Canine Reproduction

We offer planned caesarian sections (C-sections) for our established breeding clientele. For planned c-sections, progesterone/ovulation timing and pregnancy confirmation is required to help determine the best surgery date for the health of the mother and pups. 
 
Progesterone/ovulation timing helps to predict due dates, which is especially important for breeds that may require a c-section. Without ovulation timing, the due date can vary by more than 7 days and breeding dates alone cannot be used to predict whelping dates or elective c-section date.  Acceptable forms of progesterone/ovulation timing include testing at Schultz Veterinary Clinic (Mini Vidas), Idexx Reference Lab progesterone timing, or Michigan State University progesterone timing. Schultz Veterinary Clinic will not accept Heska progesterone timing or client/privately owned progesterone machine results. 
 
If ovulation timing is not done, daily monitoring of fetal heart rates paired with progesterone testing at the end of gestation will be necessary and does not guarantee an emergency c-section won’t be necessary. In addition, an ultrasound to ensure appropriate fetal development will be required prior to the c-section. This situation will be considered an emergency c-section, as it cannot be scheduled ahead of time.  This type of care is not available outside of our business hours. 
 
Every attempt is made to accommodate emergency caesarean sections during our regular office hours for our established clients. However, if services are needed after hours, or if we are unable to perform an emergency c-section due to doctor availability, we will recommend referral to Greater Lansing Veterinary Center or Michigan State University.

• Schultz Veterinary Clinic uses MiniVIDAS to run progesterone tests in house. 
• LH testing is run in house as well
• If progesterone timing is performed at your local clinic- please send progesterone samples to either Idexx or Antech Reference Lab for the most consistent and accurate results that SVC can advise appropriately

Day 3 to 5: Start Progesterone testing.

1. Draw 5-6cc of whole blood and place into a red top tube. Allow to clot then centrifuge and draw off serum. Do not use a serum separator.  Test for brucellosis and heartworm screening. 
2. Draw blood and test Progesterone every other day until initial rise of 0.75ng
3. After a rise of 0.75ng begin daily blood draws and hold serum daily for future LH testing, store serum in freezer. 
4. Continue testing progesterone every other day from initial blood draw. 
5. If progesterone testing is sent to an outside reference lab, save 0.5ml of serum from each blood draw for potential future testing.
   a.     Use Idexx or Antech as the reference lab to ensure accurate results
    
   Day of Progesterone rise: The day the Progesterone testing indicates >2.0ng (2.0-3.0ng) is the assumed day of initial LH rise. LH testing is to be done, test the sample of 2.0ng day. You may need to run additional LH tests on the sample from the days prior and day after 2ng. 
   1. The first day LH is positive is day 0. Frozen semen breeding(s) typically occurs on day 5 and day 6 post LH positive day.
   2. Continue to test progesterone every other day to confirm ovulation.  Ovulation is confirmed when progesterone rises above 5ng and also doubles in a 48-hour period. 

    
   *Additional fees may apply to emergency c-sections that alter staff hours and for those c-sections needing to be performed on weekends, as we do not staff for surgery on weekends.

