October 2010 and Harper is in season

October has got to be my favorite month, and I've done my best to take Harper on as many walks as possible. The leaves are gorgeous, the air seems more clear, and the sky is this incredible shade of blue.

Another event which has me feeling hopeful is that Harper is in heat. While I'm not planning on breeding her until Nancy and I find the right stud dog, it's good to see normal signs of fertility- no matter the mess! :-) Its not that I expected her to be infertile or anything, but one just never knows. I feel like maybe she had a light heat at 6 months, but the current heat (at 11 months) is the real deal. 

The Normal Canine Estrous Cycle

Right now, Harper is in the "proestrus" cycle, which means that for the next 10 days (or less) she will be excreting bloody discharge from her vagina and male dogs will continue to be very interested in her. However, she is and will be unwilling to mate.

I can tell that she doesn't feel well, and she's very very needy. But, I can't let her up on the couch to cuddle or else I'll be dealing with a mess! Poor little thing. I gave her a coated aspirin to make her feel a bit better. Right now she's trying to burrow under Abby's bed while Abby is still IN the bed...

So for the second time I've had to back out of Advanced Beginner obedience ;-) The first time, I didn't like the trainer. It is probably for the best, though, because Harper doesn't have much of a brain right now and the latter class had literally about 20 people. Once I feel like I'm in a class where Harper and I can learn something, I'll blog more about what happens in class.

Celeste still hasn't come in heat, and I'm going to go ahead and assume that it will be a while before that happens. Its probably for the best. Otherwise, I'd probably have a puppy while Harper was going through her first heat and that would not be fun for anyone involved.

Pictures at the park

Monroe, Michigan- October 2-3, 2010

Ah, "my" two little bookends! How I adore them both. The black one is "Chewpee," and his full name is Rubad-Kaos Get Shorty. He got a four point major at the show! Harper is looking up at the camera like, "Mom, I'm freakin' tired. Get that camera out of my face."

This weekend has been good and traumatic for me. The good part is that Harper took second to another bitch on Saturday, and beat one other bitch. I'm going to keep showing her until we get a couple of points or maybe even get a major. I think right now it might be too tough to finish her.

Nancy told me that Pippin, Uno's full sister, came down with Addison's the last weekend in September. Harper and Pippin are half sisters through Brynnie. Nancy's puppy Mimi, from her Millie x Burnie litter, also came down with Addisons. However, Mimi's owner put her to sleep rather then have to deal with an Addison's dog.

What this means for me and Harper is that she has at least a 50% chance of being a carrier and at least a 25% chance of having Addison's disease herself.

Addison's disease is what is referred to as an "auto immune" disease, where the body attacks itself. Diseases such as demodectic mange and allergies are also immune diseases. Addison's disease is also termed as "hypoadrenocortism," or disease of the adrenal glands. The body is unable to produce corticol, which affects how the body handles stress.

Although Addison's disease is not thought to be genetic, auto immune weaknesses are common in certain lines and should be watched carefully. At this time, we are still planning on breeding Harper, but are going to make our choice as carefully as possible. I have asked both Meta and Yvonne in Europe if any of Harper's other relatives have had any immune diseases, or even just allergies or mange.

Here is the website where I found the information:

http://www.canineaddisonsinfo.com/index.html
http://www.canineaddisonsinfo.com/index.html
http://www.vetstreamcanis.com/ACI/january/VMD1/FactSheet054.asp