Paging the Birds and the Bees

Should a vaginal culture be done on my bitch before I breed her?

The answer to this question is generally “no.” Unless your bitch has an unusual discharge, vaginal bacteria are not a cause of concern. The male dog carries the same normal bacterial flora in his prepuce as bitches have in their vaginal tract, so there is no need to worry about the male contracting anything during natural breedings.

If vaginal cultures are performed, it is important to interpret the results correctly. Cytology is the examination of cells. Slides of the cells of the vaginal wall should be made at the time of the culture. If the cytology shows no evidence of inflammation, any bacteria grown would be interpreted as normal flora.

Mycoplasma is normal flora in 90 percent of dogs, so its growth without inflammation is not a concern. If cultures are indicated by cytology, the samples should be taken from the anterior vaginal vault with a guarded culturette.

When antibiotics are given needlessly, the normal bacterial flora is wiped out, allowing more aggressive organisms to overgrow. This increases the resistance pattern of all organisms present. In cases where this has happened, a good quality, multi-organism probiotic should be given for a few months in order to re-establish normal flora.

The bitch should be tested for brucellosis before a natural breeding.

What is brucellosis?

Canine brucellosis is a highly contagious bacterial infection. Infected dogs usually develop an infection of the reproductive system or a sexually transmitted disease. Different species of Brucella infect sheep, cattle, goats, deer, elk, pigs and other animals.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, which means it is a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Although people can become infected by coming in contact with infected animals, it is uncommon for a person to get a brucellosis infection from a dog.

Male dogs infected with brucellosis develop epididymitis, which is an infection in part of the testicle. They may have an enlarged scrotum or testicle. The dog may be infertile. In long-term infections, the testicles will become shrunken.

Female dogs infected with brucellosis develop an infection of the uterus. This may cause her to be infertile, have difficulty getting pregnant, or she may abort in the late stages of pregnancy. The puppies may be stillborn or weak and die a few days after birth.

Dogs are exposed to the disease via contact with infected bodily fluids. Brucella canis bacteria are shed in the semen or vaginal secretions of an infected dog, as well as urine and saliva. The most common route of infection is oral from licking contaminated discharge, but dogs can also be infected through sexual transmission.

The infection is diagnosed by a blood test called a rapid slide agglutination test. This test is used for screening of breeding dogs. Negative test results are reliable unless the dog has been recently exposed to the disease. False-positive test results are relatively common and need to be confirmed with an advanced test.

Although antibiotics such as minocycline, doxycycline or enrofloxacin (Baytril) can be used to help control the infection, no treatment is completely effective at eliminating the bacteria, as it can persist in tissues. Any dog that has been infected with Brucella canis should be considered infected for life.

Kennels reporting a brucellosis case must be immediately quarantined. Infected animals must be prevented from breeding and, preferably, eliminated from the kennel. The bacteria itself does not survive well in the environment, although people working with infected dogs should wear protective equipment such as gloves.

What is a recommended brucellosis testing policy?

For some breeders, dogs and bitches are tested before every breeding. All male dogs used for breeding should be tested regularly, every three months, depending on exposure to other dogs. Bitches should be tested before every breeding.

New dogs should never be introduced into a kennel situation until they have been quarantined and then tested for the disease. Most experts recommend performing two blood tests four weeks apart, near the end of the quarantine period.

My pregnant bitch has an ear infection. What medications are safe to use?

It is best to have cytology (cells on a slide) done in order to determine the source of the infection — bacteria, yeast or mites. All standard ear preparations should be fine to use. These medications treat topical, or surface, infections, and there is minimal absorption into the bloodstream.

Most ear treatments are a combination of medications. They typically contain an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory (steroid) and an anti-fungal ingredient. Oral steroids should never be given to a pregnant bitch, as it can cause her to abort the puppies. The steroid in topical ear preparations does not get absorbed into the system at a high enough level to cause a problem.

Some of the commonly prescribed ear medications are Quadritop, Mometamax, Osuria and Animax.

What are the safest oral antibiotics to give to a pregnant bitch?

This depends on what type of infection you are treating. In most cases, ear infections do not need oral antibiotics. Skin infections can be treated topically during pregnancy with creams and shampoos instead of oral antibiotics.

The safest oral antibiotics to give to pregnant bitches are amoxicillin, Clavamox and cephalosporins, such as cephalexin (Keflex). You should avoid giving Sulfas, fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin), doxycycline and chloramphenicol.

How do I calculate my bitch’s due date?

If you are doing live-cover breedings with no ovulation timing, it can be tricky to accurately predict when the puppies will arrive. It could be anywhere between a short 58 days and a long 72 days.

This is because a bitch’s heat cycle lasts for about 18 to 20 days. Females are usually only receptive to the male in the last nine days, but some submissive females may allow breeding at any point. Semen from a healthy male dog can remain alive for up to 11 days in the bitch’s reproductive tract. From a breeding done at the end of her heat, the gestation period could be 58 days. From a breeding that occurred at the beginning of her heat cycle, the gestation period could be 72 days.

The most accurate way of determining the due date is by the following four points in time:

The due date is 65 days from a luteinizing hormone (LH) peak

The due date is 65 days from when the progesterone level reaches 2.0 ng/mL and keeps rising

The due date is 63 days from ovulation

The due date is 58 days from the first day of diestrus (when she goes out of season)

All or most of these are determined by your veterinarian using progesterone levels. Day 1 of diestrus is determined by comparing slides of the cells of the vaginal wall late in her cycle. There will be an abrupt change in the appearance of the cells from cornified to non-cornified.

With one or two time points, the calculation can be very accurate. Without them, even ultrasound and X-rays have difficulty narrowing down the due date to less than three days. Most puppies do not produce enough lung surfactant until 48 hours before their birth, so having an accurate due date can make all the difference in their ability to survive. Ovulation timing should be started once the bitch has been in heat for five to seven days.