Blaze

Sorry we've been missing you.  The weather finally broke and we've been letting off our cabin fever steam!  Like getting back to a regular dog walking schedule.   Whew!  It seemed like for a while winter was never going to end.

 

We had a little scare with Blaze last week, which has also taken precedence.  One of her teats was swollen and from describing it over the phone the vet thought it might be a mammary tumor.  It turned out it wasn't.  It was her milk duct filling up from being in a false pregnancy, but it scared us enough, especially hubby, Mark, that we decided we are going to have her spayed.  Blaze has been having false pregnancies after every heat and they have intensified with each year.  A false pregnancy is when the body and mind mimic that of a true pregnancy, but there are no puppies.  The teats can be swollen and produce milk and the "mother" hoards toys and guards them.  It is genetic, as Silver went through them as well.  It's cause by a hormonal imbalance and can cause moodiness, depression as well as symptoms of being overly motherly and clingy.

Our cut off time for Blaze to have puppies was 6 years old and she is now 6 1/2.  It was still a difficult decision as the vet said Blaze could safely have puppies until she was 7 yrs. old.  Pyometra is a serious condition in older unspayed female dogs and can be deadly if not treated within 48 hours.  It was another scary thing I would have to watch for and there aren't always signs of it.  It is another reason we have decided to spay her.  Her health and well being, both mental and physical are worth more than having puppies.

It was a sad decision and will be so final.  We kept Blaze open with the possibility of raising our own sled dog team and to carry the line of Brut and Silver, but the fear for her life is far more important.  We know there are plenty of dogs out there looking for a home and I guess we were just hoping to have the best of both worlds.

We are so glad that Blaze is OK and we want to keep her for as long as possible.  And we know for us, that means having her spayed.  We haven't set a date yet, but we will let you know when it is because no matter that this is a common surgery, it is still our baby going under the knife and we will need all your thoughts and prayers to get through it.  And we thank you in advance for that.