Unavets Blog

Artificial insemination for canines: one of the services already offered by the UNAVETS GROUP

Written by UNAVETS | 04-May-2023

The demand for artificial insemination for canines has been growing in recent years. This is because it helps breeders and veterinarians improve reproduction in animals either for breed preservation or out of care for their wellbeing.


It is also increasingly in demand from private owners, who want their pets to reproduce under veterinary control and thus avoid complicated births, cesaerean deliveries or infertility..  
Assisted reproduction involves the management of four fundamental elements, namely:
- Management of the breeding male
- Management of the breeding female
- Management of the mating process -: mounting or artificial insemination?
- Management of the gestation period and the  delivery or caesarean section.

Clinican, an UNAVETS practice in Girona, is the exclusive representative in Spain of the CLONE USA system for the freezing and refrigeration of canine semen.

For more than 30 years, Ricard Córdoba who works at UNAVETS’ Clinican centre in Girona, has been the exclusive representative in Spain of the CLONE USA system for the freezing and refrigeration of canine semen. This system has a conception effectiveness rate of up to 94.2%.

One of the advantages of the CLONE USA system is that it enables the preparation of refrigerated semen for remote inseminations. Thanks to this, it is no longer necessary to physically bring together two dogs that are geographically separated. By simply controlling the female's oestrus cycle - by means of vaginal cytology and quantitative progesterone determination we can know the ideal momento to send or receive the semen that has been harvested with the CLONE KIT.

Semen prepared using the CLONE system also improves in quality because, the unnecessary substances and liquids that make up the ejaculate  are eliminated, and the spermatozoa are preserved so that they can be diluted with the protectors designed by CLONE. Frozen semen can also survive for up to 3 days after thawing (so long as it is kept refrigerated) due to the unique extender’s protective effect on the sperm.


This service is possible in Spain thanks to Ricard Córdoba, a veterinarian who is not only a specialist in thise area, but is also the expert who founded the first canine sperm bank in Spain, the Unidad de Reproducción Canina de Catalunya in 1997. His vast experience offers breeders and private owners the best possible results.


The Clinica Veterinaria Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza: offers full reproductive services to control canine reproduction.

The Clinica Veterinaria Valvet Puerto Venecia, located in Zaragoza, and part of the UNAVETS (Group, provides comprehensive reproductive services to control canine reproduction. 
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The centre, led by Cristina González Pastor, offers:

- Complete examination of the female: control before mating;, control of the sexual cycle, : determin by cytological and progesterone análisis pregnancy diagnosis; and, management and control of the delivery.
- Physical examination and anamnesis of the reproductive male:, seminal check;, seminal collection and evaluation;, and semen management, including: conservation procedures such as refrigeration and, seminal freezing.
- Vaginal, transcervical or endoscopic insemination.
- Semen refrigeration and freezing, with refrigeration kits available for sending semen with an autonomy  of 48 to 72 hours. 
- A semen bank, containing semen from a catalogue of elite studs, that allows the centre to commercialise their refrigerated and/or frozen semen. See dogsemenbank.com
- Complete examination of the female: control prior to mating;, control of the sexual cycle, determined by cytological and progesterone control;. pregnancy diagnosis; and management and control of the delivery.
- Physical examination and anamnesis of the breeding male:, semen check;, semen collection and evaluation;, semen handling; and: conservation procedures including: refrigeration and, semen freezing.

Instituto Médico-Veterinario de Álava (IMVA), offers complete reproduction services. 

As a member of GERPAC , the IMVA has significant expertise in pet reproduction. IMVA offers the following services:

- Complete study of the female reproductive cycle and analysis of any, hormonal, viral or, bacterial issues.
- Complete study of the male’s reproductive system: testicles;, prostate;,  semen, including, its mobility for refrigeration and freezing; and, semen refrigeration.
- Analysis of progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, LH .
- Study of prostate function by cytology, ultrasound, radiology and magnetic resonance imaging.
- Analysis of reproductive pathogens (herpesvirus, brucellosis, toxoplasmosis...).
- Refrigeration and shipment of semen.
- Artificial insemination with fresh, chilled and frozen semen.
- Traditional intrauterine insemination service.
- Programmed caesarean sections in an incubator.


These UNAVETS centres offer some of the most advanced canine/feline reproduction treatments in Spain. Thanks to these advanced services, not only is it  possible to reproduce animals from anywhere in the world, but also, thanks to our veterinarians, the health of the animal is assured at all times. 
With these specialised reproduction services provided by UNAVETS, the reproductive capacity of the animals is improved and complicated births and caesarean sections are safely facilitated. 
If you need advice from one of our experts about our reproductive services, please do not hesitate to contact us here