My Bus Companion Acting Wierd

[captain ron]

My dog Sporty is acting weird the last few days. Licking herself more than usual, acting all hormoney, Humping her stuffed toy. She was in heat back in late September could she be in heat again? No bloody spots as of yet. This is my first dog so I'm kind of new to this and very uneducated. I would like to get her bred if she is. By the way Sporty is a Toy MinPin.

[Linda-XL40-FL]

Generally a female dog (correctly called a bitch; the male is the dog) is in heat twice a year, but apparently there can be exceptions to that.  Check out this web site:  http://dogs.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Dog_Heat_Cycle_and_Breeding

And you might want to ask your vet or if you got Sporty from a breeder, the breeder might have some advice.

Good luck.

Linda

[captain ron]

Thanks Linda, She's definately in heat. Now to find her a "playmate" 

[JohnEd]

Charlie,

After you get done with the pups I want you to consider an alternative to the ever popular spay.  My bitches get Uterine Hysterectomies.  The lose their uterus or womb but keep their ovaries.  That way they keep the source of bitche's testosterone and that keeps them fit and in trim and prevents their going straight into old age from puppy.  This practice is popular in EUROPE but is not even taught in Veterinarian school.  This according to the vet that teaches surgery at Oregon State School of Veternary Science.  That young lady told me that when I found a vet that would do the surgery he would be an old man cause the "used" to teach that procedure.  My new vet is 67 and he fixed Wendy for me and Merlin, her guy.

Bitches mostly die of two things...uterine cancer and mammary cancer.  Take out the uterus and you eliminate half the cancers.  Down side is that she still comes into heat and will breed but in vain.  My pets like this idea and I turn a blind eye but many people think I am some kind of monster/pervert.  They want Merlin's nuts whacked also and I still can't figure that one out.  A lady vet told me it was cruel to expose him to testicular cancer and I mused that that was why we marched all our 14 year old boys down to the clinic for their castration....kindness.  Last visit there!

My Cocker mix, Busy Bitch, lived to be 14.5 and had the food dish out 24/7 and was the trimest cocker you ever saw.  Fiesty energetic till the day she died.  A real Daddy's girl 50 weeks out of the year and a shamless hussy for 2.  I mean a real tramp!  She slept under my arm every night and left two spots on my sheets smaller than a dime in all those years and was never odorous.  She went through three husbands and all the strange she could lay a paw on.  I loved her deeply and , like Bo Jangles, I still grieve after 5 years.

Good luck with your little girl.  Remember that Min Pins are famous for attitude and I have never met an owner that hasn't been bitten many times.  Min Pins need a special kind of owner that some describe as masochistic.  Band aids and antiseptic in the closet.  Most MinPins die in the jaws of a Beagle or Lab that they attack with the intent to kill.  They are not dog park dogs but their owners are extremely devoted.

Congratulations,

John, Merlin and Wendy

Merlin was named after a magician cause from a very early age he could make $#!% appear out of thin air.  Really, you can see for yourself. 

[Ednj]

Thanks Linda, She's definately in heat. Now to find her a "playmate" 

.....
...............
Ron- heard you need a "playmate" for your little playgirl......I wonder what this combo would look like.  Kody is ready anytime!!!!!!! (And he's a purebred!!)

Merry Christmas!!

Sue-NJ

[wvanative]

Charley, make sure you check with a vet before you breed her. It's not good to breed on the first heat with some breeds and that might apply to all breeds. It's my understanding that it can hurt the dog as they are still not mature enough. But it could be different for each breed.

WVaNative

[JohnEd]

Native,

Your are correct, it is never good to breed them till they stop growing at around two.  Some say that "it doesn't do a lot of harm" to breed them at a year and a half but I just shudder at that logic.  Then their bodies are in the greatest need for nutrients to grow you impregnent them so the pups are demanding all the neutrients.    Puppy mills do this sort of thing.

