Veterinary Andrology and Reproductive Techniques

PROGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

Prognosis

• Guarded to poor depending upon the cause and the degree of the inherited or acquired lack of libido.
• For bulls affected with a lack of libido is often requires 3 to 6 months of proper handling for sexual desire to improve after adverse environmental influences have been corrected.

Treatment

Treatment should be given after

• Careful collection of the male’s breeding history
• Thorough physical examination of the male and
• Repeated observations of the male during coitus.

• Proper amounts of good quality grain and roughage should be provided to reduce obesity (if present) or to increases the body weight (if the male is too thin)
• Sufficient exercise should be provided.
• Chronic disease status especially parasitism in young males should be corrected if possible.
• The virility of the male should be assessed and the frequency of services should be reduced.
• A period of several months sexual rest is desirable in males that have been excessively over used.
• Changing the site of semen collection.
• Good footing and proper ceiling height in the semen collection yard.
• Proper restraining of the female or teasers while service or semen collection.
• Care, consideration and patience in the handling of the slow breeding male.
• If Artificial Vagina (AV) is used, skilled operator is essential.
• The AV should neither too warm nor too cold and adequate pressure should be applied to the penis.
• Frequent changes of teasers and a longer period of teasing is often helpful.
• Libido can be restored by allowing the male to stay with one or more quiet non-pregnant females.
• As a last resort when the condition fails to respond semen may be collected by using electro ejaculator in bulls, rams and boars and in dogs by using digital manipulator.
• Drugs and hormone treatments are of questionable value in most males lacking sex desire.

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• Testosterone may be used but it is not the specific treatment for improving the libido in males. Prolonged high level of testosterone therapy may cause testicular degeneration and atrophy of testis.
  • Dose: Bull : 100-500mg
  • Stallion : 100-500mg
  • Ram : 50-100 mg
  • Boar : 50-100 mg
  • Dogs : 10-50 mg
  • Repeated every 5-10 days for several times.
• One or more injection of human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) at 4-7 days intervals in doses of 3000-4500 IU for large animals and 100-500 IU for dogs may help to stimulate testosterone production. This is the specific treatment in males to improve the libido.
• Pure LH preparation can also be used.
• Males that are obese and lazy possibly due to a hypothyroid condition may benefit from feeding Iodinated Casein with 3 per cent thyroxine potency at a rate of 1gm per 100 lb body weight daily.
• Glucocorticoids are also used with questionable success.
• Injections of vitamins and feeding of trace minerals; protein and iodine have little value in in most of the slow breeding males.

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