Unsuccesful Pregnancy Twice
I own a bull breed, and purchased her as a foundation bitch. She has been cleared of diseases, and I believe she is of breeding quality. She has not had a litter before, and first unsuccessful mating she was around 2.5yrs old. Bitch is healthy & of good weight. She has a varied diet & has a sound temperment.
First Mating:
Stud dog is proven, and flew to us due to no space at his location at the time. Bitch went through all usual stages, but they could not get a tie. She would drop, roll & yelp everytime he "got in". On day 14, prog test showed 70 nmols. I asked about AI considering we couldnt get a natural tie, and they said it would be a waste of time & money (greencross) as you need to AI around 20 nmols? We thought we may have gotten 1-2 slip matings, but upon ultrasound at 4 weeks she was "barron". I took her to a local vet a few days later as I suspected a stricture, but was told she was "normal", and probably didnt tie because she was a maiden.
Second Mating:
Next heat cycle, we decided to try again, this time flying the bitch to the stud. A couple of days before she came into season, she was vaccinated, heartwormed and had a physical done. Around 2 days later when she came in season, we decided to fly her to the stud straight away so the stud owner could start prog testing with their vet. We booked a morning flight with JP. The plane landed, and once found by the JP driver, she was in severe "heat stress", JP did a few things in which I believe was wrong, including putting her on a 1 hour earlier flight. We were told origianlly that no one even knew she was there waiting to be collected. Cut a long story short, she ended up being rushed (by stud owner) to a vet clinic, and had to be on an intravenous drip overnight. We have a report from the vet describing the state she was in. That vet, and the stud owners local vet both checked her out and said she would still be able to safely go ahead with the planned mating. She had approx 2 weeks to recover before she was mated. On day 10 she was at 3 nmols, on day 13 she was at 10 nmols, and on day 15 she was at 49 nmols. On day 14, AI was tried, and the semen just came flooding back out of the bitch. On day 15 she went in and had another prog test (which came back the next day saying 49 nmols) and they gave her a vaginal exam. They explained to the stud owner that it seemed she had a "thick & fibrous" hymen, and almost like it was a "step up" to get in there, so maybe that was why the natural mating was proving hard. Vet again said normal, and no problem to try AI. Day 16, they got the AI tube right up & in this time, and got a sucessful AI done with 3.5ml semen. Four days later, we made a VERY long drive to pick her up by road as we were not ever going to put her on a plane again after the horrible ordeal we went through previously. Fast forward to "4 weeks", go in for an ultrasound and again she has not taken.
Now you have some information on what happened, maybe you would care to share your opinions or experiences. According to prog tests she ovulated, so she is fertile. Vet said AI was perfect timing for fertilisation. Did she not conceive at all? Did she conceive and absorb the pups due to stress?
Right now, I am ready to give up. Is mother nature trying to say she is not a good brood bitch, because I feel it should not be so hard? Would she have fallen pregnant if her body had not gone through such high stress & almost possible death? Should I try one last time using Artificial Insemination, Transcervical Artificial insemination or Surgical Insemination? Or should the dog be a pet, no breeding? Should her breeder be contacted?
