What is it and how can it help me or my veterinary surgeon?

Just as Progesterone testing pinpoints ovulation and subsequently when to mate it is also useful to monitor its level as it needs to stay elevated to sustain a pregnancy, it also falls to end a pregnancy and trigger whelping.

Testing can be important during pregnancy if previous failure to carry a litter full term suggests there was an early fall in progesterone, monitoring this hormone can give warning to a premature fall and time for you and your veterinary surgeon to intervene to keep the progesterone level elevated with medication.

In some cases when there is uncertainty on whether a bitch is in labour and whelping is imminent or where there is doubt on timing of a C-Section reverse progesterone testing is a valuable tool as the hormone progesterone falls to a certain level around the time puppies are ready to be born.
 

A breeders worst nightmare is often “Single Puppy Syndrome” this state of only carrying a single fetus sees a much higher incidence of pregnancy failure and also Primary Inertia” a condition where a bitch fails to go into productive labour and expel the puppy, too often breeders are told by their veterinary surgeon to go home and wait for nature to take its course but this can sometimes lead to loss of the puppy (or puppies) if the progesterone level has already fallen and the bitch has failed to whelp, if in doubt Reverse Progesterone Testing can be beneficial in knowing when to intervene.