I’d been eagerly awaiting Roo going into season for a while. I’d anticipated it being in very late September or early October but hadn’t seen any of the signs I’d expected. Discharge mess is the key one but behavioral signs can also occur such as toileting changes (increasing the amount of urinating but in smaller quantities) or an increase in intolerance with other dogs or destructive behaviour. As Roo is not normally a dog that seeks other dogs out and her destructiveness focusses on garden pruning’s I’d not picked up on any noticeable changes. She’d been her normal playful self when another dog wanted a chase then she’d oblige but she was equally happy entertaining herself sniffing out who’d been out and left doggie text messages. It is advised to keep an eye out for a clear discharge which normally precedes the season starting. I’d identified what I thought might have been this clear discharge a couple of times but it was a false alarm and more likely to be the remnants of a puddle that she’d stormed through.
Day One (21-October-2021)
OK so visiting my mother’s house has its’ benefits. Maybe it’s a male thing but I don’t see mess anywhere near as closely as my mother. We’d called in for a cup of coffee and a natter after a short visit to the park to play with a ball and for Roo to tease me with where she’d leave it next. I was just about to take my cup back into the kitchen when my mother called me back to check a stain on a blanket on her sunlounge floor. Yes, it was the sign that the season had started. Day one is identified by a blood discharge which will last for around 10 days. I duly reported the news to the breeding team so that they could consider what plans needed to be put in place.
Day Two (22-October-2021)
The breeding team contacted me to ask that I consider ordering some Arden Grange food for Roo. Our experience of her last pregnancy raised concerns as she’d ignored her normal diet of Royal Canin. We’d experimented with alternatives more acceptable to her and found that Arden Grange fit the bill. As recommended, I ordered two types. A normal and a prestige pack that contains extra nutrients for a pregnant brood. Whilst not explicitly saying that Roo would be mated, the instruction to order the Prestige food indicated that it was likely as long as all goes well.
Day Four (24-October-2021)
Still an obvious blood discharge reinforcing the fact that Roo is having her season. A lovely long morning walk saw us meet a few dogs I didn’t recognize. The scent that male dogs pick up on is clearly faint at the moment as there was little extra interest than is normal. Having Roo on a lead in wide open spaces isn’t anywhere near as enjoyable as seeing her dashing about but being a coward not wanting to explain how an accident (albeit at this early stage when Roo is unlikely to be receptive) has occurred with a local dog as opposed to the super breeding team studs, meant that she was restrained. Recall with tasty treats also substituted the lead in areas where it was totally obvious we were alone.
Day Five (25-October-2021)
More signs of Roo definitely being in season, this time behavioural. She is leaving many more text messages on our walks for other dogs to pick up. Sometimes where she’s picked up on one already left and so leaves a reply and others apparently at random.
Day Six (26-October-2021)
Roo’s Arden Grange food arrived just after her first feed for the day was presented to her. The order to delivery service is excellent with notifications throughout the process so that I was kept in the picture. Checking Roo’s last mating dates, I contacted the breeding team to query whether there were any dates that I should definitely block out so that a premating blood test could be taken. These premate blood tests help assess the best date for a stud dog to be called into the Breeding centre should they have decide to mate her this season.
Day Seven (27-October-2021)
Having made up a mixture of Royal Canin and Arden Grange to ease the change, I laid it down in her bowl and Eureka, Roo was straight there. She’s not a greedy girl and often takes a while to get round to having her food. This is a good sign and may also partially be led by her portion sizes being reduced slightly so that she reduces weight by around 500g prior to being mated and becoming pregnant. Whilst weight is not monitored closely during pregnancy it is best that the brood is neither under or overweight. It’s recommended to feel along the ribcage and identify whether your fingers rattle over them or you need to press quite hard to feel them. The team had identified that she was close to the top of her desired weight range so had recommended a slight reduction in her food portions. An overweight brood is more likely to develop larger pups meaning increased risk of whelping (birthing) issues such as inability to maintain the energy to push them out.
Roo is an energetic girl so walking on a lead means that she doesn’t get to dash about at speed. Being in season means that she is very attractive to all the male dogs out and about regardless of whether they have been neutered or are full dogs. As her energy levels appeared quite high, I made a detour on our morning walk to an area that very few dog walkers use. That said we did meet up with a walker with 3 dogs that we knew. Two were female along with a neutered male Weimaraner who was certainly pleased to see Roo. I’d wanted to give her the chance to have a run and as I knew he was neutered which was confirmed by his owner we let them off to have a chase and use up some energy. It was a good example of how easy it would be to have an unexpected mating should the male be a full male so strengthened the advice given by the breeding team that she should be on a lead to avoid accidents. Hey ho I guess I just have to up my mileage to try to compensate for her not being free to run.
Day Eight (28-October-2021
Well as if things were not all up in the air with hormone changes, we picked up a Guide Dog in training as a house guest for a week. Roo was introduced in the back garden and whilst it wasn’t an overwhelming welcome, she led a boisterous golden girl around her territory and brought a couple of toys out to play tug of war with. Thankfully they get on great and with the exception of eating they are fine together. If they were both fed at the same time Roo would not have a look in. As our house guest also needs to sleep alone as part of her training they were separated overnight. Thankfully neither girl complained and a quiet restful night was had by all.
Day Nine (29-October-2021)
The day started by dropping the training dog off for her training and then a very wet walk in some fields near the Guide Dog training centre. Fridays are a day that Roo and I normally go on a free running trip to a large park to give a working Guide Dog a chance to run, play, roll and chase. It’s lovely seeing the two of them initially chasing but it’s never too long before they just get on with their own agenda and whilst going in the same direction, essentially take little notice of each other. Well as Roo is now well into her season, I didn’t take her today so that he was allowed to have his free time without the torment and distraction of a dog in season.
