I just received my new equipment for shipping chilled semen. Below are some pics of the equip.







As you can see this is no little container. It is very well constructed and has 2 cardboard boxes to protect the insulation. The outer box is replaceable, however with care in opening it, it can be used numerous times before this outer skin will need to be replaced.



It has a full 3 inches of insulation around the "inner boxes".



Above the "inner boxes" there is a 4 inch thick removeable foam pad.



The inner boxes are removed by a nylon strap.



The "top" inner box is where the vial of semen will be placed. This upper box has "gel" packs in it and requires refrigeration of 24 hours prior to shipment of semen.



The 'bottom" inner box is fully enclosed in cardboard, I assume that is has gel packs contained inside. The bottom box must be froze for 24 hours prior to semen shipment. This final picture shows how the vial of semen will be inserted in between the gel packs of the upper box. To the left is a latex collection sheath and to the right is a disposable "plastic" collection sheath.



"Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it."

a quote from Lee Iacocca

Mike , have you tried collecting a good sample of semen without having a bitch in heat to excite the male ? It seems to be a trick getting a good sample until the male gets comfortable being "milked" .

Mike is semen available from Elhew Phantom or Mr. Elhew Bo Darc?
What's the price?

And.. Mike do you recommend doing the A.I. vaginally or enteruterine?

Justin...I have no real exprience in the realm of "milking" a male without a female being in heat, however I do plan of "trying" a few tricks. Below is a picture of Stitch in the process of breeding Rose, the litter that is now just on the ground. I use a "breeding stand" to restrain the females that are being bred and after the male is "tied", I chain him to the stand as well.





I always breed my dogs in the same spot using this stand so my plan of "tricks" will be, 1. put any female I have on hand in the breeding stand. 2. Using some of my wife and daughter's make-up removing pads, pictured below, I am going to take some vaginal smears of a female that is "ripe and ready" for breeding and then freeze these pads for the future in hopes of a true "artificial collection". I plan on smearing these pads on the rear of the female that is positioned in the stand and hopefully with some "practice" I, as well as my males, will become comfortable in the "milking" process, utilizing this "artificially in heat" gyp .



I'll keep you guys posted on my progress.

Tommy...I have been unable to "collect" Phantom so far. I am taking him to Gary, a man very experienced at the collection process, to see if he has better luck than me. Hopefully he will be able to get Phantom collected, however, if he is succsessful at collecting Phantom, I will not sell any of the semen as I will have it frozen for future matings.
I still have Mr. Elhew Bo'Darc here with me and will until October, so his semen will be available from me until then. After October, he will be with his new owner in Rhode Island, however he will still be availalbe for breeding via fresh chilled semen. Although the dog will no longer be in my hands, I will still have the control of breeding him as per my agreement with his new owner. If someone does want to breed to Mr. Elhew Bo'Darc after October, they will need to notify me as soon as they suspect their female is coming in heat, as I will have to ship my box to Rhode Island so it, containing the semen, will be ready to ship overnight from his vet.

"Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it."

a quote from Lee Iacocca

Mike , I'm not sure how good Gary is at collecting ... I do know that you can buy some doe in heat scent and pretty much fool a dog with it ..even yourself if you're not careful...or if you're just lonely.