Dog sperm frozen for two decades delivers 10 great danes

A GEELONG vet clinic has used dog sperm frozen for more than 20 years to produce 10 great dane puppies.

Bellarine Veterinary Practice Dr David Hopkins said Ballarat client Deidre McRae had frozen and stored sperm from one of her prized great danes, Liebendane Armstrong, in 1989.

Twenty-one years later, long after that dog's death, his sperm has been used to spawn these new pups. The puppies, now eight weeks old, are all happy and healthy.

Dr Hopkins said while breeding dogs using frozen sperm was not new technology, it was remarkable that semen frozen for so long could produce such a large, healthy litter.

Ms McRae yesterday said she was "over the moon" with the results. "I was hoping for one or even two, but to have 10 is just unbelievable," she said. Dr Hopkins said the technology was most commonly used to breed professional sniffer dogs for Australian Customs.

Ms McRae said she would keep some of the pups as show dogs, and would sell others.