Ideally all dogs would have their semen checked prior to being used at stud. This becomes more important if one or more of the bitches have not produced any puppies.
Semen evaluation can be carried out at Millhouse or at your premises but is best carried out with a teaser (in season) bitch present.
General examination and history are important parts of the assessment, examination of the testicles, penis, prepuce and prostate as well as locomotor and cardiovascular systems will be carried out.
Semen samples are checked visually for volume and colour, microscopically for motility, forward motility and morphology, and sperm numbers at Millhouse are calculated electronically using a photometer. Sperm are counted in millions/ml and the photometer provides results within seconds.
A good semen sample would have at least 70% forward motility and less than 10% of the sperm classed as abnormal.
By 12 months of age most dogs are sexually mature and should provide a good sample. Semen quality can decrease after five years of age, so if you would like to freeze semen from your stud dog then the best time is between 18 months and 5 years old. However many older dogs are quite capable of producing a litter of puppies and some may have semen of good enough quality to freeze, but better not to leave it too late
