How to tell if a female is ovulating?

Have you decided to mate your four-legged pet? Then you need to know exactly when to get her together with a male. The appearance of a tail pullback reflex is not a very reliable indication of the right time for insemination. Some bitches allow mating a certain amount of time before ovulation.

That is, the behavior of females is not always a manifestation of hormonal levels favorable for conception. To make pregnancy more likely, you need to determine when the female is ovulating. For optimal efficiency, it is better to turn to modern veterinary methods.

Progesterone test

During estrus, estrogen levels drop, and progesterone levels, on the contrary, begin to rise. This sex hormone is an indicator of ovulation in females. In dogs, its level slowly begins to rise before ovulation. It can be concluded that ovulation has occurred if the progesterone level is 6-10 ng/ml. This is a common indicator for dogs of all breeds and sizes.

If the indicator is up to 6 units, it is too early to mate, if it is more than 10, it is too late. To conduct this test, your veterinarian will need to take a blood sample from your pet.

Saliva crystallization - Arbor test

A favorable ratio of estrogen to progesterone can be detected not only by blood tests but also by saliva tests. To do this, a method is used that involves analyzing the crystallization features of a dried drop of saliva under a microscope. The study is based on the following facts:

• As the level of estrogen in the female body increases, the number of crystals in saliva increases.
• On the days of ovulation, the saliva crystals under study form a characteristic fern-like pattern. That is why the method is called "arborization", which comes from the Latin "arbor" - "tree".

The Arbor test with a high degree of reliability allows you to draw conclusions about the fertile or infertile period in a female and increase the likelihood of pregnancy.

Examination of cervical mucus

For the cytological examination of a bitch's vaginal smear, the veterinarian takes a sample of vaginal cells. A sterile gynecological mirror and/or a urogenital probe moistened with saline is used. Another way to take biomaterial, the least invasive, is to inject sterile saline into the vaginal cavity and remove it with a plastic catheter.

The substance is then applied to a slide, spread, and allowed to air dry. The biomaterial is stained and evaluated under a microscope, magnified 100-400 times. When the specialist sees 80% of surface and squamous cells in the smear, this indicates the optimal time for mating.

The more accurately the time of ovulation is established, the more eggs will meet sperm and fertilization will occur. It is better to use not one, but at least two methods. This will increase the number of effective inseminations and increase the fertility of your pet.