Brucellosis is an important venereal disease in many species. It does not usually come up in petownership because most pet dogs are not bred. Once someone decides to breed their dog, though,they should know all about this disease, particularly since it can be transmitted to humans.All dogs to be bred should have a brucellosis test. Active stud dogs should be tested every 6months.If you are planning to breed your dog, test your dog and insist that the owner of your dog’s mateproduce results of a recent test for your inspection.Which Type of BrucellaThere are ten species of Brucella and while Brucella canis is of most concern for dogs. Dogs cancertainly become infected with Brucella abortus from cattle; Brucella melitensis from goats; andBrucella suis from pigs if they are allowed to drink contaminated milk or eat leftover birthmembranes, contaminated meat, or aborted young. Other Brucella species are Brucella ovis,which affects only rams, Brucella neotomae, which affects desert mice, Brucella microti whichaffects rodents and voles, Brucella ceti and Brucella pinnipedialis, which affect marine mammals,and Brucella inopinata, which has only been found once in a human breast implant infection.Luckily for people, Brucella canis causes much less serious disease in humans than the livestockBrucella but the health department still considers any Brucella infection reportable.How Dogs get InfectedDogs like to stick their noses in all sorts of nasty places. They also chew up all sorts of disgustingthings. Brucellosis can be contracted sexually, but it can also be contracted by inhalation (sniffingcontaminated urine or fetal membranes), through the eyes, or orally (licking contaminated urine orurogenital secretions or chewing up fetal membranes). Urine and saliva from an infected dog arenot nearly as rife with organisms as urogenital secretions; it is when breeding and/or whelping is inthe picture that the transmission risk becomes high.When a female dog aborts a pregnancy because of a Brucella infection, she continues to secretefluids packed with Brucella bacteria for four to six weeks.Brucella organisms are able to survive in the environment for months if conditions are moist, cool,and dark. Bleach is an effective disinfectant in the environment.What Happens After Infection?The organism requires three weeks on average to become evident in the bloodstream. After that, itlocalizes in the reproductive or urinary tract and either continuously or periodically seeds thebloodstream from there. Lymph nodes can enlarge and possibly the spleen or liver can becomeinflamed but generally the infected adult dog does not seem sick in the short term. Chronic diseasefrom long-term immune stimulation can result. Diseases produced by long-term inflammation caninclude:• Diskospondylitis (inflammation of a disk in the spine)• Uveitis (deep eye inflammation)• Multiple joint arthritis G• lomerulonephritis (kidney inflammation and protein loss)Most of the time, the only sign is aborted pregnancy between the 45 and 59 day of pregnancy(relatively late in the pregnancy). Classically, the aborted pups appear to have died at least severaldays prior to abortion as they do not look freshly dead. Abortion does not always appear in thismost common form, though. Sometimes, the pregnancy is lost so early in its course that theproblem is mistaken for infertility. Sometimes, puppies are stillborn. Sometimes, they are born liveand infected.TestingDirect culture of the organism from a dead puppy, infected dog’s blood or from secretion isconfirmatory but the organism is difficult to isolate in this way. This means we usually depend onimmunologic tests. Which test is selected depends on what the test is being used for.Screening before BreedingThe RSAT (rapid slide agglutination test) is a test that can readily identify negative dogs. That is, ifthe test comes out negative, the dog can be considered negative. If the test comes out positive,further testing is needed. Up to 60% false positives occur. A test kit is available inside the veterinaryhospital and some facilities can perform this test while you wait.The IFA (Immunofluorescent Antibody) test is a similar screening test, but it must be sent to thereference laboratory. The same guidelines apply negative means negative, and positive means dofurther tests. That said, if there is a classic history (such as an aborted litter of puppies) along with apositive IFA test, it may not be necessary to do further testing, as the situation is clear.Further Testing for RSAT or IFA Positive DogsThere are two tests that fit in this category. The most specific test (meaning the most trustworthypositive value) is the AGID (agar gel immunodiffusion) test. A version of the test called the CPAGID,named for the bacterial protein it detects, is the most accurate of all.Another test is called a TAT (tube agglutination test). It looks for antibodies against Brucella canis.Antibiotic treatment with tetracyclines can drop antibody levels low enough for the TAT to benegative but this does not necessarily indicate that the infection has cleared. At this time theCPAGID is favored over TAT.If a dog is to travel to Australia, a TAT test is required as part of the travel documentation. If a dog isto travel to New Zealand, an AGID test is required as part of the travel documentation.TreatmentFirst and foremost, the dog in question must be removed from the breeding program by eitherspay/neuter or euthanasia. The dog can remain as a pet but probably should not be sold due topotential health risks to potential buyers.If the dog is to remain as a pet, there are several considerations that must be observed:1) BRUCELLOSIS IS CONSIDERED TO BE A PERMANENT INFECTION! This means thatprecautions against human exposure must be maintained for the life of the animal.2) The dog should be confined to the owner’s property for life. This means that veterinaryservices should be provided by a house call veterinary service and grooming servicesshould be provided by a mobile service. Obviously, these service providers should bewarned about the dog’s condition so that proper protective gear can be employed.3) The dog can NEVER have contact with pregnant women, children, elderly people, people onchemotherapy or anyone considered to have a compromised immune system. Most humancases are mild and flu-like, but certain “at risk” human populations can have more seriousconsequences.4) No exposure to any other dogs. All body secretions of an infected dog and contagious.5) The infected dog will need to be on antibiotics (see below) as long as tests are positive.Ideally, testing (such as gel immunodiffusion) should be done monthly. Antibiotics can bediscontinued as long as tests are negative but they will invariably become positive againeventually necessitating more antibiotics.Antibiotic TreatmentsTetracycline and Streptomycin• In this regimen, tetracycline is given twice daily for a month, and injectable streptomycin isgiven daily for the first and last week of the month. In one study, over half the dogs were overhalf the dogs were considered cured with this regimen, but currently, streptomycin isdifficult to come by (as it is considered old-fashioned and has few uses at this time).Minocycline and Streptomycin• Minocycline and doxycycline are derivatives of tetracycline that can also be used to treatbrucellosis, but neither is effective when used alone. Again, four weeks of treatment isneeded. Minocycline is used once daily while the aminoglycoside is used daily during thefirst and last week.• Lack of availability of streptomycin has been a problem in treating this condition.Aminoglycosides such as gentamycin have been proposed as substitutes but they are notas effective. Quinolone antibiotics such as enrofloxacin have also been proposed assubstitutes, and are much less toxic than aminoglycosides; they may emerge as the bestreplacement for streptomycin.Doxycycline and an Aminoglycoside• This regimen requires daily injections of the aminoglycoside antibiotic for the first and lastweeks of a four-week course of treatment. The aminoglycosides are a class of antibioticsthat has some very real negative effects on the kidney and so a longer course is not withoutrisk. Monitoring may be needed. Newer literature suggests replacing the aminoglycosidewith rifampin.• Because of the potential for human exposure, euthanasia has been encouraged for dogsconfirmed to be positive. In some states, euthanasia of positive dogs is mandatory. If youchoose to keep a positive dog for a pet, see the links below to minimize contact withinfected body fluids.Keeping Brucella Out of the KennelA new dog for a breeding kennel should be isolated for one month. Two Brucella tests two to threemonths apart should be adequate to confirm negativity (it takes 8-12 weeks from infection for teststo turn positive).If an infection is detected in a kennel, the entire kennel population should be evaluated and rescreened every 3 months. The kennel should be quarantined until all dogs have tested negativethree times with 3 months between tests. Positive dogs should be removed from the kennel.LinksIf you are living with a positive dog, the potential for human disease is always there. Here are somelinks to help in that situation.US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)National Association of State Public Health VeterinariansCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)