Catch Up

It's been so busy lately that I haven't had time to write. So this is just a small window into the week.

Yesterday I was float and kept busy with all the boarders coming in. Some clients were heading to the Wisconsin Dells, some to Florida... The kennel is actually almost full. But so many new boarders seem to all come in the same hour so I have to play catchup with writing down belongings, writing and/or giving vaccinations, putting dogs out, cleaning messes up, entering all weights and charges in the computer....

At the same time I am often answering the phone, helping clients up front, or helping a doctor. Like yesterday when I got back from lunch. Emily was appointment person but she took the afternoon off. So as soon as I got inside, Dennis asked me to help him with collecting semen from a male dog (the stud) and AI or artificially inseminate a female dog. We don't do this a lot but a few times a year and Dennis is the reproduction specialist. Both dogs were present - a female yellow lab and a male black lab. I guess they tried to breed the two last year and failed because the female can not stand the male, Amos. She tried to attack him several times when he got "friendly". I bet you didn't know that most animals have definite preferences as to their mates...to the point they won't allow breeding to take place.

First we got the female against the wall with her head in the corner. The owner held onto her. I had Amos and just guided him and helped prevent the female from turning and biting Amos. Meanwhile Dennis had a specially shaped plastic bag that he fit over the male's penis (sorry mom). He let Amos get excited and start to mount the female then Dennis fit the bag over the private parts and continued to stimulate the male, as if he was entered into the female. We keep the dogs in the same place because of smell of the female in heat keeps the male excited. Eventually he releases his sperm into the bag.

Next Dennis took the sperm and put it into a specially designed insemination tube. Amos was done so I put him in a kennel to relax. Now was the females turn. The owner held her head and I held her up so she was standing. Dennis inserted the tube into the females vagina and then lefties her hips up on his lap. At this point Dennis is sitting on a chair and we are on the floor. We raised her back legs aff the floor and laid them on Dennis's lap while he massaged her vagina. This stimulates her tissues and muscles to contract and move the semen down to where it's needed. We sit like this for 6 minutes. The dog doesn't 't usually want to stand like this for that long so we have to constantly work with her.

All done. But we do it all again on Monday! We try to breed twice so the semen is there when the eggs are released.

I'll try to write more tomorrow. Too cold to be outside anyway!

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