Lagan turns 5 years old

Lagan celebrated his fifth birthday on January 11th. We didn’t do anything special for it. We just had a good time together as usual. He is doing well considering his age. He still enjoys playing with Farset, just not as often as he did before.

Whew! I Made It through the Holidays and Farset Going through Her First Heat

It has been a long holiday season. Not only have I been really busy with pet sitting (a good thing), Farset went into heat for the first time. She went into heat on December 11th which was the day before the guild Christmas party at my house. I had planned on taking her to doggie daycare that day, but I couldn’t do that with her in heat. So I was really stressed out at the party.

It was really poor timing. Farset would have to go into heat right before Christmas and I was booked absolutely solid from Dec 21 – Jan 2. It was her first heat, so it has been a real learning experience for both of us.

I had been waiting to buy anything until she had either finished growing or went into heat for the first time. After cruising the web, I ordered a pair of Fancy Nancy’s Dog Panties. There is a picture above. Now I just need to get a few more pairs before the next time she goes into heat.

http://www.fancynancys.com/

Dogs are in season for about 21 days, but it may be for even longer. It is not advised to breed a dog during their first heat. You shouldn’t breed an Irish Wolfhound girl before she is 2 years old. Most dog breeds go into heat twice a year.

Since Lagan is intact too, I had to keep her and Lagan separate while she was in heat. Fortunately, only Lagan was interested in her. She wasn’t interested in him. She also seemed to have an internal calendar, so she basically went out of heat in almost exactly 21 days. Yea!

The only reason they are both intact is because to show dogs in conformation, they have to intact. The idea is that you want to improve the breed. So for now, Lagan and Farset are intact. If I get to a point where I decide that I am not going to show Lagan anymore, I’ll have him neutered. As an intact male, he is at higher risk for prostate problems or testicular cancer.