Assessing the quality of frozen semen

Canine Semen Bank-Blendivet method

Basis for the quality assessment:

• An insemination dose of 100 to 150 million living spermatozoa gives a conception rate of 75% or more, depending on the health of the bitch, timing a site of insemination in the genitals of the bitch.
  (Linde-Forsberg C, Forsberg M: Fertility in dogs in relation to semen quality and the time and site of insemination with fresh and frozen semen. J Reprod Fertil Suppl 39:299-310, 1989; Nothling JO, Gerstenberg C, Volkmann DH: Semen quality after thawing: Correlation with fertility and fresh semen quality in dogs. J Reprod Fertil Suppl 51: 109-116, 1997).
• A pregnancy rate of 81.5% can be achieved by the insemination of at least 250 million normal spermatozoa during the fertile period.
  (Mickelsen WD, Memon MA, Anderson PB et al.: The relationship of semen quality to pregnancy rate and litter size following artificial insemination in the bitch. Theriogenology 39:553-560, 1993)