If she gets bred they have shots that abort the pups and the sooner the better.  I envey you your opportunity to raise a litter.  I would do that for the joy of it if I could.

John

[captain ron]

This is her second heat. I was going to have her bred on the first one(out of stupidity now it seems) but someone was working on my bus for 2 weeks putting in a wheel seal and a brake drum then the wheel seal failed on the way to where I was getting her bred because of shoddy workmanship. Not the "owner" of the shops fault.

[JohnEd]

Charlie,

You aren't "stupid".  I have talked with you many times and i know that for sure.  Honestly.  My caution comes out of concern for the animal and I am not really criticizing you.  Actually, I am pretty sure you would react warmly to any info that would tend to help your pup or I wouldn't waste my breath.  We are all very sensitive about "our Kids".

On a new tack, I have personal anecdotal evidence that Purina is not good for dogs.  I will share what i know about that with you if you like but I think we should go OT.

Be Well Charlie,

John

[Paladin]

We have a show line GSD ( German Shepherd Dog) although we don't show her. We would however like to breed one litter from her if we can find a suitable stud.
Anyway she's coming into her third heat cycle and just passed 2 years of age last week.  Whenever she gets ready to cycle she becomes very affectionate and wants to snuggle all the time. She also licks herself very frequently.

This is a lousy time for a heat cycle being cold and snowy ( as if there is ever a good time) but hopefully we'll get one litter out of her and then fix her.
I'm pretty interested in the uterine hysterectomy. My last bitch got mammary cancer and we got quite a scare and a large vet bill. I'll have to ask my vet about that.



-Dave

[JohnEd]

Paladin,

If they keep their ovaries they are subject to the increased risk of mammary cancer.  Everything is a crap shoot and this is no different.  Keeping her ovaries doesn't guarantee she gets cancer.  What is the rate, 1 out of 50 without ovaries and 1 out of 45 with??  I settled for eliminating uterine cancer with the uterine hysterectomy.  None of mine even got one of those mammary nodules but they are all different and I think the breed size has a large bearing.  I have a hunch that small breeds are less likely to get mammary cancer.  You may play hell finding a vet that will do the operation.  The teaching vet told me it wasn't rocket science and any vet "could" do the surgery but it is unusual to them, it isn't demonstrated in school and they decline.  I found an old vet that did them way back when and he is a sweetheart with my baby.  I called every vet service in Portland and Eugene, Oregon and 50 different vets and got zip.  The services gave up on me and the School could give no help.  51 trys did it or I would still be calling.  My next step was to try Canada as they have more of a European influence and I'm not that far from there.  I wish you luck and I also assure you it makes a difference in the energy and endurance and muscle tone and generally everything you associate with youth and vigor.  Don't forget, if you don't like it for some reason you can always have the spay done at a later date.  This only cost me $400 from a first class surgeon and it took him 45 minutes instead of the 5 minutes needed to spay.  They gotta be really carefull cause they aren't just whacking everything and cauterizing.  You know, real surgery with nurses and anesthetic and big lights and pretty stitches that don't leave a big scar.

My very best wishes to you.  Please understand, a spay isn't all that bad and "everybody" is doing it.  You won't be a monster if you go that way.

PM me about dog food if you like.

John

[maria-n-skip]

Charley Davidson,

Having pups is so much fun ?? We bred Boston Terriers for years.
Just some of my views Take or leave as you wish.

Questions to ask yourself.

1. Any heredity issues in the lineage.......Hips,Epilepsy etc. May need a vet check.
2. Personality (maturity....to young and you may be doing feeding yourself)
3. Small dogs...family history of litter size....the bigger the litter the better (but of coarse not too big of litter)
4. The heartache part....Not all pups survive the birthing.
5. Ethically where do you stand on the left over pups that don't find a good home. (worst case scenario)
    More and more breeder's are euthonizing(SP) versus dropping off at the local pound.

It can be a fun time and yes with nervous sleepless nights the rewards still outway the negatives.


Good luck to you

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