Ted

[katej215]

OMG congrats Clare..what a cutie pie! She looks like mini me Ted..he's so good with her in that vid bless him..

imagining Hattie rolling around with a baby boy wire..aahh ..

[ClareMarsh]

I love the game of chase

What are you planning to do about preventing yet more puppies turning up in due course? Will you keep them separate and put up with Ted being lovelorn and serenading Ella night and day, or get one neutered? Or is it a case of wait & see? (I'm assuming that you're not planning on breeding as presumably half-siblings are too closely related to be bred from.)

The best bit of the game of chase it Ted waits for Ella to catch up with him at the corner and then sets off again

I would never be able to give up puppies so I would be the worst breeder on earth I'm going to see how we go, she has to get to maturity so I'm committed to at the very least 3 or so seasons of madness. Fortunately there are only two people in our house, we'll go on lock down, no visitors so no mistakes and I'm planning on using gwd's crate and x pen set up. Ella is sleeping in a crate at night and will continue to do so. I'm under no illusion that it will be hell on earth

Ultimately it will be Ella that gets fixed as if I fix one it will be to stop the madness that comes with seasons. But we'll see.

I don't want to think about it right now I just didn't want to being a boy into the house and trying to find a rescue/older b tch was a hding to nothing.

imagining Hattie rolling around with a baby boy wire..aahh ..

Ted has never, ever played with a dog that way, in fact he doesn't like puppies, even tiny ones. I was quite concerned I'd have to manage them a lot whilst she was a baby but he's taken to it like a duck to water.

[katej215]

Ted has never, ever played with a dog that way, in fact he doesn't like puppies, even tiny ones. I was quite concerned I'd have to manage them a lot whilst she was a baby but he's taken to it like a duck to water.

I guess that's the thing isn't it..you just don't know how they're going to be do you..

Hattie has always been great with the few pups she's met..she even had her face grabbed by a very young baby Irish terrier girl a few weeks ago and she didn't bat an eyelid..she isn't resource guardy either but what she'd be like with another dog in her home getting attention from us I just don't know...A few months back a was considering taking on a JRT that someone was looking to rehome..I went for a walk with the owner..both dogs were off lead, we sat down for a chat and I was fussing the JRT and out of the blue I see Hattie doing a ninja fly thru the air landing squarely on my lap! she has never ever done that before, always asking to come up...I thought it was funny at the time but it has made me think.

However OH bought me a fox terrier calendar for Christmas ..so now I've got January's puppies looking appealingly at me every time I go into the kitchen ..

[DianeLDL]

I love the game of chase

What are you planning to do about preventing yet more puppies turning up in due course? Will you keep them separate and put up with Ted being lovelorn and serenading Ella night and day, or get one neutered? Or is it a case of wait & see? (I'm assuming that you're not planning on breeding as presumably half-siblings are too closely related to be bred from.)

Judy,
Good questions. When Ella gets to the point of being in heat, there could be a problem, I would guess.

gwd,
You have a boy and girl, how do you keep them separate during the times when girl dog is in heat?

I would guess that it would be to either neuter one or spade the other or does it depend on very good management?

Not, that we would ever have that problem, but an interesting point that Judy is making.

Diane

[gwd]

gwd,
You have a boy and girl, how do you keep them separate during the times when girl dog is in heat?

it's really only bad for 5 or so days. on those days I crate both of them and take long walks with boy dog while OH is home giving baby girl some attention. it's not ideal to have them crated so long but it's short term and it's the only way to keep them safe. in the early part of the season they can be together I just have to be very careful watching to pinpoint the moment It goes from, 'you're cute, lets flirt', to "let go do this'.

spade the other

spayed.

[DianeLDL]

[

spade the other

spayed.

So much for spell check.

Diane

[Nettle]

When my stud dog was alive, he was very useful in the early stages of the girls' heats in that he flirted nicely at home and out walking kept other dogs away. But it certainly isn't easy for the receptive days, and sometimes if one pesters enough, there could be a mating outside the usual time. As there are only two humans in the house we kept doors shut, and stud dog had lots and lots of exercise. If I could have sent him away for the duration I would have, but there was nobody I could trust with him, and also he was very bonded to me.

So it's something that can be done but is not a pleasant time. However, in the case of mine it's once a year for each b itch, so it's over relatively quickly.

[ClareMarsh]

Thankfully we are moving to a much bigger property (Amy can testify our current flat is no place for two entire dogs during a heat cycle, however small those dogs may be). We will be able to separate by great dane crates in x pens and still have plenty of room in the lounge and also baby gate the top and bottom of the stairs so that we can go one up one down when stuart is around.

I've no doubt I'm not going to enjoy it, if I end up spaying her when she's mature (which in my eyes is age 2) then she's still likely to be in a much better position than if someone else had her and stuffed her full of cr@p kibble and spayed her age 6 months. And Ted is going to be much better off with a few weeks of misery than living with a boy dog that he is constantly in competition with (although I appreciate that doesn't happen with all boys).

Suffice to say I have thought all this through long and hard for the best part of twelve months before we committed to Ella

[Nettle]

FWIW I think you have made exactly the right decisions and I have every confidence that you will manage the heat cycles easily and make whichever long-term decision is right for you and your dogs. It's different for each of us and for each of them.

[ClareMarsh]

Thank you Nettle, that means a lot to me

I figure also that everyone is horrified at me having an intact male like he's going to be this uncontrollable beast, so that fact that people are going to be horrified at me having two intact dogs of the opposite sex, well it's just par for the course

[gwd]

As there are only two humans in the house we kept doors shut, and stud dog had lots and lots of exercise.

separate rooms work for some people..........it didn't for me. I've found as long as I crate (both) dogs where they can see each other, things are quiet. boy dog only whines or barks if he doesn't know where she is. .......somehow I think that he figures if he keeps her in sight, at least no one else is getting her.

i also totally know what you mean about a pester-y male can have a b*tch give in and stand even when she's not quite receptive, or just out of standing heat...........some girls are, 'fine, i'll just lie back and think of england' if it means the male will leave them alone after!

my girl is very clear about when, 'no means no'! I'm also luck in that boy dog is pretty darn sensible. he doesn't get aggressive with his flirting until she's receptive and when she's going the other way, he's resigned to the fact that he's missed his opportunity.

i do find that boys get better after they've experienced a season or two.....the first one for both is the worst as neither knows what's really going on......they get smarter about things once they've experienced an entire season.

and yes clare, people will judge you and figure you're just irresponsible having two entires.........but they're just parroting the spay/neuter propaganda. don't let them ruffle your feathers!

[JudyN]

separate rooms work for some people..........it didn't for me.

I thought we were talking about dogs though!

Sorry.....

[rachel540]

Congrats Clare!
Ella is a sweetheart keep those vids and pictures coming x

[ClareMarsh]

Here you go









And one of my handsome little man

[katej215]

That pudgy pink tummy..and those little puppy feet...