I grew up showing dogs in Jr's and spent the last 20+ years raising my children always with a lab in the family. Four years ago I bought a bitch who grew up very nicely, finished her championship easily, has all her clearances and a WC. I'm planning on breeding her next season but things have changed SO much. I'll be shipping semen which was unheard of years ago - back in the day, we flew or drove the bitch to the stud dog :-) Here are my questions - What kind of progesterone testing is everyone using. If I choose to breed her using Frozen semen, the stud dog owner will ship it to where ever I want - how to find out where I should have it mailed to? I live in a small town outside of Durham NC - my vet is a country vet and I'm not really confident about his knowledge on this subject..... I don't want to call every vet in the yellow pages and take a chance. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Your first show dog and she "finished easily"? I'm jealous.

I'm trying to figure out why you wouldn't privately ask the breeder of this special girl, instead of coming on a blog of unknown, anonymous, posters about how you should proceed. Your comment, "but things have changed SO much", and "which was unheard of years ago" leads me to understand that you were active many, many, years ago, but have no understanding of today's breeding reality.

Perhaps you would be better off not breeding your girl, and simply purchasing another pup from the wonderful breeder who sold this girl to you... The breeder probably still has dogs related to your girl, so you could capture all the wonderful things this girl brought to your life.

you need to find a repro specialist, and have a surgical or trans cervical insemination done. the semen bank who has the frozen, should ship to the vet doing the surgery...they should be set up for this.
progesterone by blood samples is most reliable, your repro vet will advise you, and will want to interpret the results to time the procedure.best of luck for a wonderful litter!

I'm hoping your comment wasn't sarcastic and don't be jealous - she wasn't my first show dog, grew up in Jr's, mom had show dogs and over the years as my kids grew always had a show bred Lab as part of the family - This girl was "the one" that worked out It didn't matter that the others weren't showable or breedable because they were part of our family. Been to the school of "hard knocks" a few times. It's been so long since I've bred a litter and every thing has changed and I'm needing some advice!

My repro vet suggests that I never breed a maiden bitch to any frozen semen. That means she should have a litter before ever going to the expense of using frozen semen. He makes alot of sense.

Probably your best move would be to join the RDLRC. There are lots of great people, experienced with the ins and outs of breeding in that club. They could tell you the best repro vets in the area. They could also fill you in on current breeding practices. Good luck!!!!!

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My girl's breeder died 3 years ago. And yes, I was quite active 20+ years ago, bred 6 champion Labradors, gained championships on 4 other Labradors bought as puppies (most of which had obedience or working titles and had all clearances possible) and 2 Champion Cavaliers. I've spent the last 20+ years concentrating on my family with a show dog in the mix.... why would like I to breed my girl? Because she goes back to my old lines and is worthy in my opinion, several judges opinion and has all her clearances. I would like to keep a couple to grow on and show myself? Now that my kids are grown and gone, I would like to get back into a hobby that has always been a passion for me. What is wrong with that?

I don't know if I should cry or laugh at your post. Did you help the OP in any way????

Katherine Settle, DVM is very good in Sanford, not that far from you. Sanford Animal Hospital. www.sanfordah.com
Good luck.

First off, I wouldn't waste my money on breeding a maiden bitch with frozen. Why? You have no idea how she will produce. Sure, each breeding is a gamble, but why gamble away so much before knowing if she'll carry a litter, deliver naturally, etc.

AI and shipping is fine. Even if you don't find a repro (I don't use one, I use my regular vet), you should be able to find a vet that offers progesterone tests and insemination. I will leave it to you to find out about progesterone #'s and when you test and what to look for, but your stud owner should be able to fedex the semen to your chosen vet for insemination on the days you need it there.

It's not that hard.

Do you have any friends in any breeds around you that you can ask for help? I have always done one vet AI and then had a long time breeder friend do the 2nd for me. We've always had pups.

And just make sure you have a vet that can help with emergency whelping or know where your E-vet is located.

see my name

please do not be obtuse. This gal asked a legitimate questions. Back *in the day* none of us had the knowledge that is available today. We always shipped our bitches to the boys and no one knew how to do AI’s. I started out collecting in a Dixie Cup and doing the AI’s with Aquarium tubing. ALLOT has changed, and if this forum is not the place for people to come to in order to ask for help, then it isn’t serving it’s purpose. We ALL learned together, and we all gladly shared our knowledge with others.

