whining with a toy in her mouth

[Honey's Mom]

Our 14 month old brindle whines and seems anxious when she carries certain stuffed dog toys in her mouth. She will keep it in her mouth and go from room to room while whining. She even seems to "bring" her toy to my husband and myself as if we are supposed to do something with it. She will lay it down in front of us and stare like we should know what to do. We have resorted to hiding the toys from her because they seem to cause her so much angst. Does anyone know what this behavior is about?

 

[swatman]

I just want to play mom

Sounds like she wants to play, what does she do when you try and take it from her. Does she get excited and run and come back. Ramos does this but will shove his toys into my face or wherever he finds an opening, usually wants me to try and take it from him leading to tug of war or fetch depending on his mood. He will whine with the toy if I don't respond right away to his jestures as well. Could be a pssessiveness thing too, but if she is bringing them to you and looking at you.........I would say that she wants to romp with her baby and you.
Mike
____________________________________________________________
Kaiser 1989-2000 beautiful flashy fawn boy, waiting at the bridge
Gunther 1999-2004 beautiful and courageous flashy brindle boy, waiting at the bridge
Jacquets Ramos 9 mo old flashy brindle crazyman, s/d in training

 

[gmacleod]

Most likely it is indeed that she wants to play

But it also sounds just a little like false preganacy too - is she spayed yet?

 

[Honey's Mom]

not spayed yet

No. We have her scheduled to be spayed later this month. Also, she does not act like this is play behavior.
She ended her first heat in early November but still looks as if she is in heat. The vet told me that she still "appears" to be in heat due to residual hormone that may not go away until she goes thru another heat or is spayed. Since the last Dr. appt, I noticed that she has milk! If I squeeze one (because they are still large) some milk comes out. I am worried about this and plan to take her back to the vet before the spay appt. Any advice? Could this indeed be a false pregnancy and possible be related to the whining with the toy? We don't think there is anyway possible that she could actually be pregnant. We kept her in the whole time and only let her in the backyard to potty. We have a male terrier mix but he is fixed.

On another note, we let her go thru the first heat because we originally wanted to breed her. When I took her to the vet about the above mentioned, I also showed him a few minor bald spots that we had noticed. Being a new boxer owner, we were shocked to find out that she had a minr case of "red mange" probably onset by the stress of heat. We were very upset to learn from him that we should not breed her because this is hereditary. He explained about her immune system and that although she had a minor case, going thur another heat or pregnancy could cause a more sever case possibly leading to a dangerous secondary infection. This is when we decided to have her spayed. We think she is so wonderful that we wanted to have one of her puppies and are still upset that we will never be able to. I think I will contact the AKC to inform them about this because her Mother should not be having puppies according to my vet. I really should post this mange issue on the "health" forum because I would love to hear from other owners on this issue also.

Any advice on the mange/breeding issue or the strange whining with the stuffed toy?

 

[gmacleod]

Yep, it is very likely a false pregancy. If she ended her heat in late November, this is around the time she'd have whelped had she conceived. Alas, following a heat cycle a bitch will go through all of the bodily and hormonal changes you'd expect from a pregnacy, whether bred or not. That's a major reason it is recommended that non-breeding dogs be spayed before the first heat. You could do a search here on 'false pregnancy' for more information.

Poor girl - well there's not a lot you can do except let her ride out the hormonal storm, then have her spayed straight after.

As for the mange thing, yes your vet is quite correct. Not only would a pregnancy and raising a litter put excessive strain on her immune system and likely bring the mange back on, but it is indeed hereditary and would be passed to any puppies. Great to hear you've decided to have her spayed It's really in her best interests, and of course, the interests of the breed as a whole. I wish more people would be as responsible

Here's a site with some good information on Demodicosis (demodectic mange) http://www.upei.ca/~cidd/intro.htm (scroll down to inherited skin disorders, click that, then scroll down to demodicosis)

PS: Yes, her mother should also be spayed, but so should her father be neutered - unless it is known which one of them is the carrier. Demodicosis is genetically inheritable - so that means from either or both parents

 

[Honey's Mom]

Thanks!

Thanks so much for the great information! I had searched the internet all week looking for some answers and just felt overwhelmed and uninformed until I found this great site. Thanks again for the reply, it helped to ease our minds a little! We will just have to find another boxer puppy to love(rather than her pup) because we are hooked!

 

[SoleilBxrs]

glad to hear you guys made the right decision to not breed your bitch. wanting a pup from your girl just because she's a wonderful dog is never a good reason to breed.(there have been many threads here on BW about responsible breeding/backyard breeding) best of luck w/ her hormones, i hope they subside quickly, and good luck in finding your newest edition! There are quite a few reputable breeders in Texas, so if you are set on a healthy, well-bred pup, i'd suggest you start getting to know breeders now. (even if you are only looking for a pet pup a ways down) best of luck!

-Kat