Slim Chances of Having a Pregnant Pet

With the rise in the cost of things, vets have also seen the need to increase the price of services rendered to afford them to purchase daily essentials for their families as well.

A friend complained to me about the high price he was asked to bring to mate his pet lately, and he could not comprehend why he had to pay such an exorbitant price to make that happen, so I had to explain to him and let him know that the price of a puppy has also increased so he could sell his puppies at a higher rate when the time is right.

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However, one thing that continues to discourage female pet owners who take their animals for mating is that there is no assurance of pregnancy, and the pet may get pregnant and lose the child along the line, anything may just go wrong either way which may be highly heartbreaking.

I decided to explore basically what could cause infertility in a female pet (dog precisely), and share my experience with you, my dear readers. The circle of ovulation in a female dog is regulated by certain events around the brain, sexual organs, and nervous system. Here are the top five reasons why your dog may not get pregnant even after mating.

Incorrect breeding time: Getting to breed your dog at the right time is important for the production of healthy puppies. If you mate your pet too early or too late, the egg will not fertilize even if you do every other thing appropriately. Eggs (oocytes) will require 1-3 days before reaching maturity after ovulation, fresh semen, on the other hand, will need 7 hours before it is ready for successful fertilization.
Hormonal imbalances or disorders: The presence of an imbalance or disorder could distort the reproductive ability of the dog.

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There was no ovulation: Sometimes, there is a case of split heat which can produce a result with an ovulation range, only to come down after some days. Ovulation stalling may keep the pet in the ovulation range for some days, once there is true ovulation, the progesterone level will remain high.
Insufficient or damaged semen: Semen count may struggle for reasons like; temperature, age, oxidative stressors, reproductive diseases, frequent use of jaculating studs, and incorrect use of extenders. It is important to clearly understand the health of the semen, as this makes up 50% of the entire process of fertilization, pregnancy, and childbirth.

Even in a case where the semen is healthy, it could be harmed easily during transportation and preparation, and at the time of insemination, it may exhibit less vitality.

The presence of a reproductive disease or infection: In the presence of a disease especially a reproductive one, the possibility of pregnancy is almost unlikely. If your pet displays unusual behavior, or discharge, or has a history of poor pregnancy or lack of conception, then immediately check with your vet. Remember, some diseases could be life-threatening or transferred from one dog to another during natural insemination.
The male pet may be infertile.
Poor breeding management.
Infertility caused by certain medications.

Usually, pet owners wait until their pet begins to show signs of pregnancy before they can ascertain if the mating procedure was successful or not. To test for a case of infertility, several diagnoses could help, we have the likes of; urinalysis, physical examination, serum biochemistry profile, complete blood count, and semen evaluation of the male amongst others.

If infertility happens to be the case, some treatments may help, like the administration of hormones that influence the function of ovaries, antibiotics to treat infection, administration of thyroid hormone in a case of hypothyroidism, and possible surgery, if applicable.

While you want your pet to get pregnant desperately, do you know some people do not like the fact that their pet is pregnant and they are looking for ways to get rid of it? Well, that is a topic for another episode, probably the next time you hear from me I will tell you about it. I will see you around buddies, I appreciate your time, and I am longing to hear your opinion through the comment section.