Blaze

Sorry we've been missing you.  The weather finally broke and we've been letting off our cabin fever steam!  Like getting back to a regular dog walking schedule.   Whew!  It seemed like for a while winter was never going to end.

 

We had a little scare with Blaze last week, which has also taken precedence.  One of her teats was swollen and from describing it over the phone the vet thought it might be a mammary tumor.  It turned out it wasn't.  It was her milk duct filling up from being in a false pregnancy, but it scared us enough, especially hubby, Mark, that we decided we are going to have her spayed.  Blaze has been having false pregnancies after every heat and they have intensified with each year.  A false pregnancy is when the body and mind mimic that of a true pregnancy, but there are no puppies.  The teats can be swollen and produce milk and the "mother" hoards toys and guards them.  It is genetic, as Silver went through them as well.  It's cause by a hormonal imbalance and can cause moodiness, depression as well as symptoms of being overly motherly and clingy.

Our cut off time for Blaze to have puppies was 6 years old and she is now 6 1/2.  It was still a difficult decision as the vet said Blaze could safely have puppies until she was 7 yrs. old.  Pyometra is a serious condition in older unspayed female dogs and can be deadly if not treated within 48 hours.  It was another scary thing I would have to watch for and there aren't always signs of it.  It is another reason we have decided to spay her.  Her health and well being, both mental and physical are worth more than having puppies.

It was a sad decision and will be so final.  We kept Blaze open with the possibility of raising our own sled dog team and to carry the line of Brut and Silver, but the fear for her life is far more important.  We know there are plenty of dogs out there looking for a home and I guess we were just hoping to have the best of both worlds.

We are so glad that Blaze is OK and we want to keep her for as long as possible.  And we know for us, that means having her spayed.  We haven't set a date yet, but we will let you know when it is because no matter that this is a common surgery, it is still our baby going under the knife and we will need all your thoughts and prayers to get through it.  And we thank you in advance for that.
   

Blaze and this round of False Pregnancy

Ever since Blaze came back and we discovered she was the only girl out of the litter who could have puppies, we knew that we wanted to breed her.  We like the make and model of our dogs and wanted to carry on the 24 Paws of Love line.  And hopefully create a sled team with the litter.  But after the false pregnancy that Blaze is going through, I'm beginning to think twice.

A false pregnancy is when after the heat (ovulation) is over, the body and mind act like their is a pregnancy even when there isn't one.   It can be psychologically difficult on females depending on the severity of symptoms.  Physically females can have large and swollen teats, sometimes so much that they produce milk.  Physiologically the dogs believe they are pregnant and may eat little or not at all, begin nesting behaviors and horde toys with a sense that these are their puppies.  They may also become depressed, lack energy, become moody and some may go the extreme of becoming aggressive   It is still up for debate whether false pregnancies are hereditary or if they are a natural part of the cycle of a female dog and some don't even believe it exist.

Blaze goes into heat twice and year and follows with a false pregnancy that last about as long as a normal gestation period of about nine weeks.  Her mood will become low and depressed like.  She will also become more affectionate and clinging during this time as though she would rather cuddle than go out to play.  And in the last few weeks of those nine weeks, she has a toy or two that she casually carries, guards and keeps around.  She has no problem leaving the toy inside or out and doesn't need to keep it close while she she plays, eat and does her business.  Her mood begins to lighten during this time period and she is a happy girl pretending to be a mom as the last of her symptoms will finally lift.