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1072 Breeding Soundness Exam: Male Dog

which may indicate degeneration, hypoplasia, around the bulbus glandis will aid retrac- < 6 leukocytes per high-power field in
neoplasia (p. 962), fibrosis, or abnormal • Semen evaluation ■ Abnormalities include red blood cells,
tion into the prepuce.
all portions of the ejaculate.
VetBooks.ir • Prostate evaluation involves rectal and ○ Color ○ Culture
development.
tumor cells, and spermatocytes.
The first and third fractions should
abdominal palpation. For rectal palpation,
■
it may be necessary to simultaneously exert
4
and an inflammatory cytologic profile
dorsal pressure on the abdomen to lift the be colorless, and the second should ■ >10 gram-negative organisms/mL
be slightly white to cream colored. In
bladder and prostate higher into the pelvic cases of prostatic disease, such as benign indicate bacterial infection (typically
inlet. On rectal exam, the prostate should be prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), the third prostatitis).
smooth and bilobed and lie 2-3 cm caudal fraction may be pink, red, or brown ○ pH: between 6.3 and 6.7. Dogs with BPH
to the brim of the pelvis. Size, texture, and colored. A yellow color indicates urine have an elevated pH (≈7.5).
pain should be evaluated. contamination; an Azostix can be used • Blood should be collected for a baseline
○ An ultrasound exam is warranted if any for confirming the presence of urea. database, including Brucella canis testing,
abnormalities are noted. If the prostate ○ Semen analysis CBC, serum biochemistry profile, and
cannot be reached by rectal exam, it may ■ Motility is evaluated by placing a drop thyroid function tests.
be evaluated by transabdominal ultrasound of semen on a warm slide and adding
or radiography. a cover slip. Gross motility is evaluated Postprocedure
• Examine the prepuce for discharge or at low power (10-20×), and individual • If there is a high number of morphologically
paraphimosis. Preputial discharge may be motility is evaluated at 40× magnifica- abnormal sperm, the semen analysis should
the result of posthitis or balanoposthitis. tion. Normal motility is > 70% with be repeated in ≈60 days.
The penis is best examined during semen good forward progression. • Additional tests not part of a routine BSE but
collection. If semen collection is not to be ■ A morphology slide is prepared by that can be performed to further investigate
performed, the prepuce should be reflected placing a drop of semen on a warm an infertility problem include
and the penis evaluated. slide along with a drop of an eosin- ○ Staining for intact acrosomes
• Semen collection nigrosin morphology stain. The two ○ Computer-assisted semen analysis allows
○ Before starting, the collection vessels drops are mixed together, spread evenly objective evaluation of motility.
should be within reach of the collector. across the slide, and allowed to air dry. ○ Fluorescent stains, including evaluation
○ If possible, the male and teaser bitch Alternatively, the slide can be prepared for apoptosis (Annexin V assay) and DNA
should be allowed to interact. When the by smearing the semen drop across the fragmentation (tunnel assay)
male becomes sexually excited, the collec- slide and stained using Diff-Quik. If ○ Flow cytometry for oxidative status of
tor should step in and begin to stimulate this method is used, the slide should sperm and sperm chromatin structure
the penis through the prepuce. remain in the purple and red stain assay
○ The bulbus glandis is stimulated inside the for 10 minutes each to ensure stain ○ Sperm membrane integrity using the
prepuce until an erection is established; penetration of the sperm cells. The slide hypoosmotic swelling test (HOST)
then the prepuce is retracted caudal must be evaluated under oil immersion ○ Endocrine assays: testosterone concentra-
to the bulbus glandis to expose the (100×). Normal morphology should be tions may be lower in infertile dogs. Blood
penis. > 70%. Primary defects should not be should be collected multiple times and
○ The collector encircles both hands around greater than 10%, and secondary defects pooled to avoid the natural highs and lows.
the base of the bulbus glandis. To simu- should not be greater than 20%. ○ Karyotype
late the tie, the dog may want to step ■ A concentration is obtained by creat- ○ Testicular ultrasound supports diagnoses
over the collector’s arm. The dorsal aspect ing a 1 : 100 dilution, using a WBC such as testicular neoplasia, hydrocele, and
of the penis remains dorsal as the collector Unopette or by manually pipetting 20 degeneration and allows precise calculation
turns the penis 180° until it is directed mcL of semen into 2 mL of distilled of testicular volume. Doppler evaluation
caudally. water and counting the central square of testicular artery blood flow can be
○ The ejaculate should be fractionated, with on a hemocytometer. This is the con- correlated with fertility parameters.
each fraction collected in a separate vessel. centration in million cells per milliliter. ○ Testicular biopsy
The first fraction is the pre-sperm fraction ■ Volume should be 1-30 mL total, with
consisting of 1-2 mL of clear prostatic the sperm-rich fraction comprising SUGGESTED READING
fluid. The second fraction is the sperm- 1-12 mL. Johnston J, et al: Clinical approach to infertility in
rich fraction and consists of 1-3 mL of ■ Total sperm/ejaculate should be 200 the male dog. In SD Johnston, et al. Canine and
an opaque to creamy white fluid. The million to 2 billion. This depends on feline theriogenology, New York, 2001, Saunders,
third fraction is clear prostatic fluid and the body weight of the dog but should pp 370-387.
continues to be produced as long as the be > 22 million/kg body weight. AUTHOR: Bronwyn Crane, DVM, MS, DACT
erection is maintained. ○ Cytologic analysis EDITORS: Leah A. Cohn, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; Mark S.
○ After the collection is complete, placing a ■ Normal semen should contain Thompson, DVM, DABVP
small amount of water-soluble lubricant < 2000 WBC/mcL; there should be

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