Skip to content

Split heat cycle?

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • Has anyone dealt with a split heat cycle?

    My 13 month old had her first cycle at Christmas at 6 months old and started another one a month ago at 12 months.

    The first cycle followed like text book but this time after 16 days of bleeding it stopped abruptly without seeing the signs of ovulation that I saw last time.

    It's been about 3 weeks since and in the last couple of days she is off her food in the morning and licking herself again, which she did at the start of the cycle, so wondering whether she's about to have the second part soon.

    Has anyone else experienced this? I read it's more common in younger dogs.

  • It happens, this is really nothing new with Basenjis.... not uncommon for bitches... and nothing new for older bitches either...

  • Sometimes seasons take several cycles to settle down. This is nothing to worry about, just another reason why you should let nature take its natural course and not spay a bitch before it has, and you know she is hormonally fully mature. By which time you will probably have found there is no need to, anyway, because keeping her safe from the boys is no big deal

2/3

2 Jul 2021, 22:25

Suggested Topics

  • 0 Votes
    9 Posts
    1k Views
    @elbrant 😁👍
  • 0 Votes
    14 Posts
    1k Views
    She's very young. It does take some bitches a couple of years (cycles) before they settle into a routine - which is another reason not to neuter them until everything has really settled down !) I wouldn't worry too much, just keep a close eye on her. She was born 'out of season' - but will probably revert to one proper season a year in time.
  • 0 Votes
    3 Posts
    2k Views
    Most Vets will not recommend spay during season and unless there is a medical reason for doing it now, will recommend waiting till she is at least 3 to 4 weeks past the end of her season. I would also agree you should put it off and wait. Keep in mind however the neutered males can achieve a tie with a bitch in season, however considered "safe sex"… but since you have two males, this could present a problem, so something to keep an eye on
  • 0 Votes
    14 Posts
    5k Views
    We had Juniper spayed about a month ago at 8 months old. Everything went well and her scar is almost healed…thankfully she doesn't seem to have lost any of her zeal! The vet said her sex organs looked as developed as a 3 y/o dog and it was they were the most mature looking sex organs he'd ever seen in 20 years of spaying and neutering. Believe it or not she went into a false labor after the spaying; about a week after the surgery her teats swelled up and when we took her to the vet he apparently squeezed out some milk! She was acting fairly normal but it was just as odd as it sounds! The vet said its rare but it can happen after a spaying because the hormone changes are similar to that of post-delivery. I did some research online and apparently false labors are common among wild wolves where the non-pregnant females will go into a false labor to provide milk and nurturing for offspring in the pack that are not their own.
  • 0 Votes
    6 Posts
    3k Views
    Both of mine came in again this year, but in my experience, if they are around another bitch basenji that is in season, it may bring the others in also. Mine showed no inclination to going into season, and yet, first one and then the other! They did go to a show where there was another bitch in season before this.
  • 0 Votes
    6 Posts
    4k Views
    Just a word about pyo….the ones that are the most deadly are called a 'closed pyometra'...meaning the infection is sealed in the uterus...nothing comes out..the dog just crashes. When their is fluid leaking you can catch it, and treat it. I think it is unlikely that Jazzy has a pyo, because her activity, and appetite are still relatively normal. A lot of bitches change a little during estrous...some get more crabby, some more clingy. Then when the added change of bringing in a boy, I would imagine she is just subdued :)