attachment_10897" align="alignleft" width="253"] BRUCE W. CHRISTENSEN, DVM, MS, DACT[/caption] Dr. Bruce Christensen, DVM from Kokopelli Assisted Reproductive Services, joins host Laura Reeves to talk about treating pregnant dogs and their puppies for Canine Herpes Virus. Last week we heard from Alaskan Malamute breeder Wendy Korr on her experience with this potentially devastating disease in her litter. Today we are joined by the veterinarian who led the treatment of dam and puppies with a refresher course on CHV. “Herpes virus is not something that we typically screen for on a routine basis with our breeding bitches,” Christensen said. “It could be argued that maybe we should, but I guess in our conversation today we can probably talk about why that is or isn't so. “The bottom line is that it's a pretty common virus. And so most bitches, and stud dogs, have been exposed to it and have it essentially, although it's not actively causing disease in most of them. However, the dangerous thing is if a bitch hasn't been exposed to herpes virus and then she's initially exposed to it while she's pregnant, especially in that last half of gestation. “That would be the most dangerous time because the first time that an animal is exposed to herpes virus, they have the strongest immune response and the least prepared immune response, so the virus has more of a head start. Since the body hasn't seen it before, there aren't any lingering antibodies to recognize the virus and mount a quicker subsequent response. So the initial response is a little slower at coming and gives the virus more time to do damage. And that damage during the second-half of pregnancy will involve the fetuses and potentially much more likely infect them. “If a bitch has been exposed before, then she'll have antibodies and she's already got the virus in her, just in the latent state. And if it reproduces or comes back out, her immune system should be adequate enough to protect the puppies that are in utero. So if you find that she's naive, in other words that she has not been exposed to herpes virus, then you need to be hyper vigilant about keeping her away from other dogs throughout the rest of her pregnancy because you don't want her to be exposed for the first time during her pregnancy. “So that dog needs to be on real lockdown and isolation from any outside dogs. If you have dogs in your household that will have contact with her 'cause it just be too difficult to keep them apart, they need to be tested. And if they're negative, then they could continue to have contact with her and no other dogs. If they're positive, then you probably wanna temporarily rehome them to keep them away from her during that pregnancy so that they don't potentially spread it to her while she's pregnant. “Most species have their own herpes viruses and they're not communicable between species. We all know coronavirus jumps between species because of what the world's gone through in the last couple years, right? Herpes virus doesn't do that. It pretty much stays true to the species it's evolved with. “But once you get a herpes infection, the viruses pretty much behave the same. They go into your cells and they stay in your cells for your lifetime. Now they're usually quiet and just sit there, not replicating, just quiet inside the cells. Usually, it's in times of stress that they are triggered. Everybody listening to this podcast is going to be familiar with herpes virus in people, ‘Damn it, I got a cold sore.’ So that's because the virus. Once you've got it, it's in your body forever and during times of stress it'll come out and cause those annoying problems. In the dog, it's the same. “Once a dog becomes exposed to herpes virus, it's in the dog for life, but most of the time it's just quiet inside the cells. During times of stress, it can come back out. And interestingly, in dogs, the clinical signs usually are not necessarily like cold sores, but not too far off. They give blister-like lesions on mucosal surfaces, so it's similar to a cold sore, but you'll see these little blisters on their gums or if they're male dog on their prepuce, if they're female on their vaginal mucosa, and you'll see that and that's it. They don't cause anything except maybe some minor discomfort. But they are at that point shedding, and they can pass it quite easily from one dog to another. “The virus is really weak outside the body, so it's not like it's gonna live very long in a kennel or in a backyard. Any kind of cleaning product will kill it. Sunlight is gonna kill it. It doesn't live long like other viruses can in the environment. But passing from dog to dog, you know, they meet each other, they lick each other, they smell each other. They can pass it quite easily that way. And once you've got it, you got it. “One of the major things that keeps herpes virus at bay and just causing these little blister-like lesions and not more is that it doesn't replicate very well at normal body temperature. So for a dog that's 99 to 101-ish degrees Fahrenheit and it doesn't replicate well at that temperature. But if it gets below 97, then now it can replicate pretty fast and furious. In those puppies that are colder than that, if their environment doesn't keep them warm up in the 99 plus range, then it will do more than blisters. It will attack their kidneys, it will attack their liver, it will attack their lungs. It'll attack all the major organs of their body and cause very rapid death within a couple days. “Whether they're born by C-section or natural, one of the most important things you can do for the puppies is to keep them warm. Remember that their little internal thermostats don't start fully functioning until they're somewhere between two and three weeks of age. So up until that point they're really like little lizards, crawling around and relying on their environment to keep them warm. So, the mother does a good job at that, but she's not always there so you have to keep the nesting area warm.”  ]]>Canine Herpes Virus from the Veterinary Perspective [caption id="attachment_10897" align="alignleft" width="253"] BRUCE W. CHRISTENSEN, DVM, MS, DACT[/caption] Dr. Bruce Christensen, DVM from Kokopelli Assisted Reproductive Services, joins host Laura Reeves to talk about treating pregnant dogs and their puppies for Canine Herpes Virus. Last week we heard from Alaskan Malamute breeder Wendy Korr on her experience with this potentially devastating disease in her litter. Today we are joined by the veterinarian who led the treatment of dam and puppies with a refresher course on CHV. “Herpes virus is not something that we typically screen for on a routine basis with our breeding bitches,” Christensen said. “It could be argued that maybe we should, but I guess in our conversation today we can probably talk about why that is or isn't so. “The bottom line is that it's a pretty common virus. And so most bitches, and stud dogs, have been exposed to it and have it essentially, although it's not actively causing disease in most of them. However, the dangerous thing is if a bitch hasn't been exposed to herpes virus and then she's initially exposed to it while she's pregnant, especially in that last half of gestation. “That would be the most dangerous time because the first time that an animal is exposed to herpes virus, they have the strongest immune response and the least prepared immune response, so the virus has more of a head start. Since the body hasn't seen it before, there aren't any lingering antibodies to recognize the virus and mount a quicker subsequent response. So the initial response is a little slower at coming and gives the virus more time to do damage. And that damage during the second-half of pregnancy will involve the fetuses and potentially much more likely infect them. “If a bitch has been exposed before, then she'll have antibodies and she's already got the virus in her, just in the latent state. And if it reproduces or comes back out, her immune system should be adequate enough to protect the puppies that are in utero. So if you find that she's naive, in other words that she has not been exposed to herpes virus, then you need to be hyper vigilant about keeping her away from other dogs throughout the rest of her pregnancy because you don't want her to be exposed for the first time during her pregnancy. “So that dog needs to be on real lockdown and isolation from any outside dogs. If you have dogs in your household that will have contact with her 'cause it just be too difficult to keep them apart, they need to be tested. And if they're negative, then they could continue to have contact with her and no other dogs. If they're positive, then you probably wanna temporarily rehome them to keep them away from her during that pregnancy so that they don't potentially spread it to her while she's pregnant. “Most species have their own herpes viruses and they're not communicable between species. We all know coronavirus jumps between species because of what the world's gone through in the last couple years, right? Herpes virus doesn't do that. It pretty much stays true to the species it's evolved with. “But once you get a herpes infection, the viruses pretty much behave the same. They go into your cells and they stay in your cells for your lifetime. Now they're usually quiet and just sit there, not replicating, just quiet inside the cells. Usually, it's in times of stress that they are triggered. Everybody listening to this podcast is going to be familiar with herpes virus in people, ‘Damn it, I got a cold sore.’ So that's because the virus. Once you've got it, it's in your body forever and during times of stress it'll come out and cause those annoying problems. In the dog, it's the same. “Once a dog becomes exposed to herpes virus, it's in the dog for life, but most of the time it's just quiet inside the cells. During times of stress, it can come back out. And interestingly, in dogs, the clinical signs usually are not necessarily like cold sores, but not too far off. They give blister-like lesions on mucosal surfaces, so it's similar to a cold sore, but you'll see these little blisters on their gums or if they're male dog on their prepuce, if they're female on their vaginal mucosa, and you'll see that and that's it. They don't cause anything except maybe some minor discomfort. But they are at that point shedding, and they can pass it quite easily from one dog to another. “The virus is really weak outside the body, so it's not like it's gonna live very long in a kennel or in a backyard. Any kind of cleaning product will kill it. Sunlight is gonna kill it. It doesn't live long like other viruses can in the environment. But passing from dog to dog, you know, they meet each other, they lick each other, they smell each other. They can pass it quite easily that way. And once you've got it, you got it. “One of the major things that keeps herpes virus at bay and just causing these little blister-like lesions and not more is that it doesn't replicate very well at normal body temperature. So for a dog that's 99 to 101-ish degrees Fahrenheit and it doesn't replicate well at that temperature. But if it gets below 97, then now it can replicate pretty fast and furious. In those puppies that are colder than that, if their environment doesn't keep them warm up in the 99 plus range, then it will do more than blisters. It will attack their kidneys, it will attack their liver, it will attack their lungs. It'll attack all the major organs of their body and cause very rapid death within a couple days. “Whether they're born by C-section or natural, one of the most important things you can do for the puppies is to keep them warm. Remember that their little internal thermostats don't start fully functioning until they're somewhere between two and three weeks of age. So up until that point they're really like little lizards, crawling around and relying on their environment to keep them warm. So, the mother does a good job at that, but she's not always there so you have to keep the nesting area warm.”  ]]>4af3d821-b363-4201-9d08-157038947aefMon, 26 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -070034:18falsefull