Results

Breeder and Breed Distribution

On the basis of the study's inclusion criteria, questionnaires from a total of 251 Italian breeders were analysed. One limitation of the study was the inability to obtain an equal number of respondents across the three macro areas (North, Centre and South). This was mainly due to the fact that most questionnaires were distributed to breeders attending dog shows in Northern Italy, whereas breeders in Central and Southern Italy were contacted exclusively via email. Participants were distributed across the three main geographical macro areas: 154 breeders (61.4%) from Northern Italy, 49 (19.5%) from Central Italy and 48 (19.1%) from Southern Italy, as shown in Figure 1. Overall, the most frequently reported breeds were the Australian Shepherd (n = 13), Labrador Retriever (n = 12), Golden Retriever (n = 11), Poodle (n = 11) and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (n = 10). Figure 2 shows the distribution of the main breeds raised in the different macro areas.

FIGURE 1: Geographical distribution of the breeders included in the study (n = 251) across Italy, classified according to the macro areas described in the text: 154 breeders in Northern Italy (blue), 49 in Central Italy (yellow), and 48 in Southern Italy (green). The pie chart illustrates, using the same colour scheme, the proportional representation of breeders within each macro area.

FIGURE 2: Distribution of the main breeds of the kennels considered in the study.

Reproductive Management Practices

The results concerning reproductive management are presented in Figures 3, 4, 5. Overall, breeders showed generally homogeneous reproductive management practices across the three geographical macro areas. Most respondents routinely monitored oestrus and P4 concentrations and reported similar mating methods and pregnancy‐monitoring practices across the three macro areas. Significant differences were observed for two categorical variables: the use of a male to detect females in heat and the use of vaginal cytology to monitor oestrus. Both showed regional variation in the overall distribution. However, post hoc analyses revealed that only the use of a male was statistically significant after Bonferroni correction, whereas vaginal cytology did not show any significant pairwise differences, indicating that the discrepancies were modest and not regionally structured.

FIGURE 3: Tabular representation of the frequency distribution (%) of categorical reproductive management variables across the geographical macro areas. p values presented in bold indicate statistically significant differences.

FIGURE 4: Tabular representation of descriptive statistics (mean ± standard deviation) of continuous reproductive management variables across the geographical macro areas. p values presented in bold indicate statistically significant differences.

FIGURE 5: Post hoc pairwise comparisons for variables showing significant differences. Comparisons were conducted between North and Centre, North and South, and Centre and South. p values presented in bold indicate statistically significant differences, whereas ‘ns’ denotes the absence of a statistically significant difference.

Among continuous variables, differences were detected in the approximate number of tests performed, the inter‐mating interval and the day of radiographic puppy count. Post hoc comparisons showed that breeders from Central and Southern Italy reported performing a higher number of diagnostic tests than those from Northern regions. The inter‐mating interval tended to be slightly longer in Central Italy, whereas radiographic puppy counting was carried out earlier in Southern Italy (50.84 days) than in the other regions (54.94 North and 53.62 Centre) (Figure 4).

Regarding the most used mating technique in the various macro areas, breeders reported various methods in order of usefulness, including natural mating, vaginal insemination (VI), trans‐cervical insemination (TCI) and surgical insemination. Figure 6 presents the different techniques employed by breeders across the macro areas, along with their corresponding frequencies. No statistically significant differences were observed between the macro areas, suggesting that the choice of mating method is not influenced by geographical location. The percentages of use of the different techniques in the three macro areas are comparable. However, the surgical insemination technique has not been reported to be used in the south.

FIGURE 6: Distribution of breeders’ mating preferences across geographical macro areas (North, Centre and South). Each breeder could select more than one option. The total number of preferences reported for each mating method is indicated, and the corresponding percentage is illustrated using pie charts for each macro area.

About the most used semen type in the various macro areas, breeders reported the usage of fresh, frozen and chilled semen. Figure 7 presents breeders’ semen type preferences along with the corresponding frequencies. There were no statistically significant differences observed in the semen used between macro areas. Overall, for all macro areas, the most frequently used type of semen was fresh semen (p < 0.05).

FIGURE 7: Distribution of breeders’ semen preferences across geographical macro areas (North, Centre and South). Each breeder could select more than one option. The total number of preferences reported for each type of semen is indicated, and the corresponding percentage is illustrated using pie charts for each macro area.

Puppy Management Practices

The results concerning puppy management are summarized in Figures 8 and 9. Overall, breeders reported largely consistent practices across the three geographical macro areas. Most respondents stated that they routinely weighed puppies to monitor growth and followed similar protocols for feeding and weaning. The use of milk replacer as a dietary supplement was relatively uncommon, with limited regional variation observed.

FIGURE 8: Tabular representation of the frequency distribution (%) of categorical puppy management variables across the geographical macro areas. p values presented in bold indicate statistically significant differences.

FIGURE 9: Tabular representation of descriptive statistics (mean ± standard deviation) of continuous puppy management variables across the geographical macro areas. p values presented in bold indicate statistically significant differences.

A statistically significant difference was identified for the average number of daily weightings (p < 0.001). Breeders from Northern Italy reported weighing puppies more frequently compared to those from Central and Southern regions. Post hoc comparisons confirmed significant differences between all area pairs (North–Centre, North–South and Centre–South) (p < 0.001). For the categorical variable ‘Do you weigh the puppies every day?’, a difference among macro areas was also detected (p = 0.023). Moreover, post hoc pairwise comparisons using the Holm correction revealed a statistically significant difference between breeders from North and South macro areas (p = 0.018), whereas no significant differences were observed between the other area pairs (North–Centre and Centre–South). No other variables showed statistically significant differences among the geographical areas. These findings indicate a generally homogeneous approach to early‐life puppy management throughout the country, with regional variability limited primarily to the intensity of daily growth monitoring.