It's that time again.....

Cleo is about 10 days into her 3rd heat cycle. She first came into heat when she was 1 year old and then again when she was 18 months. She is now 26 months old. This time it took about 8 months for her to come into season again. Apparently its pretty normal for some inconsistency. Her breeder Bob Corsaro from Nobelles Kennel and our vet reassured me that I had nothing to worry about when the 6 month mark came and went. 

I wrote a blog post the last time she came into season discussing how we handle her bleeding. You can read that post here. I'll give you a hint it has something to do with those fashonista camo boy shorts you see her rocking in the picture above. Cleo is a legit trendsetter. This time around I thought I would blog about some of the other aspects of her heat cycle. I thought it would be worth while since I often see that people inquiring about their dogs heat cycle lands them here on my blog.

I don't want to sound like a cheese poof and say Cleo gets PMS but she absolutley shows signs that she is ready to go into heat. The first sign she shows is being a little needy. Cleo is a bonafide snuggle bug but she is also pretty independent. She doesn't demand attention all the time. She's fine to go and chew her toys and do her thing but right before and during her heat cycle she becomes a velcro dog. She constantly wants to sit on my lap and really thrives off of being held. She also tends to have a little less energy in the first week or so. Which I won't complain about! It's the best time for us to take advantage of it and sleep in. Lady Cleopatra also starts to lick herself alot. Her vulva also swells considerably. After all these signs its usually a few days to a week that she starts to bleed.

I've seen people question a female hunting dogs capabilities while in heat. It's been my experience with our dog that it doesn't make that much of a difference. Cleo has desire. I'm pretty sure you could cut her leg off and she will still continue to hunt. It's what she lives for and its what she was bred for.  The pictures above were taking on a hunt when she was in heat. She had a great day and we shot a bunch of pheasants over her.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to make it sound like having a dog in heat is all sunshine and unicorns. It's a huge responsibility. Cleo is never left alone while in heat. She doesn't get any playdates, she can't be left outside unattended, she can't go to doggie daycare, she can't run in AKC hunt tests while in heat, the list goes on and on. It can be a drag. But its by no means unmanageable and it only lasts for about 3 weeks give or take.

I do have to say that if you don't plan on ever breeding your dog you should get your dog fixed. The last thing anyone wants to deal with is an unplanned dog pregnancy. Keep in mind there are a ton of rescues and shelters over flowing with pups needing homes. Do yourself a favor and educate yourself. And when in doubt get your pup fixed!

If your curious why we haven't gotten Cleo fixed yet its because we haven't decided yet if we would ever want to breed her. Right now we are working on completing the testing goals we have set for her. But we take the responsibility aspect of having an intact dog super serious and we take the proper precautions so she is never in the position to have an unwanted pregnancy. But I can tell you if we ever did decide to breed her we would think long and hard about it. It would be planned and we would absolutley consult the guidance of her breeder Bob Corsaro. We would also be very considerate of who her pups would be placed with. Anything less would be irresponsible. But thats so far off and not something we are really considering at the moment. Right now all I care about is loving her and hunting her. She's an awesome dog and an even better best friend.

If you get time check Cleo out on facebook. She has her own page under the title: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer.

What's that AWFUL smell?

Someone has a stinky hiney.....

Fishy bottom....that's what Jim and I lovingly call that awful smell that occasionally emits from Cleo's butt. It's awful, and rare but it's a sure sign that someone needs to have their anal glands squeezed.  Until a few months ago I naively had no idea what anal glands were or let alone they would ever need to be expressed. Although this is a horrid subject I never knew anything about it and thought I would discuss it since I couldn't possibly be the only one. Besides...it's kind of funny in a really gross way.

So what is that smell? The one that reminds me of what it used to be like to cross the Cape May bridge into Wildwood, NJ. The one that would make you have to hold your breath as you drove by the commercial fisheries? It's full anal glands. Ewwwww. Every dog has them and they are little pea sized glands located at 4 and 8'oclock on a dogs rear end. These glands enable animals like dogs and cats to mark their territory and identify each other. Hence all the butt sniffing at the dog park. Normally when a dog has a bowel movement the stool is firm and pushes against these scent glands naturally expressing them. If a dog has soft stools the anal glands can get full making for discomfort and well....noxious smells. The problem can be easily solved by paying a vet tech or a groomer to express them.

