Transcervical and Artificial Insemination
Our Primary Aim:
Bring the standard of assisted canine breeding in the UK in line with that of other species.
Our intention is to balance ethical breeding and high welfare standards with the best technology and service that the industry has to offer. We believe that as ‘man’s best friend’, your dog deserves the absolute best care possible, where welfare is never compromised, and a successful and stress-free breeding programme is considered paramount.
Why AI or TCI?
Artificial Insemination (AI) or Transcervical Insemination (TCI), helps to connect dogs from around the world whilst removing the stress of travelling to a stud dog. With a nationwide gene pool, you can choose from a vast amount of blood-lines and we can have them shipped to our facility when your female is ready for insemination.
AI is a much safer than traditional methods taking the risk of either dog struggling or potentially hurting one another in the mating process. The AI process can help to eliminate negative behavioural changes from the mating process that may affect your dog's performance and stress levels when mating in the future.
What is a AI and TCI?
AI (Artifical Insemination)
An AI (Artificial Insemination) mimics a natural mating and is also known as vaginal insemination or side-by-side insemination. The process can reduce the physical contact between the dogs and the stress related to a natural mating. When we carry out an AI, the appointment will begin by your dog being collected from. We will then perform a quality assessment on the semen to make sure it is viable. Once we have processed the semen in our laboratory, it is ready to be inseminated into your bitch. Your bitch will have a catheter placed into her reproductive tract via the vagina and it will be held in placed whilst the semen sample is inserted. (AI can only be used for fresh and chilled semen).
TCI (Transcervical Insemination)
TCI (Transcervical Insemination) is a technique that can be used with any form of canine semen (fresh, chilled or frozen). A rigid endoscope is passed through the reproductive tract to the cervix, where the cervix is then catheterised, allowing the semen to be deposited deep in the uterus. Therefore, the semen is inseminated as close to the eggs as possible.
Most bitches stand for the procedure without any need for sedation and it is a stress-free process, with the whole insemination generally lasting a short amount of time. TCI is the only procedure that frozen semen can be used with, this is to maximise the chances of successfully obtaining the pregnancy.
TCI is advantageous (over vaginal inseminations) for chilled or poor-quality fresh semen due to where the semen is deposited. TCI also has the added benefit of allowing direct visualisation of the reproductive tract. Visualisation of the reproductive tissues can assist with identifying where the bitch is in her heat cycle and allows screening for any abnormalities at the same time. TCI carries the same safety as a traditional AI allowing the female to be in a calm safe environment when inseminated.
TCI at Elite Kennel Fertility
Our team will help to organise your dog's TCI process from start to finish including progesterone testing, carrying out the TCI, pregnancy scanning and microchipping and vaccinating the puppies. When using frozen semen that is not already stored with us, it will need to be shipped to our clinic prior to your insemination, where it will be expertly handled and stored until your bitch is ready. Once we have catheterised the cervics using the TCI endoscope, the semen will be thawed and a mini assessment will be carried out to ensure what we are inseminating is of viable quality, after the semen will be pushed through the catheter into the uterus within close proximity of where the eggs should be.
Our friendly professional team can perform pregnancy scans to allow you to view your future litter. Click the button below to find out more!
