Transfer of canine embryos at various developmental stages recovered by hysterectomy or surgical uterine flushing

In dogs, embryo transfer (ET) techniques such as induciton of excessive ovulation and synchronization of estrus have not progressed well. Therefore, using embryos at various developmental stages, ET was investigated in dogs from a beagle colony in which the ovulation days were close, as estimated by the progesterone level. Embryos were, recovered 8-11 days after ovulation (4-9 days after mating) by excising the oviducts and uteri (excision method) in 16 animals and by surgical flushing of the uteri at laparotomy (surgical method) in 3 animals. In 24 dogs with -4 to +2 days of difference in the timing of ovulation between donor and recipient dogs, 1-10 embryos at the 8-cell to blastocyst stages were transferred per animal. The mean embryo recovery rate by the excision method (97.1%) was significantly higher than that by the surgical method (42.5%) (p<0.01). Twelve (57.1%) of 21 animals with -1 to +2 days difference in ovulation day became pregnant after the transfer of 8-cell to blastocyst stage embryos. Although 3 dogs with -4 to -2 days of difference of ovulation day underwent ET of morula or compacted morula, none of these dogs became pregnant. The mean ratio of the number of newborns to the number of transferred embryos was only 51.9%. The mean duration of the period between ovulation and delivery in the pregnant recipients was 65.8 days, which tended to be longer than that in natural mating. These results demonstrate that pregnancy can be induced by ET at the 8-cell to blastocyst stage in dogs with -1 to +2 days difference in ovulation day.