Biology and endocrinology of ovulation, pregnancy and parturition in the dog.

There is considerable variation among bitches in commonly encountered intervals between cycles (5-12 months), durations of anoestrus (1-8 months), durations of follicular phase pro-oestrus (3-21 days) and periovulatory oestrous behavior (3-21 days), intervals from preovulatory LH surge to oestrus onset (-2 to 5 days), and intervals from fertile mating to parturition (57-68 days). The extent of variation within bitches ranges from slight to great. However, there appears to be very little variation in the intervals from LH surge to ovulation (2 days), to post-ovulatory oocyte maturation (approximately 4 days), to implantation (approximately 18 days), to selected developmental stages of pregnancy, or to parturition (64-66 days). There are no tests diagnostic of early pregnancy. The onset times of persistent pregnancy-specific changes have been estimated, including radio-opaque fetal details (Day 46), elevated blood prolactin values (Day 35), elevated blood relaxin values (Day 25), echogenic heart beats (Day 24) and embryonic vesicles (Day 19), and potentially palpable uterine enlargements (Day 21). As in humans, there is an anaemia of pregnancy involving a 30% reduction in haematocrit and an increased incidence of insulin resistance during the second half of gestation. Ovarian progesterone is required throughout pregnancy. LH and prolactin are luteotrophic in the pregnant bitch as well as during the 2-month luteal phase of the non-pregnant bitch. Parturition follows a luteolysis which occurs during an increase in prostaglandin F-2 alpha that begins 36 h pre partum. Factors regulating the duration of anoestrus are not known but termination of anoestrus is associated with increased pulsatile secretion of LH.