dog geek Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) There is a company in the UK selling little microscope kits (Matetel) that you can use to establish exactly when your bitch is ovulating - and more power to them: they sound like the product is easy to use, has all you need, and they sound willing to work with you if you have problems. The feedback from the forum indicates that more people than not are thrilled with them, and the science seems sound. I know you observe the dogs closely and thus know when to let them mate, but I am going to try to increase litter size, since Daisy (Pomeranian) is a good size bitch; I had been going to prog test with the vet... but I will now try this instead! So have you got a microscope? You can examine a slide that has your bitches' saliva coating it under a microscope, and if you see crystallisation then she is ovulating! Why? Because the peaking in the release of oestrogen is paralleled by a peaking in the release of electrolytes. These are salts: so swabbing a bitches' tongue with a glass slide, leaving it to dry (hmm… might try blow-drying it) and then chucking it under a microscope will let you see the crystals. You start about a week after she shows signs of being in season, where you will just see 'blobs' rather than 'frost patterns'. But the closer she gets to ovulating the clearer the crystals become: you are only a couple of days out from ovulation if you can see ‘sticks’ or ‘lines’. After you get a slide with proper crystals, you mate her within 48 hours. From my extra-curricular reading I think I will mate every day for three days; since spermatozoa are viable for 7 days and oocytes for 3-5 days I am keen to avoid having 'under-done' puppies. (But still want to get fresh little wrigglers for the late-maturing oocytes.) Edited December 31, 2010 by dog geek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwaY Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 They have been using the same technique for women for years. Draminski had poor results as well so people sold them. The little ph strips, poor results as well. It's not just the science behind it, it's also the person doing the test and reading the results who make mistakes. I say prog test is your safest bet if you want accurate results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DURNSTEIN Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I say prog test is your safest bet if you want accurate results. I agree with Sway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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