Hello Happy Acre Families! Our Gone with the Wind puppies are getting closer to the one-year mark, and for those that have precious baby girls, your girl will begin her first heat cycle soon.

This can be an emotional time for your baby girl, and she may show signs of being extra needy, or even a little crabby, especially if you have boys around. She may also mark her bed, or dibble little pee marks in areas around the house. This is normal behavior, which should pass when she completes her cycle. Her cycle should run approximately 3 weeks – the first 7-10 days she will be looking quite swollen in her girly parts, then should have 3-4 days where she is in “standing heat”, then 7-10 days for her cycle to wind down. All of this is normal, and please, do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions.

All of this brings me to the point – please do not spay or neuter your baby too soon. There is ever-increasing research that shows early spay and neutering dramatically increases risks of certain cancers, and bone disorders such as dysplasia. Our basset babies are truly a large breed dog, and they do not finish growing until 16-20 months of age. If you can delay altering your baby until at least 18 months, that is what is best for them.

Below are a couple of links to some of the research. There are tons of articles out there that you can research as well!

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00472/full

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/vets-corner/neutering-spaying-right-age-dog