Sephy’s on FIRE

Ok, she’s not technically afire, she is just in HEAT.

Shem keeps sniffing at the door to the basement (where Sephy is being kept, in her crate, for the time being) and whining. His little sister, who does not smell at ALL like his little sister anymore, cannot be reached for any sort of play and he is a little put out by that. However, in an effort to prevent putting out of any sort from little wenchface, she is staying put until I put her in the car later this afternoon for a three-week vacation away from Shem.

Three weeks should just about take care of the mating magnetism and lay to rest any pheromonal sirens she is currently broadcasting. This is her first heat and at nine months old, she cannot be allowed the sorts of frisky play Shem has in mind; she’s simply too young to risk pregnancy. Should we decide to go ahead with breeding them in the future, we will allow our dogs to pursue nature’s course. That won’t happen for at least six months, so we do not have to make any decisions yet.

She’s a little early for her first eostrus, but I knew it was imminent from my three year old male’s unusual behaviour; he stress whines constantly and licks the floor where she has lain. Tonight was already scheduled for Sephy to sleep over at our friend’s home; even before we knew she was in season, we figured tonight would be a great time for Sephy to grow used to her vacation destination. So this morning, when we found blood on her leg, we made the necessary arrangements to get her the heck out of here. If we don’t we can expect a fair amount of howling - not just from Shem, but from any male dog within something like a 5-mile radius. SO no thank you!

I worried I would miss the signs and that she would end up impregnated; the two of them often romp and play for hours on our six acres, completely out of sight. A friend who is a breeder will tell me stories about not knowing her bitch was even in season until the dog was already 2 weeks from delivery - apparently, these dogs clean up after themselves so thoroughly that there are virtually no signs. That is until the belly and its content “drop,” giving only a couple of weeks for the owner to prepare for puppies. I am going to do my utmost to prevent that scenario from ensnaring ME.

So everybody wave bye-bye. Sephy’s on vacation!