One thing never comes alone. I could have known!
Just when you think you can focus on Myla for a few days. That you think the other two are just calm and sweet when they can play outside enough. Just then, they decide otherwise.
No, don't worry, Lana and Skipper are not sick. Absolutely not. But they are a little too interested in each other. At least, that means Skipper has suddenly become very interested in Lana. It's that time again. Our 12-year-old Lana has come into heat again.
Poor Myla is starting to get better.
The swelling around her head has almost gone away, but she's still a bit upset. She is very sensitive to tension in the house, and with a Lana who immediately snaps off if Skipper wants to get a little too close to her, this is not pleasant for Myla.
Where I thought I could keep my focus on Myla, now I've had to shift my focus a bit to keep our big strong guy in check. Poor guy! He wants so badly, and he can't. Fortunately, it is not yet the case that Skipper can no longer be reached. He smells that Lana is in heat. Her and his own hormones are bothering him quite a bit, but the advantage I have with this is that Lana doesn't want to know anything about what he would like. This is the good thing.
No sterilization
I have written before that we have consciously chosen not to let Lana 'help'. This is because we do not want to have a healthy dog cut if it is not necessary. Yes, I know, people usually find it a bit easy and necessary to have a bitch that is not being bred with sterilized. A male that is not bred with must be castrated. They are not used for breeding anyway, so it is much easier for most people. No hassle with dogs in heat, no hassle with males who are controlled by their hormones.
There's more to it!
There are advantages to having a female sterilized. Yes, of course. Sterilization reduces the risk of mammary tumors. And if you have everything removed, you naturally remove the risk of uterine infections. But to reduce the risk of mammary tumors, you should have the bitch sterilized at a young age. We didn't have Lana in our house until she was 3.
And Lana was totally unable to have surgery right away. Her confidence had to be built first, just like her fitness, and her upbringing had to be built from scratch. Her potty training was below zero. An operation to remove her entire uterus was much too heavy for her at the time. That would have meant a breach of trust with her, and certainly wouldn't have helped her with her potty training. In addition, it is also often that young sterilized females suffer from incontinence at a later age. That's something we didn't even have to think about with Lana. She had enough trouble potty training without that problem, and even now that she is 12 we have to keep an eye out for her to keep her potty trained.
By the time Lana might have been able to handle surgery, the difference in risk of mammary tumors was already so minimal that the benefits were actually smaller than the drawbacks associated with this surgery. Lana is a very hyperactive, driven dog. Just try to keep them calm after such an operation. That's not going to work. So there was a very good chance that she would open her wounds. Sterilization where the uterus simply remains in place was also of no use, because with that she can still develop uterine inflammation.
Only advantage for us, and disadvantage for Lana is not going to work
In short, a sterilization in which only advantages would arise for us and only disadvantages for her, we did not like that. Just let her stay as she is. And we will deal with the situation as it comes. Lex was neutered before we got him, and Rowan was neutered too (at a young age because I didn't know then what I know now). So puppies couldn't be bred after all. It was a bit difficult for a few weeks a year, but that was it. Annoying …
Times change
Lex passed away in 2018, Rowan in 2019 and Skipper came to keep the lady's company in 2020. A young male of less than 1.5 years old. And this young male knows what he wants. He knows he is young and healthy, and he finds Lana very attractive during this time.
Then why don't we have Skipper castrated?
Well, that too has pros and cons. And the disadvantages that it can entail simply outweigh the advantages for us. Yes, it's hard to have a male dog in the house who wants something he doesn't like. And one who is not easily denied that pleasure. He is controlled by his hormones at those times. Logically! But there can also be disadvantages to castration for males. And it is very doubtful whether it undesired behavior will be resolved with castration. The fact is that a male still keeps his nose, and thus his phenomenal sense of smell, even if you take his balls off.
Certain types of cancer
In addition, certain types of cancer are more likely to develop in neutered males. And I'd rather not run that risk if it's not necessary. I already lost one dog to that, and I have absolutely no desire to repeat that. In any case, an operation is a heavy burden for the dog because an anesthetic is never without risk.
We made our choice
So we've chosen to keep Lana and Skipper both intact, and have eyes in the back of our minds for about 6 weeks a year. If necessary, the dogs are separated to create some peace in the house for everyone. And this way we get through those weeks again.
Two more weeks before things go back to normal and Skipper loses interest in Lana again. After which Myla can breathe a sigh of relief and all dogs will be 100% in their normal behavior again.
Fortunately, I get to celebrate some holiday soon ... this time Lana has planned it exactly to go into heat just BEFORE my partner has vacation from work. I'm waiting for the day she plans it DURING his vacation.
Anyway, now I'm looking forward to the day when it's over… and my partner gets his vacation.