Sperm Morphological Defects in Dogs: Causes and Consequences

Evaluating fertility (or ‘fertility potential’) of a stud dog is an important part of breeding management. True indices of canine fertility are high pregnancy rates (≥ 75%) and large litters. However, both are retrospective measures and are strongly influenced by factors independent of the stud dog, including fertility of the bitch and breeding management. In clinical practice, predicting likely fertility of a male is usually required prior to breeding. Within the context of designating dogs to have ‘satisfactory breeding potential,’ it is generally accepted that thorough physical and reproductive examinations and conventional semen evaluation generally provide a useful alternative to actual fertility data. Although poor semen quality is a good indicator of subfertility, conversely, good semen quality is not a guarantee of acceptable fertility ...