Influence of season and parity on the recovery of in vivo canine oocytes by flushing fallopian tubes

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) in dogs largely depends on the in vivo matured oocytes due to lack of a suitable in vitro maturation system. The present study evaluated the technique of flushing fallopian tubes to collect in vivo matured canine oocytes by laparotomy, and determined the effects of seasons, and parity of donor bitches on the success of oocyte retrieval. Oocytes were retrieved from anesthetized bitches by laparotomy. About 7 ml of TCM-199 supplemented with HEPES was used to flush each individual fallopian tube. Oocytes were categorized as good, fair, poor, immature or aged based on the nuclear stage, cumulus cell layers, color and homogeneity of ooplasm. Oocytes categorized as being good or fair were considered usable, while poor, aged or immature oocytes were considered unusable for ART. A significantly higher number of oocytes per bitch were retrieved during the spring (11.2) compared to the winter (7.9). The oocyte recovery rates were 89.4, 92.2, 89.7 and 89.3% for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. The highest percentage of usable oocytes (74.7%) was retrieved during autumn (P > 0.05). The number of oocytes was influenced by the parity of the donor bitch. Significantly more oocytes were collected from the multiparous bitches (10.3) compared to nulliparous bitches (7.7). The percentage of usable oocytes was more in multipara (71.5%) compared to nullipara (64.7%) (P > 0.05). Collection of in vivo produced oocytes by laparotomy represents a potential source of matured oocytes for ART in dogs.