It had to be his decision

 Blaze, Mark, and Chance

After six years of hoping, praying, wavering, worrying, and fearing for Blaze to have puppies, I can proudly say that she is spayed.  In the last two years, I'd been favoring her to be fixed but I was waiting on hubby's decision.  After all it was really Mark's idea and he wanted it dearly because he missed out so much on Brut and Silver's litter.  He wanted to carry on the line and he has just fallen in love with our dogs so much, he was almost beside himself when Blaze came home from her abusive life and was still intact.  He is OK with the spaying, but is deeply sadden to have to make this decision.  He wanted it so badly.

Blaze's surgery

I've been spending a little extra time with Blaze as we take her in to be spayed Monday morning.  I can't help but think what could have been, but obviously it wasn't meant for her to have puppies.  We always thought it was in the cards ever since she came back to us.  It's a little sad to lose a dream.

For six years we left the option open for Blaze to have puppies and it was a difficult choice.  Twice a year we went through the heat cycles, which actually follow a year round pattern.  There is a constant flow that follows up and down that the whole pack moved by, especially Brut.  I wonder if he will notice the when that cycle doesn't start up.  When Blaze would go into heat the flow and rhythm would escalate in frantic proportions.  There is part of me that will miss the love that flows when a female was in heat, but I won't miss the whining and pacing of Brut and his heighten aggression.  The drive and strength to reproduce is awesome and powerful and something we never took lightly.  It has been an awesome and beautiful experience to learn and grow from.
  
After Blaze's procedure it will be the first time in 10 years, since getting Silver, that we won't have an intact female in our house.  And now that the decision has been made and we are going to follow through with it, there is relief, peace of mind and some sadness.  We know we are doing the right thing and that is a good feeling.   

I don't know what the future holds, but for now it means the 24 Paws of Love will be just that, 24 Paws of Love.  

Please say a prayer and send your good thoughts for Blaze and us and she has her surgery tomorrow morning.

Thank you and God bless. 

Sweet Doggie Love

Blaze and Chance courting

There's been a bit of love happening in our house the last couple of days.  Blaze's heat is progressing along and she is almost ovulating, which means right now she is still fending Chance off, but in another day or two she will be ready.   We are not breeding her and even though Chance is fixed we will be seperating them when the time comes. 

They run around like a couple of teenagers waiting for Mom and Dad to leave the room.  Chance follows Blaze everywhere she goes, panting with excitement.  He pulls all the love moves, bowing down, dancing around her, getting her going and then just when he thinks he's sealed the deal, she flips around and attacks.  Blaze will then proceed to the door like a teenager trying to sneak out with her boyfriend.  If only she could open the door!  There she pleads with me that if I will just open the door, she promises to be a good girl.  They just want to go out and play.  Really. 

So I let them out and go out with them.  They both sit at my feet and tell me "We don't need a chaperone, MOM!!  You ruin everything!!"  You can hear them praying for me to go back in the house.  Insisting they won't do ANYTHING.  Against their pleas we all head back in the house and the process starts over again.

If you have never witness the love of two dogs, it really is cute and very comical.  I caught some on video, but my husband thought it was a little too X-rated for the blog, so I'll just have to give you the edited screenplay version.  There really is something so sweet and loving about their courting as I remember very well with Silver and Brut.  There is a pure and natural love when dogs breed and the real beauty of watching this interaction is knowing that all dogs are created with this same love.

Hormone City!

I am starting to notice a riff between the Back Dogs.  Out of the six dogs, Blaze and Brut are not fixed and Blaze is due to go into season next month.  What I never noticed before or it was too subtle to pick up is Brut is now starting to hit on Fiona.  I know that male dogs can still perform even if they are fixed, but I have never noticed any signs of Fiona being in cycle.  Brut and her had two different stand offs that turned into a fight and then into instant play.  I am uncertain what to make of it, as this is the first I've ever noticed it. 

Brut is always trying to mount Silver and even though she was fixed after she had her puppies, he still continues to try, but I have never seen him try to mount Fiona.  I'm not sure if it is just because Blaze is starting to cycle up and Brut is trying to find someone or if Fiona is putting out signals or if it is a combination of both.

Our dogs cycle twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall/winter.  I have found with our dogs that the cycle is the strongest in the fall/winter season.  I don't know if that is just their lineage or has something to do with the Husky in them.  What ever the case we are in for an intense couple of months with hormones running high.

I have also noticed that Zappa has been growling and guarding against Brut when he comes too close to Fiona.  All the while keeping an eye on Blaze and Chance because he thinks Blaze is his too.  As if things weren't complicated enough with two packs.

Blaze is the only female out of the litter who isn't fixed and we are thinking of having a litter with her to keep and carry on the lineage.  I would like to blame the reason Brut isn't fixed on my husband with that male thing, but I can't bring myself to do it either.  It is a choice we have made with both dogs and I know it is one that many are against for many reasons.  I had no problem doing it with any of the other dogs, yet just don't feel right with Brut and Blaze.

So that means taking extra precautions and measures with the Back Dogs to ensure safety for all of the dogs.  I won't lie, it won't be easy, but we have been through this before.  And if there is one thing I am grateful for, it is that Blaze and Brut are permenently seperated at this time and have no contact.  That's half the battle right there! 

How the Paws beat the heat

Here's what the Back dogs have to say:

Zappa, Fiona, and Silver all agree, Doing absolutely nothing!!

Brut says, "Lying down and looking pretty."

Lets check on the Front Dogs....

Chance says, "This is the only way to beat the heat!!"

Nothing like a good mud bath!!

But where is Blaze?

Trying not to get wet!