Lola's first heat...driving us crazy!!

hi all,

I'm just wondering if any of you can help me because I'm at my wits end! Long story short, we have 2 cav puppies: Eddie (9 month male tri) and Lola (7 month female blenheim).

Last Thursday Lola went into heat so I decided to seperate her and Eddie because neither of them are neutered. Eddie was brought up to my parents house and is being treated like a king the last few days with no problems at all.

Lola, on the other hand, has stayed with us because we have an enclosed back garden to keep her isolated when we want to let her out. The problem is this, since Eddie left Lola cries and wails non-stop when she's alone for longer than 2 minutes! I understand she's lonely and has never spent any time apart from Eddie but its just driving us crazy! We hav'nt slept since last thursday night and were afraid the neighbours will complain with all the whinging. Please there must be someone who can help us?

Sorry for the long post but I really do hope some of you might have some suggestions or previous experience.

Thanks again

This is one reason why it is usually not recommended to get two puppies at the same time. They very often form stronger bonds with each other than with the humans in the family (as seems to have happened to some extent here) and can become extremely dependent on each other. She is going through the type of separation anxiety you normally will see when dogs are unhappy at not having their humans there.

One thing you really need to do is start to work with each dog so that it can be left alone -- especially with people! -- and not go crazy without the other dog there. That means going through all the basic steps to alleviate separation anxiety that you would with people, except the dogs each need to be trained separately (in general, EVERYTHING needs to be trained separately when you have two puppies -- this is another challenge with two at once).

I'd suggest having a good read through this section as there are lots of links that explain the challenges you will face having two at once like this, and how to address those challenges:

http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1956

Also there's information on dealing with some of the training issues like leaving a dog on its own here: www.deesdogs.com

A cavalier shouldn't be placed out ina garden on its own -- I don;t think this is what you are doing but just in case, this would hugely increase the dog's anxiety levels as they are not a breed that can be left in the garden; they're an indoor toy breed.

Also at your male's age he would be well into the age to be neutered, and your female should be spayed. You might want to discuss this with your vet -- females have a very high, one in four risk of cancer if left unspayed and the risk is higher as well if you don't spay before the first heat though there's still a major protective affect if you do it before her next (second) heat.

From a vet website:

MAMMARY CANCER

A female dog spayed before her first heat will have a near zero chance of developing mammary cancer. After the first heat, this incidence climbs to 7% and after the second heat the risk is 25% (one in four!). It is easy to see that an early spay can completely prevent what is frequently a very difficult and potentially fatal form of cancer.

Click to expand...

More info here:

http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2194

There are protective health reasons for neutering males as well.

Generally it is never advised to keep two unneutered dogs together and one or by preference both need to be altered asap for their health and to prevent problems between them as well as the high risk of litters from two dogs that may very well be genetically incompatible, producing puppies with some of the devastating health issues in the breed such as MVD (half of all cavaliers will have heart murmurs by age five becase of indiscriminate breeding and already cavalier life expectancy is a third to half that of breeds of a similar size due to this problem, caused by breeders with no knowledge of genetics and who do not follow the well-established heart protocols for breeding).

I am sure you aren't actually thinking of breeding (or so I hope!) -- as this is a breed with some serious health problems and even more so than with many other breeds, should never be bred by anyone who hasn't spent a few years learning about the breed, conformation, temperament, genetics, and how to breed around serious health problems like mitral valve disease and syringomyelia. More here:

http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2758

In short, there is no quick answer for the problems you are having right now. Training takes time. To help her I would certainly be looking to get toys like kongs or a treat ball that will keep her busy and exercised. I'd also suggest getting both dogs -- separately -- into training classes at www.dogtrainingireland.ie (in Dublin), as this will help increase the bond between people and dogs and give them greater self control and confidence when left alone. PM me if you want more info on training classes -- we may well be having another all-cavalier class in the new year. We just had an all-cav training day two weeks ago. :flwr:

Thanks a million for the quick reply!!!

First of all, just to clarify, Lola isnt left out the back on her own for prolonged periods, I meant that when I put her out to go to the toilet she starts crying almost immediatley.

Eddie has also just started training with dogtrainingireland just last week and he is fine- no problems there at all. I didnt bring Lola to the classes because to be honest shes very scatty and I felt it would be better for me to train her at home, after me learning at the classes, because there are less distractions for her, or else bringing her after Eddie has finished his.

I've also arranged for dogtrainingireland to make a house visit to help us with Lola, this was arranged before she came in season, for a completely unrelated problem (let's just say house training isn't coming easy to poor auld Lola)

On the subjuect of neutering, it is my intention to get them neutered. I read here that spaying after the first season DOES increase the risk of mammary cancer by 7% but doing it after the first season also has benefits to the dog as regards maturing her temperment etc? Please correct me if am mistaken?

I was just worried that her crying was a sign of something else. Thanks a million again for your quick reply and if anyone else has had a similiar problem please comment and help a desperate, tired man!

Hi Adam,

Her crying could also be because she's in season and she wants her 'boyfriend' - I take it that they are not brother and sister as they are different ages?

A friend of mine had 2 cavaliers, both of different ages but wouldn't get either of them 'fixed'. Whenever her bitch was in season she'd send her dog to her Mothers house and the bitch would howl for him (us women and our hormones eh? ). As Maxx had been neutered he was still invited for play dates but as soon as Charlotte saw him she'd turn into this wanton hussy who would put her bum in his face and howl pitifully at him :yikes Poor old Maxx was petrified and kept hiding from her :lol:

So, it could be that she is 'desperate for a man' & is letting the neighbourhood know, just in case one might be around :lol:

I also remember when I was younger, my Mum used to keep male poodles and her friend the females - there were ALWAYS puppies around at both houses as we lived about 50ft from each other. Whenever the females were in season, they'd be howling in the garden too & all the dogs would howl back - it's a wonder the neighbours didn't report them :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

lol thanks maxxs-mummy, she could indeed just be "lonely" :roll: I just feel very cruel when I hear her crying and theres nothing I can do except staying with her 24 hours a day, which just isn't possible.

She seemed a bit better this evening but still wails and cries when she's alone. We've been spending as much time as possible with her trying to train her etc, as karlin recommended. Hopefully we'll get some sleep tonight because she's dozing at the minute and seems a lot more relaxed.....here's hoping.