Why hasn't my female gone into heat?

[erinnao1987]

I know that dogs normally come into heat between 6 and 12 months. I posted this thread to ask about my dog having a late cycle and if anyone else has been in this type of situation. I know the cost of breeding and health testing is expensive and I have the sufficent funds to pay for emergencies and breeding. I do not consider her not having a menstal cycle right now as an emergency which is why I don't want to start pulling money out of my emergency funds. If my vet tells me my dog it at any risk I definitley will have her spayed.

 

[Roxy'sNewMom]

Have you had health testing done on this bitch? What about the father? When are you planning on breeding her? Have you read all the posts on here about breeding? Have you shown her to get a confermation? Please fix your dog, if you dont know when the heat cycle is, and you are not showing please fix her.

 

[gmacleod]

I know that dogs normally come into heat between 6 and 12 months.

For dogs in general - and as an average across all breeds - then 6-12 months might be about right. But this is a boxer, and the normal range for this particular breed is more like 7-24 months.

Incidentally, whether your vet has told you it or not, there are a few health risks to keeping a bitch intact. YOU might not think a heat cycle (which is not a mensrual cycle, btw) is no big deal... but you should consider that right now, not having had a heat cycle, your bitch has just a 0.05% risk of developing malignant mammary cancer later in life. Let her have one heat and that risks multiplys 160 times to 8%. Two cycles and the risk is 26% - that's worse than one in four. Sounds to me something worth dipping into emergency funds for.

Here's a veterinary article that outlines the specific risks of malignant mammary cancer in intact bitches, and another on the wider health risks of keeping a bitch intact: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1638&articleid=460
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1625&articleid=926

 

[kassa]

I'm very pro spay/neuter, and I've lost a bitch in a c-section, so I'm very much aware of what's on the line with every breeding.

However, I do wonder at this statement from the first linked article:

The risk of malignant mammary tumors in dogs spayed prior to their first heat is 0.05%. It is 8% for dog spayed after one heat, and 26% in dogs spayed after their second heat.

I see this statement thrown around a lot, and yet I've known hundreds of intact show bitches (usually not spayed until they're 5-7 years old) and have never known a single one with a malignant mammary tumor.

Conversations with people in the breed for decades longer than I confirm that they, too, have not seen anything remotely approaching 1 in 4 intact bitches developing malignant mammary tumors.

Any breeders here have different perceptions? Because if it were true, given the cancer rates in this breed, I think it would be a constant topic of conversation.

 

[gmacleod]

Conversations with people in the breed for decades longer than I confirm that they, too, have not seen anything remotely approaching 1 in 4 intact bitches developing malignant mammary tumors.

Any breeders here have different perceptions? Because if it were true, given the cancer rates in this breed, I think it would be a constant topic of conversation.

No idea. But you'd find similar statements on a great many other veterinary sites (and it applies as an average across all breeds). For example, the Merck Veterinary Manual has this to say:

The frequency of mammary neoplasia in different species varies tremendously. The dog is by far the most frequently affected domestic species, with a prevalence ~3 times that in women; ~50% of all tumors in the bitch are mammary tumors... About 45% of mammary tumors are malignant in dogs, whereas ~90% are malignant in cats, and dogs have a much higher number of complex and mixed tumors than do cats...

...Mammary tumors in dogs are most frequent in intact bitches; they are extremely rare in male dogs. Ovariectomy before the first estrus reduces the risk of mammary neoplasia to 0.5% of the risk in intact bitches; ovariectomy after 1 estrus reduces the risk to 8% of that in intact bitches. Bitches neutered after maturity have generally been considered to have the same risk as intact bitches. However, questions remain regarding the impact of ovariohysterectomy at the time of tumor excision. Questions also remain about the timing of such surgery relative to survival. In one study, dogs spayed <2 yr prior to tumor excision lived 45% longer than either intact dogs or those spayed >2 yr prior to tumor excision. The 2 posterior mammary glands are involved more often than the 3 anterior glands. Grossly, tumors appear as single or multiple nodules (1-25 cm) in 1 or more glands. The cut surface is usually lobulated, gray-tan, and firm, often with fluid-filled cysts. Mixed mammary tumors may contain grossly recognizable bone or cartilage on the cut surface.
More than 50% of canine mammary tumors are benign mixed tumors; a smaller percentage of malignant mixed tumors are seen. In the latter, epithelial or mesenchymal components, either singly or in combination, may produce metastases. Histologically, canine mammary gland tumors have been classified by the World Health Organization as carcinomas (with 6 types and additional subtypes), sarcomas (4 types), carcinosarcomas (mixed mammary tumors), or benign adenomas. This classification scheme is based on the extent of the tumor, involvement of lymph nodes, and presence of metastatic lesions (TNM system); it includes unclassified tumors and apparently benign dysplasias.

