In heat AGAIN?!?

[lovemybabies]

Ok, so my 2 yo female seems to have gone into heat again!! She went into heat in April around the 6th and just last week she went into heat again!! Is this normal? She seems fine and we are keeping her away from our male who is constantly trying to mount her (they are seperated when not being supervised). A friend of ours said that sometimes a female can throw themselves into heat when they are under alot of stress (but she isn't really under much stress) What should i do? Does anyone have any advice for us?!?!

Another question, when do females normally go into heat for the first time? Lexi went into heat a month after her first birthday, and we have a 6 month old that we are waiting to go into heat.

 

[gmacleod]

No, it is not normal for a bitch to have heat cycles just a month apart. It also isn't safe to have her in contact with an intact male - even supervised (it's not fair on the male either!). Hopefully it's not something that will continue as such an event would require that she be spayed, but also make it difficult to achieve.

As for age of first heat - anywhere from 7 to 24 months is normal. It's rare below 6 months though, which is why that's the age many vets recommend spaying (generally accepted veterinary opinion is that it is best from a health perspective that spaying is done prior to the first heat).

 

[sriley]

What should i do? Does anyone have any advice for us?!?!

Are you planning to breed and, if so, have you done all of the necessary health testing? If not, I think you'll find that most of the folks around here will advise you to have ALL of your dogs spayed/neutered. You will find many threads dedicated to vents about backyard breeders and the need to encourage people to adopt Boxers from shelters rather than supporting breeders who quite frankly have no business breeding. For example:

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/choosing-breeder/76541-backyard-breeding-consequences.html

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/choosing-breeder/4534-sabine-ordeal-lesson-aspiring-breeders.html

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/choosing-breeder/69379-health-tests-your-breeder-should-do.html

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/boxer-ring/151110-sad-tale-about-uneducated-breeders.html