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.
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