Having had some time free running, I visited the Guide Dogs training centre on my way home to pick up our house guest after her training had finished. Again, introducing Roo to her in the garden so that they could get used to the fact they’d be together for the weekend. Roo energetically greeted the dog but gave me a stare that I took to mean that she was not happy that I’d left her out of the afternoon’s activities. A break in the rain enabled the 3 of us to have a wander to the local park to appease her.
The early evening started with booms and bangs from a nearly firework party but thankfully both girls just snuggled up in their respective beds and watched me being harassed by the commotion.
Day Ten (30-October-2021)
A lull in the driving rain allowed Roo and our Guide dog house guest to make themselves more comfortable by toileting in the garden. I’m familiar with synchronized swimming but this was my first experience of synchronized pooing. I have plenty of bags but even so why use two when you can just use the one?
The season discharge colour is getting paler with less blood colour. This change of colour indicates that Roo is approaching ovulation, something that we’ll be able to test in a couple of days when we visit the vet for a blood test.
Day Twelve (01-November-2021)
Today is the normal day for the monthly flea treatment of the breeding teams broods and studs and is also the day that Roo is due her six monthly worming treatment. As she may be mated both these treatments are on hold so that the breeding team can ensure the appropriate medication is duly administered during the pregnancy period.
A drive down to the veterinary hospital in Aylesbury today so that a pre-mating blood test can be done to help identify the optimal day(s) for mating. The team at The Grange had run out of the testing strips required to do the test themselves. There have in fairness been a number of broods that have recently been mated. I’d been to the vets and transported blood samples back to The Grange when Roo was first mated in 2019 as her season coincided with the team getting the equipment to do the tests themselves so they wanted to calibrate their equipment and check their results against the vets.
Roo wasn’t 100% certain whether to go with the vet for her blood test after she’d had a general checkup. Her tail was wagging when she was led off but it was wagging a lot faster when she was returned to me with a small patch on her neck having been shaved to find a suitable place to get the needle in to extract the blood.
We started to drive home but were called by the breeding team to see if we were able to return to The Grange if they could get the Stud dog there. We turned round and Roo was left with the team so she could meet her blind date, Charlie. Whilst chemically she is peaking her behaviour with poor Charlie was showing that she wasn’t yet totally ready for a mating. A follow up date was arranged for the following day.
Day Thirteen (02-November-2021)
A bright sunny drive down to The Grange was a good omen but it was still uncertain whether Roo would be more receptive and friendly towards her suitor. For the breeding team this is just business as normal but to me … well I was still slightly nervous.
Upon arrival my nerves were not improved by Roo refusing to leave the car. Not her normal cheeky attention seeking refusal but a determined one requiring me to lift her out. As soon as I put her down, I had to counter a determined effort to get back in the car by blocking the door whilst I was able to physically close it.
I was roughly 20 minutes early for the blind date so having checked the area around the breeding centre for other dogs we had a lead walk around it to allow her to have a toileting opportunity. It was fortunate that no training sessions were occurring in the adjacent fields and that the site was very quiet as having a brood in the height of her season would have disrupted the concentration of dogs in training.
I relinquished the lead and Roo with the team who were awaiting Charlie’s arrival and wandered off to the volunteer barn area for a cup of coffee and a chat with the charities’ social media wizard. One of the wonderful attributes of the charity is that everyone you meet whether staff or volunteers is friendly. I’ve been a fan of the social media posts for a long time as they portray the sheer joy that these special clever dogs provide.
After a while we were joined by the breeding team manager who delivered the welcome news that ‘Eureka’ Roo had decided that Charlie was the charmer that she was looking for (19-minute tie). Whilst I’d briefly seen Charlie in the rear of his car when he was leaving the previous day, I’d not met him. I was hoping that he was still around so that I could do my duty and have a word with my little girls’ suitor. I was led through the office where a super excited Roo was being looked after and through to the room where Charlie was being allowed to wind down. His happy smile and wagging tail and body endeared him to me immediately. A big, handsome working Cocker Spaniel – Yes, the breeding team had chosen a super dog to match with Roo. Returning to Roo she certainly thought so too.
I’m glad we’d managed to have a brief wander earlier so that Roo could have a wee because I was then asked to get her into the car and not allow her to wee until we’d got home. A pleasant drive back home prior to returning again tomorrow for a potential third date.
Day Fourteen (03-November-2021)
Déjà vu, a similar drive down to The Grange with Roo. We arrived with a few minutes to spare before the date so we took advantage having got Roo out of the car with less resistance of a stretching of limbs and a toileting opportunity. Our breeding team buddy was there today and if I were the jealous type, I’d not be overly happy at the excitement she displayed in seeing him. Again, I relinquished control of her lead and she happily followed him into the breeding centre whilst I headed for the coffee machine.
Bingo! I caught up with the brood holder of Roo’s sister Pip so had a lovely catch up whilst I was waiting for the news as to whether Charlie was still in Roo’s good books. Thankfully they had a very amicable third date (20-minute tie).
Day Fifteen (04-November-2021)
Roo is eager to get to the car this morning but we don’t have another date. We just need to hope that the previous dates will result in some more life changing dogs to be passed onto socialisers and trainers in the new year.
The breeding team shared a ‘Brood Health Advice’ document with me so that I’m clear about my responsibilities in maintaining Roo’s health in the post mating, pregnancy and nesting periods. Next milestone the scan in December.
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