And the Heat is On…

Remember how I said in Chapter 1- Shhh Library Voices Please that one of the reasons I was hesitant about fostering a female dog was because I didn’t know if I could handle everything that came with the lady bits.  Well flash forward 3 years and it seems I have gained a reputation as a dog vulva expert.  

I didn’t seek out this expertise it just kinda found me and I guess with all the monitoring practice I have had, it figures that I can distinguish between a regular everyday joe vulva and a full blown heat vulva and all the stages in between.  Now you are probably wondering why have I spent so much time inspecting the back end of dogs.  It is not something that was high on my bucket list, but when you live with Breeding B’s you need to be on top of the status of said vulva so that a breeding cycle is not missed or worse you end up with an accidental breeding.  

I remember the first time J asked me about the status of Whisper’s vulva.  I coaxed Whisper into a down position and rolled her over to get a better look and quickly realized that I didn’t know what I should be looking for.  Enter stage left… Google image search.  Picture it, me standing over a dog with an enlarged picture of dog vulva on my phone in one hand, a dog spread eagle on the bed in front of me while the other hand is trying to part hair so that I would have an easier time comparing the picture to the real life model.  

Yep!  

That has been my life twice a year for the last three years, although I now don’t need the comparator pictures to distinguish what’s up.  I guess practice does make perfect.

One of the most surreal moments in my life involved a dog vulva.  A co-worker was wondering what was going on their dog and wanted my opinion.  Before I knew it, I was looking at a picture of  their dog’s business end. Yes, dog owners are know to have interesting photo’s on their phone.   My first thought was… she looks like she is going into heat, as it looked exactly like Whisper’s gets, swollen red and the dog was doing a lot of licking.  In this case, the dog had been spayed, but we wondered if she was maybe having a faux heat cycle. The Vet wondered this as well.

The Lady Bit Brigade

Reflecting on the current census in my house, I must have gotten over my squeamishness about being up close and personal with dog vulvas as I have saddle myself with three more, guaranteeing that I will be looking and comparing who ha dillies for at least the next four years.  Now don’t be getting all jealous that I am living the life😁. 

Lyndy’s first heat arrived  right after her abdominal surgery (more about that in a future post).  It was during back to back snow dumps and when I wasn’t shovelling, I was cleaning her back end, as she couldn’t do it herself sporting a cone of shame.  Not my most favourite vacation. 

Late Bloomer Hazel

Haze was a late bloomer and waited a year and a half to get into the menstruation game.  Having to wait was also taxing, as I didn’t know when she was going to go and if I could enter her into dog shows.  She missed the Sudbury show last year, as I thought for sure she would be in heat and I didn’t want to risk kissing my entry money goodbye. It turns out she could have competed, as her cycle ended up landing between shows.  

I predicted Lyndy would go into heat in June, based on a typical six month heat cycle.  Because of this prediction, I didn’t enter her into the local CKC show and wouldn’t you know it, she could have competed.  When she still wasn’t in heat for the local CARO show, I did a same day entry so that she didn’t miss another opportunity.  She finally went into heat in Aug… oh Mother Nature!

Trying to find a way to narrow down the guesstimated window has been something that I’ve been looking into.  Anything to help make sure we don’t needlessly miss competitions.   Well I think I found an App to help with that.  Yes, there is an app for that, go figure.  

Who Needs an App? Do the Math to figure it out!

It predicted Haze’s next heat cycle would be in Jan/Feb and it was right.  I had wondered if Aunt Flo was close to visiting, as in the three weeks preceding its arrival she became very clingy.  If I was on the couch she was velcroed to my side.  When that was not close enough she would climb into my lap and before I knew it she was trying to sit on my shoulder.  At night she would wrap her body around my head, so that it looked like I was wearing a Hazel toque.  I swear if she could have worn me as a jacket she would have.  She could get close enough to me. 

Within the next few weeks her vulva started its metamorphosis.   Her timing couldn’t have been better as  J needed to borrow Haze to help kick start the cycle of one of the Mom’s whose uterus was lolly gagging.  This involved Haze spending quality time with the other dog, playing and sleeping in side by side kennels.  The first attempt at jump starting N’S heat was a bust. Haze returned two days later as it was too early in her cycle to make an impact. Well last weekend I woke up to blood droplets on the floor.  I texted the J and the other Foster Dog Mom and Haze headed back to the farm for another sleep over.  

While there, Haze slept on a piece of carpet that went home with N to give her an extra shot of pungent heat hormones.  I’m pleased to say that it worked and the other dog is now in heat.  If everything else goes as planned there will be summer puppies (fingers crossed).  

BONUS, I’m safe to enter Haze in all the competitions that I planned to attend.  Now the only question that remains is will Lyndy sync up and start her cycle soon or will she wait until March/April??? Anyone want to start a pool as to when it will be Lyndy’s turn???