Which is actually a rather different statement. But highlights the impact of spaying on mammary cancer risk nonetheless.

 

[kljarvis]

I'm with Bob Barker...Help control the pet population...Have your pets spayed or neutered!

 

[GoCougs]

I'm with Bob Barker...Help control the pet population...Have your pets spayed or neutered!

Actually, that's one of the best reasons. There are enough dogs in shelters and rescues, many of them put to rest because there aren't enough people willing to adopt them for whatever reason.

 

[bunkermom]

I know that dogs normally come into heat between 6 and 12 months. I posted this thread to ask about my dog having a late cycle and if anyone else has been in this type of situation. I know the cost of breeding and health testing is expensive and I have the sufficent funds to pay for emergencies and breeding. I do not consider her not having a menstal cycle right now as an emergency which is why I don't want to start pulling money out of my emergency funds. If my vet tells me my dog it at any risk I definitley will have her spayed.

Lets address this statement in it's entirety...

I know that dogs normally come into heat between 6 and 12 months.

No, boxers don't. Gwenyth just told you that the average for boxers is anywhere from 7-24 months. Did you read her post?

I posted this thread to ask about my dog having a late cycle and if anyone else has been in this type of situation.

Again, this is not a menstrual cycle, this is a breeding cycle.

I know the cost of breeding and health testing is expensive and I have the sufficent funds to pay for emergencies and breeding.

I would be curious to know what exactly your idea of health testing is. Let alone what you are assuming the cost is going to be!

If my vet tells me my dog it at any risk I definitley will have her spayed.

What risks do you think your vet is going to tell you about? At her age, she probably isn't at any serious risk now...the problems are going to come down the road. Emergency fund or not, your heart will still be broken when your dog dies of cancer at any early age...cancer you may have been able to prevent if you would have had HER best interests at heart and spayed her before her first heat cycle.

Maybe this post has come off harshly, but this really irks me. What are your reasons for wanting to breed your bitch? Are you showing her in conformation? Have you had her evaluated by a unbiased 3rd party so you know for sure that she meets breed standard? This MUST be done by a professional in the breed fancy who actually knows what they are talking about. Obviously you have not had any health testing done yet...she isn't old enough.

Last but certainly not least...Why do you have the money set aside for health testing in an emergency fund? That is a planned expense...not an emergency that might crop up unexpectedly.

Autumn

 

[Bobbi_B]

spaying is truly the way to go...All 6 of my boxers are rescues...They're not exactly a rare species,and they're obviously not the dog for eveyone...Although I've met lots of people who shouldn't own a dog at all.Which brings to mind another concern..Screening future owners for puppies can be a royal pain in the backside!Not to mention are you willing to take any you have previously placed back?Those are things besides the health testing which should come first to consider

 

[kassa]

I know the cost of breeding and health testing is expensive and I have the sufficent funds to pay for emergencies and breeding.

Two scenarios that people seldom consider when deciding they have enough $ to breed a litter:

1) catastrophic outcome, you lose the bitch, owe the vet a thousand dollars for vet bills, and no puppies to sell.

2) catastrophic outcome, you lose the bitch, owe the vet a thousand dollars for vet bills (plus some for a necropsy!), and have 9 orphan puppies to raise.

In the case of #1 -- well, it's just money (aside from the heartache, of course). In the case of #2, you're out the money and you'd better have a lot of help lined up, as well as an understanding boss, because even if you've booked a week or a bunch of half days to cover puppy care, you'll probably have to feed them every 3-4 hours for the next 2 weeks, and not many volunteers are going to want the 3 am shift.

#2 happened to me, and I DID have an understanding boss, and I did have over a thousand dollars in vet bills, PLUS another $500 to outlay for formula for the pups over the following weeks. Factor in pallets of paper towels and a half dozen loads of laundry per day... not fun. And four of the pups were white, which meant I couldn't ask money for them (that rule has changed, a little). And on top of that overall exhaustion and sleep deprivation, factor in interviewing people for homes for the pups.

There are many more possible outcomes than the beautiful miracle of birth and the fun of roly poly puppies and some money in your pocket when you're done selling them.