mwfulkerson

Question? Is there a age in a hounds life that the live sperm count naturally drops from normal?
Has there been a study that concludes for instance at around the age of 5 years the count starts dropping?

Betsy Iole

I can't find a study that addresses your specific question, Mike, but here's what I did find out about decreased sperm counts.

Factors that can affect the number of spermatozoa per ejaculate include age, degree of arousal, testicular size, and frequency of ejaculation. Healthy dogs kept in new surroundings may show a temporary, reversible drop in sperm count. Dogs living in warm environments may experience transient drops in sperm counts. There are also some pathological conditions that can result in reduced sperm counts, including obstructions, retrograde ejaculation (ejaculation into the bladder) and testicular degeneration. In some breeds, testicular degeneration appears to be an autoimmune process affecting previously fertile, middle-aged dogs. Additionally, some systemic diseases, such as hypothyroidism can impair fertility.

Here are some links to discussions of fertility problems in male dogs.

Disorders Affecting Fertility in the Male Dog (P. Davol)
Infertility--Male Dogs (The 5-Minute Veterinary Consult)
Male Infertility
Reproductive Problems in Male Dogs (scroll down)

Additional reference: Freshman JL: Clinical management of the subfertile stud dog. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 31:2, 2001, p 259

[ March 14, 2004, 05:57 PM: Message edited by: Betsy Iole ]

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Soundtrack

I've had successful breedings from older males, in fact I prefer them since I already have an idea of their health and what they will produce. My most recent litter (9 pups) was sired by a 7 year old, Spot was producing pups at 9, and Sally's sire was 10 when we did the breeding.

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Mikey T

Part 4. Reproduction and the Male Dog
"In regard to semen quality, optimum fertility is not necessarily a factor of age of the dog, but appears to be more dependent on the stage of the sperm within the ejaculate (i.e. immature or aged sperm) or induced morphologic changes that occur in the sperm. Quality of the semen, therefore, is often more affected by factors other than age including degree of arousal, frequency of ejaculation, collection technique and sample handling. Since frequent ejaculation (daily collection of semen for 5 to 7 days) can cause a reduction in sperm output, studs in high demand may experience less than optimal fertility at certain times throughout their reproductive years. For this reason, it is recommended that sperm from valuable studs be collected and cryopreserved in sufficient quantities early in the male's career to ensure future availability. To this end, collection of semen on an "every other day" basis typically allows time for replenishment of sperm reserves."

CANINE REPRODUCTION - Q&A with DR. ROBERT HUTCHINSON August, 1st 2002
" Male dogs age the same as human males age... with a change in the type testosterone being produced from the testicles. One of the effects in the dog is benign prostatic hyperplasia (bigger prostate). This is a routine happening in all males over six years of age, being especially prominent in the Doberman. Unfortunately, it is misdiagnosed as an infectious process by many veterinarians. So they often times are treated by antibiotics, often with no subsequent improvement with often the drastic suggestion that the male be neutered. The PROPER treatment is one of hormone therapy, using one of two products: either Ovaban, that dreaded product we wouldn't use in the bitch, or Proscar, which is finasteride, which is a human product. These work by countering the change of the testosterone causing the prostate to shrink back down to a normal size, stopping the bleeding, making the dog reproductively normal. A dog with a prostate INFECTION will have PUS in the ejaculate, not blood. A dog with a true prostate infection runs a fever, or shows many of the signs of a bitch with pyometritis. Prostatic cancers do occur in the dog, but are more common in neutered dogs than in non-neutered dogs."

mwfulkerson

Ranger is seven years old, his last litter sired had only 3 pups.The vet wants a sperm sample to run a test.
My interest in artificial insemination,semen collection,frozen semen storage.Is the next step in my education as a breeder.
I`m looking into going back to school(god is that scary)my friends keep saying follow your dreams but major debt on top of saving for kids college would scare almost anyone.

Betsy Iole

What will you study?

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Betsy, Mom to
CH Bugle Bay's Sin City Caper UD RE TD BHCA-VC
CH Bugle Bay's Sin City Cuppa Joe TD
CH Bugle Bay's AllUCanEat Buffet CDX RN TDX NA CGC BHCA-VCX, 1996-2008
"Bugsie" UDX NA NAJ CGC, 1991-2006

biscuit

Hey, join the crowd. I spend hours every day chewing my nails over school debt! There's even iVillage forums for people like us!

Menzie

LOL Biscuit really? Noel should join those.. :roll:

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biscuit

Yes, really Menzie.

Problem is, I'm too freaked out about it all to join them! So I have no idea really what goes on in them -- I just know they exist and everytime I go look at them, everyone's even more freaked out than me

Sure explains why there are so many lifetime students in the world. Makes it very tempting to find a way to just keep getting advanced degrees til you hit the magic age of 65. I have three or four I'm considering at this very moment.

mwfulkerson

Betsy I was thinking about Vet Tec.
My love for animals has me hungry to learn more about taking care of them.