Producing Puppies – Presented by Dr. Fiona Hollinshead and Dr. Greg Burns

Part 1 and 2 of this session include: How to time matings for the greatest breeding
success; improving both male and female fertility; preventing and managing infectious
diseases like canine herpes; semen collecting and handling.

Dr Fiona Hollinshead graduated from The University of Sydney, Australia in 1996 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Honors) and in 2004 with a PhD in sperm sexing and assisted reproductive technologies. Fiona completed a clinical residency in Theriogenology at Cornell University in 2006 and in the same year became a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists and a Registered Specialist in Small Animal Veterinary Reproduction with the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council. She currently is  an Associate Professor in Small Animal Reproduction at Colorado State University and section head of a the small animal reproduction service as well as priniciple investigator of a new laboratory at the Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology Laboratory (ARBL) specializing in the optimisation of semen cryopreservation, stem cell and 3D organoid cell culture and extracellular vesicles. Bridging the gap between bench top research and clinical applications in veterinary reproduction and therapeutics is important to Fiona and her team.  During Fiona’s 12 years in New Zealand she  was the reproductive consultant to the New Zealand Guide Dogs, MPI Detector Dogs and the New Zealand Police and detector dog breeding units, which involved the production of over 350 puppies per year and with the majority of breedings performed with frozen semen imported from other international agencies. Since arriving in the USA, Fiona works with a number of performance/working dog programs and their  breeding management strategies. Fiona been performing transcervical insemination (TCI) in bitches for over 15 years and now runs one of the only training courses in the world in this non- invasive, endoscopic intrauterine insemination technique that was developed in New Zealand. Fiona has published 12 book chapters in the field of small animal reproduction and over 35 scientific and clinical refereed publications in reproduction and artificial assisted technologies. Fiona is passionate about large scale working dog breeding programs. Her goal is to provide breeding information and facilitate the implementation of artificial reproductive technologies to large scale breeding programs to improve reproductive performance, and in combination with optimal genetic selection, to ensure the efficient production of healthier and higher performing dogs at every generation interval.  

Dr. Greg Burns is a board-certified theriogenologist (reproductive specialist) originally from Phoenix, Arizona. He received his D.V.M. from Colorado State University in 1996 and entered small animal general practice focused on canine reproduction in Phoenix. It was during this time that Dr. Burns began working with breeders of conformation dogs, working dogs, and performance dogs. Upon returning to Colorado in 2000, he worked as an associate veterinarian at a small animal practice in Fort Collins. In 2002, Dr. Burns became a partner in the practice and served as medical director, a position he held for 15 years. He developed a small animal reproduction department which included an international semen freezing and storage facility. It was also during this time that Dr. Burns completed the mentorship residency program through the American College of Theriogenologists and became a board-certified theriogenologist. He has been performing transcervical insemination in the canine for over 20 years and has TCI experience in other species as well (including Amur Tigers!). Dr. Burns has been a lecturer in small animal theriogenology at Colorado State University since 2006 and an affiliate faculty member until 2019. Currently, he is an assistant professor of theriogenology in the small animal reproduction service.