It's possible to express the glands yourself but in all honesty who the hell in their right mind would want to do something like that? The stuff that comes out can squirt up to like four feet away and although it won't hurt you, it smells so bad that it might as well be as dangerous as napalm in my book. Spend 10 or 15 dollars to get someone else to do it for you. Seriously. It's money well spent.

Full anal glands are a drag. Don't torture your dog by not getting them expressed. We don't have to do it often for Cleo. It's usually right around when she goes into season. She should be going into heat soon so it was no shock she had to get it done today. But for whatever reason when the vet does this for her her butt smells like peppermint for a day or so. I have no idea why but I would imagine it has something to with whatever they do to keep the smell down when expressing. It always makes me think of when you see police detectives or medical examiners on TV when they have to put Vick's on their upper lips when dealing with decomp. Blah!! So gross. So there's the skinny on fishy bottom and that awful awful smell. Pay attention to your dogs rear end and be proactive if they smell like the salmon run. It will save you from the anal glands spontaneously expressing themselves on your carpet or floor.

Check us out and follow our shenanigans on facebook: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer

If Natasha jumped off a bridge would you??

Cleo is a really good pup. She's sassy and has a tendency to talk back occasionally but all in all she's a phenomenal dog. Some of the best advice we received when we first got her was to make sure she was well socialized with other dogs. Most GSP's by nature get along with everyone but we absolutely made the effort from an early age to let her be with other hounds. Cleo loves her people but she really loves other dogs. Twice a week she goes to daycare and gets lots of socialization time. That's one of the hardest parts of her being in heat is that she doesn't get to go to daycare. I think it almost depresses her. Cleo's saving grace has been Natasha.

Jim and I live outside a small town in Pennsey about an hour or so north of Philadelphia. We reside in a small older development in the middle of farm and cow fields. Each house has between an acre and half and 3 acres of land, nothing huge but it's not crowded. Everyone has a garden, keeps to themselves and in the summertime you can hear gunfire and cows mooing in the distance. It's slightly rural but rather nice actually. People here don't have fences and it's common place for their dogs to walk about. This took allot for me to get used to. Cleo is on an electric fence and never leaves our property. But there is an older, out of shape German Shepard who lives up the street named Natasha and everyday she wanders down the road and comes to visit Cleo. Cleo anxiously awaits her visit everyday. She often sits patiently in the corner of the yard closest to Natasha's house and waits for her arrival. Since Cleo can't go to daycare Natasha's visits seem extra important. Below is a quick clip of the dynamic duo in action.

Take note that the driveway Natasha was wandering down at the end of the clip is not hers. It's her brother and littermate's. She makes her daily rounds before heading home everyday. It's pretty entertaining when the neighborhood kids come across her and walk Natasha home scolding her for wandering off but petting her the entire way and she happily follows them. Natasha has been visiting for months and they both seem to love it and its rather cute to watch. But regardless....I would never let my dog wander the neighborhood. But I would be lying if I said I don't look forward to her visits too.

Be vewwy vewwy quiet. We are hunting Pheasants!

If you would have told me two years ago that I'd not only be getting up at 5:30 in the morning to go hunting but was excited for it I would have laughed at you and told you that you lost your mind. In fact I may even think you were certifiably crazy. Nonetheless, I was up and ready to go at the crack of dawn. Jim and I took Cleo over to Powderborne gun club this morning on a pheasant hunt. We kept our expectations low...we just wanted to have a good time with Cleo. We ended up having a great day in the field!

Cleo pointed her first bird after about 10 minutes in the field. She held pretty nice and I had to put the camera down so that I could hold her so she would stay steady on the shot. We then sent her out for the retrieve hoping she would return but she did not. She got to the bird and played with it. We weren't to disappointed....we just wanted to enjoy the morning. Jim did have her put the bird in her mouth and hold it. It was a little on the job experience. See pics below.

Next bird was a cock bird and he had roosted in a tree. We also sent Cleo in on the retrieve but she did not bring it back.

Things stared to change after these two birds. Cleo started to settle in and we really began having a good time. The third bird she turned on a dime and pointed a hen. We flushed, fired and sent her in for the retrieve and just like that she brought it back to hand. That's the great thing about low expectations when you exceed them or blow them out of the water there is not a better feeling in the world. We were so happy and proud!

Same point different angle.

Cleo's retrieve!

