Theoretical aspects of canine semen cryopreservation.

Changes in canine sperm cells during freezing and thawing can cause damage to the cells resulting in cell death. No standardized freezing or thawing method appears to be ideal for all dogs and all ejaculates, because intrinsic variations in properties such as osmotic sensitivity between sperm cells from different dogs and ejaculates makes the cellular response to cryopreservation unpredictable according to the normal physics of cryobiology. Research in canine semen cryopreservation is difficult because the low ejaculate volume makes multiple comparisons from a single ejaculate difficult. True fertility data is also very limited on cryopreserved canine ejaculates. Despite this, the cottage industry that has evolved to cryopreserve dog sperm has been very successful using empirically derived methods that accommodate most ejaculates. Therefore, the practitioner must follow the recommendations supplied by the freezing center to achieve the best potential results.