Pride of Bully Bulldogs work in partnership with www.NorthWestPetScanning.com which enables us to offer a range of services to support our commitment to our stud clients and fellow owners/breeders.

 Ultrasound Pregnancy Scanning

North West Pet Scanning & Breeding Services are fully qualified and insured canine ultra sound technicians using the very latest veterinary CE certified machinery mobile across the North West.

We provide a pregnancy detection ultra sound scanning service on all small and domestic animals from dogs and cats to sheep and goats.

The procedure is non-invasive and, in most cases, doesn’t require the animal to be clipped or shaved nor does it require anaesthetic.

A probe is covered with water based gel and placed on the animal’s abdomen, emitting an ultrasound wave in order to detect pregnancy.

Whether your bitches potential pregnancy was planned or an accident, it is always better to be armed with the knowledge that pups are viable, have an estimated due date and potential number of pups due so preparations can be made in advance and the expectant mum can be treated accordingly with regards to food and exercise etc. We are always happy to advise once pregnancy is confirmed and offer recommendations for books, services and websites in order to ensure you’re fully prepared for your new arrivals. It is advisable to scan between day 28 and 35 from the last mating date for a reliable pregnancy detection result. Although scans can be carried out prior to day 28, there is a risk of a false negative and a rescan at your own cost maybe required.

With any scan that gives a missed pregnancy result we offer a free “peace of mind” re scan at our address a minimum of 7 days to the first scan.

All images and measurements are sent via email after the scan, typically within 7 days.

Prices from £20.00

 Canine Artificial Insemination (AI)

Artificial Insemination is usually carried out with good quality fresh semen drawn and inserted into the cranial part of the vagina via a catheter immediately after semen is collected from the male. Using this method, the semen is deposited directly in front of the cervix or as close to the cervix as possible.

If the semen quality is not as good as required, a positive of using this method means it can be tested prior to insemination, a semen extender can be added to improve the quality and performance of the semen, thus improving the chances of producing a litter.

In some circumstances, a natural mating can be difficult to achieve, if the bitch / dog is inexperienced or uncomfortable, they may have trouble mating even if physiologically the bitch is ready to mate. Any significant size mismatch between the two, or should either party be dog aggressive, this can be over come using the AI method of insemination.

Prices start from £50.00

 Progesterone Testing

The most successful time to mate a bitch is two days (48 hours) after she has ovulated, but how do you know when this is?

Unlike most vet practices who take blood samples and send them to external labs, we at North West Pet Scanning & Breeding Services now have a progesterone analyser in house which gives a precise result within an hour of inserting a blood sample.

Progesterone testing is especially important if your bitch has failed to produce a litter on previous mating’s, or is reaching breeding maturity and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to produce puppies.

Even the most experienced of breeders can have difficulty judging the best time to mate. Some bitches may ovulate as early as day five of the season and some as late as day twenty-six. The ovulation period can also change from one season to the next so there really is no pattern to plan by despite previous thoughts from an older generation of breeders.

In general, we would recommend to start testing progesterone levels between day 5/7 after the start of the virginal bleeding and swelling. It may then be necessary to repeat the test every two or three days depending on the result. We advise our clients fully after each test as to what we recommend going forward.

Ovulation occurs two days after the LH surge when progesterone levels are between 8 – 9 ng/ml and the only reliable method of predicting ovulation in your bitch is a progesterone blood test.

After ovulation it takes approximately 48 hours for eggs to mature before they can be fertilised, so although the best time to mate is two days after ovulation, mating’s just before ovulation can still produce puppies. If possible, two mating’s (24 – 48hours apart) are recommended. Early/late mating’s made without pin pointing ovulation can result in smaller litter sizes such as singletons. For optimum opportunity of producing a pregnancy and optimum litter size, a progesterone test is vital and used as standard by many reputable breeders and show kennels.

Free test kits will be sent out on request for your vet to add a blood sample.

The kit can be posted back to us next day delivery or hand delivered to our premises.

As soon as the sample is received, we run the test and call you with your results same day.

This service is available seven days a week including Bank Holidays.

£25.00 per test.

 Semen Analysis

In an ideal world, all dogs would have their semen checked prior to being used at stud. This becomes highly important if one or more of the bitches the dog has serviced has not produced any puppies.

Semen samples are checked visually under the microscope for volume, quality, motility, forward motility and morphology. Sperm numbers are calculated and fully discussed with the owner.

By 12 months of age most dogs are sexually mature and should provide a good sample. Semen quality can decrease after five years of age, However, many older dogs are quite capable of producing a litter of puppies and some may have semen of good enough quality to use.

A good semen sample would have at least 70% forward motility and less than 10% of the sperm classed as abnormal, again this is discussed during the analysis and examples are shown to our clients. We are also able to support clients with ways to improve low scoring semen samples and advise on future mating’s.

Semen evaluation can be carried out at North West Pet Scanning & Breeding Services premises or on a mobile basis at your home, whichever is least stressful for your male and in the most part we don’t require a bitch in season to accompany your appointment (although it does help!)

Prices start from £25.00

 Microchipping

As of April 2017, it is now a mandatory practice throughout the United Kingdom for all dog owners to have their dogs microchipped and recorded with a government compliant microchip database or they will be fined up to £500.

Key facts

· All dogs in the UK must be microchipped

· Puppies must be micro chipped by 8 weeks or before leaving the litter.

· Breeders will be responsible for microchipping and must be recorded as the first keeper.

· The recorded keepers (where the dog resides) MUST keep contact details up to date on a government compliant database

Prices start from £10.00