PLEASE BE NICE. (this is directed to the person with the snarky post)

-Jill

To answer the post about not breeding a maiden bitch with Frozen semen- hogwash!!!

I've done 2 frozen surgical insemninations on maiden bitches and got just what I thought my bitches would produce. In one case I was only going to get 1 litter out of my girl so I damned well made it what I wanted and ended up with 11 puppies,9 survived whelping and I kept 3. The other had a complication during delivery, though her uterus was able to be repaired, due to the direction of the tear I chose not to risk breeding her again.

I've had a normal sized litter and a very large litter on my maidens. (2 of my frozen breedings have actually been the largest at 11 and 12 puppies)

If that dog that best suites your bitch just happens to be from a frozen breeding then go for it. Anyone even considering using frozen knows that there is more at stake in some instances (if the dog has already passed on or is no longer available) so most aren't going into it lightly at all.

The only difference that my repro vet does is that they don't do Transcervical AI's on maiden bitches because of the time involved.
The biggest issue is getting the semen shipped to your repro vet at least a month ahead if you can as the storage facilities like to have some time in advance. The costs for that run around $450 for container rental/shipping. Just be sure to give the shipping company enough lag time and you don't mind sharing the shipping container tell them that it is okay to ship your shipment in the same container as another going to the same vet then you can split the shipping which can save you a bunch.

what is in her pedigree? the pedigree determines the value

the pedigree of the dam & the sire should give an idea if the breeding is worth the risk.

a few years ago, a maiden girl needed to breed naturally, and whelp a litter before we considered chilled AI, let alone a frozen surgical implantation.

But we are living in the days of technology; knowledge is ever increasing, and we have all these tools available to determine when to do long distance breedings-wheather chilled or frozen, or maiden or not.

I think breeding is a science, and an art.

First off, good luck with your breeding!

If I were you I would find a great repro vet in your area. He/she will likely be able to transport the semen from the sender to his/her storage location so it's waiting for you when she's ready and you don't have to worry about last minute shipping issues.

Most people these days do blood draws at their vet for progesterone. Some do premate and other tests, but I prefer blood draws with exact numbers, and so will your repro for frozen. They may also do a vaginal cytology.

For a frozen, you will need to know EXACTLY when she ovulates, and I would definitely recommend a surgical insemination to place the semen right where it needs to be. Frozen is only viable for a short time so I like it to be deposited on top of the eggs.

Don't freak out when your vet sees she has reached a 5, and then asks you to wait. Usually, frozen breedings occur 5 days after LH surge and/or 3 days after ovulation.

I smiled at your post Jill. I STILL collect in a large plastic beer type Dixie cup and use a large feeding tube to inseminate. And my success rate is pretty darn good. I'm not big on the harder catheter type tubes. Just old fashioned me............lol

To the OP, good luck with your breeding, I might agree with some re: not using frozen on a maiden bitch, but otherwise, sounds to me like you have as much "right" as anyone else to breed your girl. I wish you a nice litter with an easy delivery.

Doesn't anyone from the NC area of Durham have repro vet suggestions or referrals for the OP?

OP, I suggest you find a mentor to help you going about breeding your bitch. They could be a bitch or stud of owner with experience in successful breeding of their dogs. A lot could be done via e-mail and phone. I suggest making contact with the closest Lab club as kindly mentioned by a poster.

I am posting a gmail e-mail if you want to contact me for basics. I am a small breeder but have successfully bred my share of litters so I could send you in the right directions. I am by no means a BYB or PM but I am not located close to you in proximity.

Sincere congratulations on finishing your current bitch & others in the past.

Bells, whistles and lights went off in my head. Where is Kate F. PHD who posts allot about all subjects? She lives right in Durham and could be extrenely helpful.

I guess she posts only when it's good for her. Not to help any other breeder.

I'ts August. I hope her excuse for not trying to help is she was away. This wiouldn't help her own dogs.

Wow, how was this comment helpful to the OP? What an immature, unkind, useless post this was. Settle your gripes, jealousies or whatever some other way, not on this Forum where people come for advice!! Perhaps grow up and call the person you have a beef with directly to discuss your problem!!

To the OP, I second Dr. Settle in Sanford, NC. Good luck!!