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Brut Quote

Brut Quote

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The Joys and Frustrations of Having an Intact Female and Male Dog

With Blaze being in heat and Brut being intact, even though they are separated by their packs, everything changes when Blaze is in heat.  It brings unique joys and frustration when this cycle occurs.  Here are some of my own personal views and observations.  Not everyone with a female in heat may experience the same thing.

Blaze is right up there with Zappa being the mouthiest dog in the house, but during her heat she becomes very quiet and rarely barks.  She becomes more tender and loving and can be very clingy.  We've had some very intimate moments between the two us, female to female.

Brut was in such a anxious frenzy he couldn't stop trying to mount Silver (she'll always be his girl), which was made even more intense by him licking Silver's wound that he gave her a week prior.  We eventually had to separate them.  And I've had more alone time with Brut in one week that I have in a long time.  He has had both Mark and I to himself, this also quiets him down.


When a female is in heat, Brut is extremely happy.  His tail is going a million miles a minute, he's smiling a big cheesy grin and he just seems to be full of love.  What a burst of hormones can do!

I went outside with him and he did zoomies all over the yard.  Something I have never, ever seen him do by himself.  Even when he was a puppy.  He was a happy boy!

Brut's one testicle hangs lower than the other when a female is in heat around him.  Then goes back to normal as the heat dies down.

It has been nice not having to monitor Brut and his every move.  There are no threats from other dogs when he's separated from them.

Going outside and switching rooms for Back Dogs can be a hassle, but with hubby home, things went fairly smooth.

And while Blaze is quiet, Brut barked, paced, and whined quite a bit through the intense part of the heat.  Very nerve grinding! 

And for anyone's curiosity, we are keeping Blaze and Brut intact because we want to keep the possibility of breeding for ourselves (as in keeping all the litter) as we love the mix that Brut and Silver created.  So we go through the cycle twice a year.  Every time I learn something more and every time I wonder if it is worth it.  And every time as we near the end, I answer my own question.  Yes, I love the make and model of our pups.  I want more of them.          


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you are managing it pretty well but it sounds like such hard work!

Pamela said...

In Europe, dogs are less likely to be sterilized. And somehow people manage.

Some worry that early sterilization in particular contributes to high rates of cancer.

I think it would be very different in a household with one or two dogs. The fact that you manage this in an already crowded household is a credit to your attention.

And it's interesting to hear you talk about the personality changes in the dogs as well. Most of us have little exposure to intact dogs so this is entirely new to me.

White Dog Blog said...

Puff, too, is in season. I often think it sad that female dogs never experience menopause because at nearly 16, my former breeder mill girl, deserves a break from the hormonal surges. Fortunately all of our boys are intact but Yo was full grown before his neutering (when we adopted him, in fact) so he still has some primal urges that are more irritating to Puff that a pregnancy issue. I send you strength to weather the next few weeks.