This page is a mere chat, perhaps even irrelevant to the direct subject of this site; but .. two different individuals to whom I made these clarifications suggested that I should add this explanation to the site.
Choosing the sex of the puppies-to-be ...
Why is the entire 2009 litter we just had is all females? Very unusual!
So, remember, this is just a chat that may be of benefit to a breeder; and you know what, to you too personally if the subject of choosing the sex of your baby is of interest.
We had almost all but one single home interested in a female pup. Therefore, we wanted and planned for a litter of females.
Well, this is what happened and how it works.
Choosing the sex of your baby (or puppy) is scientifically possible and is practiced every day with success. It's a fact, not fiction. It's easy & simple.
I want to mention that not only I have been to medical school before I switched to chemistry and that I have a Ph.D. in science (not that you need that to figure this scientific fact) - but, when I finally closed the chapter on the professional bachelorhood and decided to have a son, and I definitely wanted a boy, I planned it accordingly to guarantee that the pregnancy will produce a boy. Of course it did.
There are several methods to guarantee the sex of the baby (and they can be applied towards the puppy too). With the fact in mind that the man (or male sire) is the one who decides the sex of the pregnancy (the female produces one type of egg, the male produces two types of sperms, one produces a male and the other produces females). So, now we can collect the semen and separate the Y chromosome sperm (produces a male) from the X chromosome sperm (produces a female) and choose which one, and insert those into the woman (or the bitch). But, this is not what I am talking about.
So how can you decide the gender of your baby or puppy with natural sex intercourse?
There are simple facts that play the main factors here:
1)
As indicated, it's the man (or male) who decides the sex of the pregnancy. The female produces one type of neutral egg(s) while the male produces two different types, one is male "Y" and the other is female "X" producing sperm.
The sperm that produces males (let's call it the male sperm) is slimmer, faster but weaker.
The female sperm is fat or bigger, slower but stronger.
The sperm that first reaches and penetrates the egg will decide the sex of the zygote (baby or pup at first stage).
It's like comparing a short distance sprinter to a long distance marathon runner. One will be very fast for a few hundred miters and run out of breath (Y) while the other will be behind during the first few hundred meters then eventually and slowly will go past the the one that ran out energy and is finished.
2)
The acidity inside the female changes from before ovulation to during ovulation and after ovulation. The less acidic the better for the weaker (male) sperm.
The female (stronger) sperm will last alive longer in a more acidic environment. The sperms live for several days inside the female (waiting for the egg) when intercourse is done prior to ovulation.
3)
The distance between the released sperm and the already existing and waiting egg. Shorter distance (deep penetration) is in favour of the faster male sperm; while a longer distance is in favour of the stronger female sperm who will be behind in the race at first, but will later advance past the dead male sperm (specially if the environment such as acidity, is in her favorite).
So, to simplify it; you have a race between two armies of sperms, X & Y and the goal is the egg.
- The male sperm will reach the egg faster in a short distance race before he runs out of breath so to speak.
- The female sperm will reach the egg if the trip is in harsh weather conditions (acidity) while the male sperm will die.
- The male and female sperm may both reach their destination but - no egg yet, they await ovulation. it may be like waiting in the desert for water, the
stronger fat one will survive though it's slower.
To produce males only or mostly or females only or mostly, you need to:
1- Say, for male pups (or in humans a boy) the man (or male sire) needs to refrain from sex for a few days and better yet get a headstart with a special diet for a few days prior to the intercourse designed to promote increasing the number of sperms. (There is even a diet to promote the Y-sperms health).
The more male sperms (even though it generally means also more female sperms too) the better the chance that a fast male sperm will make it. It's like a race between 10 slim-fast ones and 10 fatter-slower ones VS millions of each.
The existence of some obstacles in the way (that will work only against the Y-slimmier-weaker sperms) - will give the slower but stronger one a better chance. Of course you have millions of X & Y sperms and some will be weak, some will be produced just as guards to clear the way for the dominant sperms .. etc. So within the category of millions of weaker but faster male sperms, some will be stronger than others, and the same within the stronger but slower female sperms. Of course survival of the fittest law plays here, and that fact (strong-fat-slow good female sperm VS weaker-slimmer-faster good male sperm) will be the key factor.
