Comparative Evaluation of Different Methods Of Management of Dystocia In Dogs

In recent years, advances in canine reproduction have facilitated pregnancymanagement to emerge as an important clinical service that has application from thebeginning to the end of gestation. The advances provide new and improved methods ofpregnancy detection; improved use of ultrasound to determine gestational age, assessfetal wellbeing, predict the date of whelping, detect animals prone for dystocias andformulate treatment protocols to reduce maternal and fetal mortality (Concannon andVerstegen, 1998).Over the last two decades, there has been a tremendous increase in the number ofpedigreed dogs, particularly in the urban areas with the kennel owners even importingfancy breeds, at an exhorbitant price. The kennel owners have become increasingly awareof the importance of pre-breeding evaluation of the bitch, availability of the techniques todetermine the exact time of mating, early pregnancy diagnosis and regular monitoring ofthe general health of the pregnant animals by the Veterinarian.The act of parturition perhaps is the most anxious time for the dog breeders, as thepuppy survival rate and the future reproduction of the dam are influenced by events atthis stage. In a study by Forsberg and Forsberg (1989), the frequency of puppy deathsupto three weeks of age following normal parturition was reported to be 11.9 per cent. Incomparison, the frequency of pups born dead or die during abnormal parturition was 22.3per cent (Darvelid and Linde- Forsberg 1994).