Had a friend who did an AI on her bitch, I was the "helper", she had never done an AI before, and while I don't have much experience I had more than she did. She got two shipments of chilled semen, delivered a couple days apart. She had done progesterone testing prior, with our regular vet to determine ovulation.
With a little instruction from the stud dog owner, a pipette, syringe, and 30 minutes of our time we did two AI's at her house. She ended up with a pretty good sized litter for a sheltie, (7) puppies.
No surgery involved.
Edited to add: The price wasn't really much more than a normal stud fee. I think its around $200 per shipment of semen, that depends on the stud dog owner and the kit, of course, if it doesn't take then your out that money, but if a natural breeding doesn't take you're usually out "breeding fees" or boarding/travel expenses anyway.