Next bird she found in a hedgerow. She hit it pretty far off. I hustled up to get a hold of her so we could keep her steady. Once Jim had flushed and fired we sent Cleo in and she brought the bird back to hand no problem. 

 We had such great momentum at this point. Then we heard a bell in the distance growing louder and louder and lots of yelling. Another hunting party was getting a little close to us and they were calling for their dog Ginger who had clearly blown them off and by the sound of things was charging across two fields and heading are way. Jim and I started to pay allot of attention to what was going on. Cleo could have cared less and was off in the distance locked on point. Jim was hustling over to her when I saw Cinder not Ginger bust through a hedgerow. Cinder was a pretty big male Viszla and he was charging our way and Cleo is very much in heat. I screamed up to Jim that he was an unfixed male. Cinder blew by both of us on his way to Cleo who was still locked on point. Cinder did not honor her point damn near knocked her over and flushed her bird which Cleo immediately took off after it with Cinder in hot pursuit. I ran off in the field after them while Jim used the electric collar to call Cleo back. Cinder did not turn and chase Cleo but stayed after the bird he rudely flushed. So we don't know if he was just a dog who does as he pleases and goes where he wants or if he just wanted Cleo. Jim yelled some choice words across the fields to Cinder's owner and we set back to hunting another field or two away. But when it was all said and done my adrenaline was pretty high....higher than when I'm in the ring fighting. 

So in the end we got 5 birds. We lost the one Cinder flushed, we lost another one because the safety was on and the bird flushed fast. But it was a great day and we had a blast. Below is a quick video I took of Cleo on point and some pics of our bounty.

 We love our time in the field with Cleo. It's great for us to get to watch her do what she loves the most which is hunt. She found lots of birds today and had one entertaining rabbit chase. It was a great morning.

Tis the Season

Cleo is in heat. Let me take this moment to sigh. Ugh....

Cleo is 18 months old and this is her second heat cycle. She first went into heat when she was one year old. Dams typically go into heat for the first time anywhere from 5 months to 14 months of age. The dogs size and breed can play a factor when she goes into season. Once a Dam comes into season she will typically come into season every 6 months. When Cleo was 6 months old I emailed Bob Corsaro - Cleo's breeder and kinda melted down about the impending doom of her going into heat. Everything I read didn't seem to answer any of my concerns. Bob told me his dogs tended to be "late bloomers" and that I could probably get away without her going into heat until she was one year old. Like clock work she went into heat right around her first birthday.

Let me just say that desperate times call for desperate measures. Dams will bleed from anywhere from 12 to 21 days. Cleo being the late bloomer she was must have been making up for lost time because her first go around she was in season for 36 agonizing days. So far she is one week into heat this time around and it doesn't seem to be as bad as last time. But we still have plenty of time for that to change. Anyway, this is how I combat her heat cycle: I drink allot of wine - I prefer sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio during these tough times, Size 8 to 10 boys boxer brief camo under wear, "Always" panty liners and some more wine...did I already mention that?

 I prefer the boys under wear without the "pocket". I slide them on her find the spot for her tail, slip them off, cut the hole, cut one curved side off the panty liner, slap it in and were good to go! They stay snug on her and she can still run and jump with them on. After about 10 minutes she pretty much forgets she's wearing them. They do make doggie diapers, you can use kids pull ups and all kind of other things but I find this works best for us. I can pull out a panty liner and put another one in and just wash her undies. Super easy and clean.

Someone looks like a happy camper huh?

Just a couple of recommendations....Don't put the undies right on your dog when they come inside from having just done their business. They will most likely want to lick and clean themselves. So give them a couple of minutes. Also if they are crated take the undies off when in their crate as they will most likely rip them off and chew up the pad. Barf. (This is when I drink more wine). If your dog sleeps in bed with you at night my advice is to have your dog sleep on a blanket without the undies. Just slid them on in the morning before your dog gets up and moving.  

So anyway, fingers crossed this is better than last time but I'm not very hopeful. It's a pain in the butt mainly because she needs to be monitored every second of everyday. We get so used to opening the screen door and just letting her roam the yard (we have an electric fence) but we can not do that when she's in heat. I unapologetically use this an excuse to drink more wine. Don't judge me people. But it's part of having an intact female and I love her very much. My advice to other female dog owners that are not getting their dogs fixed because of testing or whatever get some little boys undies and some wine. It makes it go much quicker. :)

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Blog update: Other posts on GSP Heat Cycles: It's that time again...