Survey of communication challenges that impact relationships between veterinarians and dog or cat breeders and proposed solutions for retaining breeders as clients

Reproductive Management in Catteries: Optimising health and wellbeing through veterinarian-breeder collaboration

PRACTICAL RELEVANCE

Many veterinarians - even those engaged in small animal reproduction - are uncomfortable with taking care of cat breeders or being in charge of catteries. Likely reasons for this are that feline reproduction is largely under-represented in undergraduate and graduate reproduction teaching, as well as in postgraduate education and science, whereas cat breeders themselves are often well informed and actively share knowledge with other cat breeders via the internet and social media.

CLINICAL CHALLENGES

A variety of problems can exist within a cattery, and collaboration between veterinarian and breeder to solve these is ultimately beneficial for the breeder, for the veterinarian, and for the health and wellbeing of the individual cats and of the cattery as a whole.

AIM

This review presents a comprehensive overview of aspects of cattery management that might negatively impact reproduction, including sanitation, hygiene and infectious disease control. It also discusses monitoring of reproductive performance, breeding recommendations, and the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to some common and specific problems.

EQUIPMENT AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

Reproductive management in the cattery requires no specialised equipment, as such. What it does need is an open mind, in terms of seeing how things are done, an open ear, for listening to the breeder, and the veterinarian's clinical skills in palpation, auscultation and, where required, further examination of the animals. Keeping abreast of the latest information on infectious diseases, disinfection and genetics ensures proper advice is provided.

EVIDENCE BASE

Current knowledge of reproductive management in catteries is summarised in order to apply an evidence-based approach, whenever possible. Notwithstanding, much of the information remains empirical.

Profile of Dogs' Breeders and Their Considerations on Female Reproduction, Maternal Care and the Peripartum Stress-An International Survey

Simple Summary

Nowadays, all over the occidental world, an increasing number of dogs are bred to be companion animals and they are often considered part of the family. Although, dog overpopulation is still a current problem, the importance of dogs as companion or work animals is undeniable. The source of the dog (size and type of kennels) seems to affect its performance and its life outcome. To understand the perception of dog breeders and puppy production in western societies, an online international survey was sent to breeders in North and South America, Europe and Oceania. The survey focused on breeders’ demographics and maternal behaviour and stress during the peripartum period. Overall, based on the responders’ feedback, puppy production is an activity driven partially by small-scale hobby or sporadic breeders. A close relation between dogs and breeders has been observed in different countries with small differences. In general, stress reduction during strategic times was a common concern amongst breeders who were using slightly different interventions. Spending more time with the bitches to reassure them was commonly employed.

Abstract

Dogs are part of many households worldwide and in recent years in some western countries, more and more people describe them as members of the family. The accurate number of dogs per household and the actual demand for puppies are hard to estimate correctly. The sources of dogs seem to be an important element to consider before acquiring a dog since some behavioural disorders are more likely observed in dogs coming from puppy mills and pet stores. Therefore, there is an increased need to better-know dog breeders, theirs believes and practices. To full-fill this objective, an online questionnaire in five different languages (English, German, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish) was sent to dog breeders. The survey intended to study the demographics of dog breeders and to understand their perception and practices about reproduction, maternal behaviour and management of the dam during the peripartum period. We were also interested to evaluate the occurrence and the impact of stress around parturition and how breeders deal with overstressed bitches and if they believe that motherly quality could have a later-on effect on the livelihood of the dog. Six hundred and sixty-eight respondents participated in the survey, mainly from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Portugal, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America and non-listed country (reported as ‘other’ in the survey). A country effect was observed in relation to housing system, human interaction, the use of techniques to define breeding and whelping time and different methods to manage stress during the peripartum period. Considering the demographics of the responders, breeding activity is, in general, a family based activity with an effect of country. Use of progesterone levels to manage reproduction and pregnancy diagnosis by ultrasound were cited as common practice. In general, parturition takes place under human supervision. Peripartum period was perceived as a stressful moment with a difference in the way of addressing the problem based on the country but reassuring the bitch by increasing human presence was frequently described. Inappropriate maternal behaviour was observed by half of responders and if presented primiparous bitches and parturition by C-section were overrepresented. Puppies stayed with the dams from 4 weeks to 9 weeks and dog breeders from Spain, Poland and Portugal are keeping puppies with their mother the longest. Overall, poor maternal behaviour has an impact on puppies’ cognitive development with German breeders being more convinced than their counterparts from Brazil and Spain.