Is purchasing frozen semen and all the related medical necessities the kind of thing that if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it?

I assume the range of cost to purchase straws is very big. But having said that, what are some ball park price ranges one might expect to pay to do this? Including obvious incidentals....

I did a frozen breeding this spring. The stud fee was $100 more than if I had used fresh chilled. The shipping was about double since the container is heavier than a typical chilled box. The semen storage center charged a flat $80 rental fee for the shipper and $90 for the paperwork, liquid nitrogen and processing (handling) fee. So.... total it was about $350 more than shipped semen.

The recommendation is to use surgical insemination, so you have to add that to the bill if you don't normally use that method. If it is semen from a dog that is no longer alive, the owner might charge a premium for the limited remaining breeding units. Also, if the dog or semen has not been tested with the currently available DNA tests, you may be breeding "blind" (quite literally!). I sacrificed a straw to have some semen I own on a dog that has been dead a long time checked for PRA, etc. Some semen owners might not.

I am wondering the cost range of a surgical insemination.

It does seem like using frozen is not out of the range of possibility for those of use with moderate incomes. But like you said, I am assuming that certain stud dogs of the past carry a huge price (which is fair).

I used frozen semen from a long ago dog and we did the breeding at Clone, in essence via a catheter, so no surgery. Got 5 (all girls) I was pleased with the whole process. From start to finish the breeding cost around $2000-2200 including the stud fee.

Bonnie

Thank you Bonnie. Helps my budgeting

I am actually looking at several long gone studs. Would you do frozen on a maiden bitch ... if not, what about purchasing straws of the stud you want and having it held until you are ready?
Is that done? Thoughts please ... and THX

Bear in mind that these numbers are not up to date. This is from my record from 2005.

SEMEN $1200.00
PREP TO SHIP $125.00
TANK RENTAL – 1 WEEK $60.
FEDEX TO my vet & return $185
Storage $150
surgical insemination $445.00
Progesterone testing $400.00
TOTAL $2565

No Puppies!!! It doesn't always work folks. If you can't afford to take this sort of risk, it may not be for you.

I'm doing one this week and the container rental/prep/shipping fees ran around $400 and then the Transcervical fees and progesterones are running around $550-$600. The stud is my own so it's just what I put into it so far, ie storage and collection fees.

I used the same facility, CLONE USA in PA 3 times for frozen breedings also using 2 dogs no longer alive.

Bonnie, what you called *via catheter* is a *Trans-cervical* implant,a TC.

Clone USA, main headquarters & George Govette have 3 methods they use. The Norwegian Catheter, a Trans-Cervical AI, they also have a Fiber-Optic method and Surgical-Implant, the last they consider riskier due to anesthesia and it being a surgical procedure.

George claims the same if not better rate of pregnancy with the Norwegian-Catheter as a Surgical Insemination. He uses it for frozen breedings and also to enhance the chance of a pregnancy with fresh or chilled semen.

He does give the other options but prefers using the Norwegian Catheter. Surgical-implants are more expensive and the cost depends on who you use for it. The cost of the semen also depends on who you purchase from. Some charge $1200 and up to $2500 or more for 2 straws of semen but $2500 is not the norm . If you're being charged that much, you should check out that dog even more carefully.

There are certain dogs that are worth the higher fees and others that are not. It should depend on the amount of available semen from a special dog. Some are not as special as others.

Timing of a frozen semen breeding is essential and don't use the no.'s you normally use for a chilled or side by side fresh mating. It is a small time frame no matter what method you use, surgical-implant, Fiber-Optic or the Norwegian-Catheter. CLONE excels in timing especially if George Govette is there.

Over 14 years, I had 3 litters of 8 pups ea. done with the Norwegian-Catheter. Any progesterone levels done at CLONE were cheaper than my vet charges.

Although he is not the easiest person to work with at times, I suggest speaking to George Govette or Dr. Hutch personally before making a decision how and what you will be doing to implant frozen semen. It is worth the rides from wherever you live for CLONE or to Hutch and some of the vets on the CLONE site.

If you go to the CLONE site, there are other offices, spin-off clinics with theriogenologists or exp'd vets that practice theriogenology the same as Hutch does.

Here is an excellent article about different types of breedings done where Hutch is quoted and his CV is able to be viewed. http://wsgenetics.com/frozen_semen.html


Here are Clone offices throughout the States and abroad.
http://www.cloneusa.com/offices.html Most, but not all of those vets are excellent. Check them out first though. It could be the difference between a litter or no pups, a singleton or 7 pups.

Not to take away from George, but because he is not a veterinarian, he cannot do surgical inseminations.

Ending up with a specialty-winning Lab with all his/her clearances: priceless!

Actually, what we did was a "catheter" not a trans-cervical - I do not believe that the Norwegian catheter actually enters the uterus, but rather deposits the semen hihg up but only at the entrance to the uterus.

Having done a surgical with frozen semen on the prior litter (6 pups, 3 girls, 3 boys) I was quite impressed with Clone and with George actually.

He demanded we use Antech for the progesterone testing and when it was at a particular level he told me what time to be there the next day, and not to be late as that was the exact time to do the breeding. He has a very high pregnancy rate, higher than anyone else.

Many say he is a character and difficult to deal with but we found him charming, quite polite, rather chatty and very precise.

My girl got to rest on the way home and then she was totally normal, as opposed to the surgical where there were limitations on her for several weeks as it is a surgery, albeit a rather quick one.

One caveat, someone mentioned make sure you get all the clearances. If you are breeding to a dog that is long gone, you most likely get hips and if you get elbows you are ahead of the game. The rest you have to do yourself on your pups. It pays to do a pedigree search and you can often make a good guess at to the Optigen status of the dog, the rest, well, it is what it is.

In my frozen litter so far, where done, our tests have all come back clean, Optigen clear's, hearts clear and EIC clear (too young for OFA finals but prelims, where done, are looking good for whatever they are worth)

As for a frozen on a maiden bitch, if you want to do it there are no contraindications that I can think of to doing it - the expense is greater and you have no evidence your bitch can actually get pregnant but you will only have that once she gets pregnant anyway, so if you want that stud, and it works for you, go for it would be my advice.

Bonnie

I'm not looking to either. He's done some great breedings for a man without a medical degree of any kind.

He has vets that sign off for everything including a TC with a Norwegian-Catheter. As a long shoreman, he can't sign off on anything medical, TC's or surgicals. He has golden hands for a non-vet with great ideas and is a pain the the butt all wrapped up. Without a DVM or VMD signature he can't do anything though.

What is the difference between an regular AI where the semen is put into the uterus and the other non-surgical trans-cervical processes being described in this thread?

Just my opinion, but I'd reserve breedings using frozen for proven bitches. There's time to do a frozen breeding after you've seen whether your maiden bitch is able to conceive or not, how she produces, etc.