Breeding Olde English Bulldogges Puppies takes Dedication
Breeding Olde English bulldogges puppies takes dedication, perfect timing, and a capitol investment. Most Olde English bulldogs rarely breed naturally for a variety of complex reasons. They require Artificial Insemination in most cases conceive. Using AI to increase the chances of pregnancy doesn’t always work. Breeding at the wrong time is the number one reason for not conceiving puppies. It is always necessary for a vet to perform several tests to determine where the female dog is in their ovulation cycle. If there are no eggs available to fertilize then AI is not effective. The first sign a female dog is coming into heat is bleeding for the vaginal area. On average after 5 days of bleeding she is getting close to ovulating. At that point she must be take to a vet that is a reproductive specialist and a vaginal cytology is done. The cytology is a smear on a microscope slide of vaginal cells. If the cells have a specific shape and texture the female is close to ovulating. This test is an indicator but not all that accurate. For the vet to know exactly how close the female dog is to ovulating a progesterone test must be run. This blood test reveals the level of progesterone hormone in the dog’s blood stream. A surge of progesterone (level 3-10) specifically shows how soon she will ovulate. If the level is low the dog is sent home and tested again in 48 hours. Each test is $100 and several test are often required. The cytology evaluation is $60. When the hormone levels indicate the female is ovulating the male dog’s semen is collected and tested. The male dog must have a sperm number that allow the possibility of fertilization. If the sperm count is too low then AI is useless. If the sperm count is adequate and the female dog is ovulating then the AI has the greatest chance of being successful. The female must be in very very good health. If she has even the slightest unitary tract infection or bladder infection (these conditions usually have no symptoms) she will not conceive. As a precaution we do a urinalysis and ultra sound of the bladder to rule out any obstacles to conceiving. Once all of the tests are complete the female dog is bred 3 times every other day over 6 days. The average cost of the entire process is about $650. After the 3rd breeding we cross our fingers and pray we have produced some Olde English bulldogges puppies.