Mating Problems?

Written by Dr Tunji Nasir - The Guardian Nigeria

DON'T be deceived by anybody; it is a known fact that majority of those who own bitches principally acquire them for puppy making.

Although many may feign love for the dogs, the true extent of the relationship may not be known until the bitch fails in her duty to procreate, as expected of her.

I have seen so many owners who suddenly lose interest in their pets simply because she proved to be barren or suspected to be so.

But like in all reproductive problems, three factors may be responsible for a bitch not having puppies. These are simply the male, the female and the environmental factors that in themselves can be very diverse.

The common mistake I have observed with people is to sentence the bitch and label her barren without considering other contributing indices that could make her pregnant.

Firstly, a lot of pet owners are not very knowledgeable about the biology of the dog's reproductive cycle. Dog in this case refers to the dog and the bitch.

Germane questions are:

- How good is the male?

- Is he an experienced male?

- Is he mature enough to mate?

- How frequently is he being used to mate?

- Does he have any health issue or any known sexually transmitted condition? Any scrotal or testicular problem?

- Has he always been fed well?

- Does he have musculoskeletal problems?

- Is he genetically excluded from some autoimmune problems?

As for the bitch, relevant enquiries may include:

- Is she mature enough? It is suggested that the bitch is mated by the second or third heat.

- Have you mated yours earlier?

- Was she on "heat"?

- Was she mated on the right day(s) of her cycle?

- Was she harbouring any disease?

- Was she being fed well?

- Does she cooperate when being mated?

- Does she have a genetic predisposition to pseudopregnancy?

When all of these are individually considered and your pet still does not get pregnant, you may need to scratch on environmental factors, which are largely beyond the control of the affected pets.

Sometimes, they can also be beyond the control of the owner- that is, if he does know. It is a classique and unique problem.

First, is the issue of adequate nutrition that can afford adequate well-being of the pets in question?

If he or she does not have the requisite energy to undergo the strenuous process of copulation, neither will show interest in the game and if there are factors like the influence of electromagnetic fields and fluorescent lightening in the area where the mating is being conducted, you may never know why the dog or bitch is not doing well. This is an emerging reason why a lot of things happen nowadays.

Our world has been festooned with masts of various kinds, ranging from power to telecommunication. They invariably surround us with unwanted electromagnetic influences, including reproductive problems, lack of coordination, dizziness, nausea, swelling and drying of mucus membranes, loss of coordination, memory and concentration, etc.

Somehow, they may also play a part in the reproductive problems of our animals, just like they do to humans.

It is still contentious, but worth considering.