2- The environment inside the female can be controlled with diet and alkaline washing to make it less acidic if you want a male.
3- The ovulation date determination is vital in terms of when sperms should be released inside the female (via intercourse or artificial insemination). a day or more before the egg(s) is released, very close on the day of ovulation just after the egg is released, or a day or more after ovulation makes a big difference in the acidity level the sperms will go through. Ovulation date can be determined easily by monitoring the body temperature (first thing in the morning) for a week prior to the suspected ovulation date. It can also be determined with vaginal swap and more accurately with a blood test. Determining progesterone level points out ovulation date. Intercourse on the day of ovulation just after the egg is released is in favour of producing a male, while 3-4 days before ovulation favours producing a female.
4- In the case of dogs, there is what is called the tie. The male reaches ejaculation and a swelling at the end of the penis forms what looks like two small testicles known as tie balls). They are supposed to be inside the female when she contracts in response to the initial spray and she holds the penis inside her to ensure proper fertilization of the eggs. The male, unlike humans, doesn't ejaculate as such, he seeps, a continuous sequence of sprays one after the other over about 10 minutes, each releases some sperms and pushes the previous ones further inside the bitch.
In humans, most of the sperms are released at once during the first moments of ejaculation which is why the missionary position with deep penetration (and the woman's legs on the man's shoulders) favours male VS the doggy style position where less deep penetration favours a desired female - is a sperm traveling distance factor. In dogs, it's the real tie VS the outside tie where the male has several sprays each has minimal sperms (outside tie meaning the balls-like swelling at the end of the penis occurred outside and as such the female did not lock the male and no tie) - and, if it's artificial insemination, in Danes, 9 or 10 inches insertion for males VS 6 or 7 inches insertion for females.
So, simply, you would want to control:
1- abundance or less number of sperms at large
2- acidity in the female
3- ovulation date.
4- distance and travel time between the sperms and the egg (both penetration degree (poistion or depth or insertion in case of insemination) and availability
of the egg VS waiting time for the egg)
Most people don't understand how simple, logical and easy it is to determine the sex of their baby. If the egg is present and ready, the environment is not too acidic, and you make the distance between the sperm and the egg short, the fast Y sperm will win and it's a boy. If you make the distance and the waiting time long, the X sperm will win and it's a female. Well it's just as simple with Danes.
In this case of our Dane pregnancy:
1- The male had an outside tie in the same morning in attempt to mate with the female. When the male reaches that degree of excitement and even though
he didn't lock with the female, he can't stop it, and the erection continuous and he continues to seep (spray) outside on the ground.
2- Artificial insemination was done on the same evening without waiting for at least 2 days for a bigger buildup of sperms. Smaller number of general
sperms favours female production.
3- The insertion was done at about 7 or 8 inches as opposed to 11 inches deep. I recall when I took the bitch to the vet that comment was made to about
effect and perhaphs vet t is used to inseminating smaller dogs. I didn't ask her to use deeper insertion - but she did comment that she will be including
what is commonly known as the prostate wash into the insertion. After she did the insemination, I suggested to her that next time I would want several
insertions, i.e. she would insert the ejaculate, while the technician continues with a follow up on collection and a third insertion is then made -
(immediately as each is collected) in the same insemination session, and she agreed with the analysis.
(Note that natural mating does not create 10 inches deep insertion - in fact, the male Dane's penis is considerably shorter than the average human's; but,
in the tie, he continues with a sequence of sprays for 10 or 15 minutes each pushing the previous one further deep. Hence, a mere deposit via artificial
insemination need to be at !0 inches for males, 7 inches for females). As well, for females, the breeder may allow the male to attempt to mount the
female, but actually collects the semen in a collection bag and immediately insert in with a tube and a syringe at 7 inches dept. In our case, I didn't do
the insemination myself, but 7 or 8 inches was what the vet applied.) A few precautions and technical knowldge is a must or serious harm to the female
may result. Obviously, this is not to address the AI procedure, just to make a point. There is more to it than that.
4- It was the early stage of female estrus prior to actual eggs release (ovulation).
The result, logically, females - just as I called it.
