Become a Veterinary
Assistant II: Canine Reproduction

In the first lesson, you’ll learn how to select parents for your breeding program by using blood tests, radiographs, and physical examinations. You’ll receive a primer on genetic disease and then learn all about management of the breeding pair, specifically vaccinations, deworming, and nutrition.

How well do you know the female dog’s anatomy? Besides learning the difference between the uterus and the oviducts, you’ll look at the physical abnormalities that plague the female dog. You’ll also find out how to diagnose infections and how those infections can impact fertility.

In this lesson, you’ll turn your attention to the male dog. He’s a far more important contributor to the gene pool than the female. You’ll delve into reproductive diseases that strike the male, such as cryptorchidism and Brucellosis, and conclude with a look at maladies such as testicular and prostatic disease that strike the geriatric male.

When is the right time to breed a female dog? Though this is a simple question, the answer eludes many people. In this lesson, you’ll examine the reproductive (estrous) cycle of the female. You’ll discover myriad ways to pinpoint the most productive time to breed.

In this lesson, you’ll explore two methods of breeding—natural and artificial. You’ll be able to tell when there are problems with natural mating. When you look at artificial insemination, you have to know how to collect and evaluate semen to ensure the male is fertile. This lesson will cover how to do that as well as techniques for insemination.

By now, the female has been bred and you expect a pregnancy. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen every time. This lesson focuses on reasons for infertility in the female, such as pyometra and cystic endometrial hyperplasia.

You’ll now turn your attention to the hormonal fluctuations that influence fertility. You’ll examine silent heats, persistent estrus, and a variety of other abnormalities. You’ll even go over a few problems with sexual behavior.

In this lesson, you’ll review some of the important reasons for male infertility. You’ll begin by finding out why the male may not want to mate, such as having arthritis in his spine. Next, you’ll look at semen production and the negative effects of such things as prostate infections. You’ll conclude the lesson with a review of a male reproductive examination.

Assuming everything has gone right, you now have a pregnant dog and you have to take care of her. What should she be fed? Should she be vaccinated? What diseases could strike her during this time? You’ll look at two specific examples you need to watch for—diabetes and pregnancy toxemia.

It’s time for puppies! In this lesson, you’ll learn what to expect during whelping. You’ll find out what’s normal and when to suspect complications. Of course, the lesson wouldn’t be complete without examining how to solve a whelping problem. You’ll learn what you can do and how a caesarean is done.

Many people breathe a sigh of relief once the puppies are born, but for some dogs, this is when the problems really begin. This lesson’s topic is postpartum disease. These diseases include mastitis, metritis, and hypocalcemia—a condition where the blood calcium drops to dangerous levels.

This final lesson is all about puppies. You’ll look at the importance of the first drink of milk. You’ll find out how to evaluate if they’re getting enough food, and what to do if they aren’t. You’ll also look at how to keep them warm so they aren’t chilled. The lesson and course will conclude with an itinerary that shows you what to do for the first six months of a puppy’s life.