10 Months

Clover going into her first heat was alarming and yet a huge relief at the same time. Never having witnessed this as a pet owner, it scared the living daylights out of me.  I spent the first four days feeling guilty, panicked and downright physically ill.  It sounds silly now (the thought of what we experienced could cause that kind of senseless apprehension).  I was braced for all kinds of aloof behaviour, coyotes in my yard (since we live beside a conservation area), relentless cleaning for hours, and constant threatening health watch.  What I got was about a 1/8th of what I expected.  See? Completely useless waste of time fretting.


Talking myself through this natural event wasn't working and I called the animal hospital to again reschedule Clover's surgical date.  They had no advice to offer about supporting a dog in heat.  I was met with a sense of distaste and irresponsibility then told to call back in six weeks.  Perhaps I read the receptionist's tone wrong, after all she was trying to mitigate between doctor and client, but I certainly didn't feel any better.  In fact I felt a whole lot worse.  I replayed the associate lecture from the last appointment when I tried to discuss my thoughts on paediatric spays. So I contacted our breeder Liz of Pointblank Dog's who not only corresponded with me to answer questions, but wrote a sweet, personal email a couple of days later.  It was the emotional comfort I needed to ground my anxiety.  I gave myself permission to just relax.  


She wore little girl pull-ups purchased at the grocery store in which I cut a hole for her tail.  In order to get the correct body length, the waist was too big.  So, I hot-glued the paper elastic to fit.  She walked like she had a broken pelvis for 2 days and then adjusted to having it on whenever she roamed the house.  It also helped to slow down her threshold speed through the patio door and sit on the mat to dry wet paws with a towel. 

She became extra snuggly (if that's remotely possible) and calm.  Yes, that's right calm.  At least in the house.  I put her on a lead every time she went out, which was often... like when she was learning to house train more than a dozen times a day.  We exercised her early in the morning when there was less chance encounters that may have initiated a canine quarrel.  Her crate blankets were washed daily (sometimes twice at first).  Clover's appetite plummeted and she lost a couple of pounds that returned by Christmas.