Greta’s Heat Cycle

Well, here we are, Miss Greta is 8 months old and in her heat cycle. We chose to have her go through at least one heat before spaying her, as we will not breed her. We believe it is healthy for a dog to go throught their natural cycle at least once for their health and well being.

It really was not bad at all. There was hardly anything to clean up as Greta was very good at keeping herself clean. HOWEVER, due to her keeping herself clean, she developed cystitus. (a bladder infection) For two days she would get into her little pee stance, every 5-10 minutes, but nothing would come out. We called our vet Sat. night and found that he was not taking calls and was referred to a 24hr. emergency vetranarian. We called and discussed our concern with this new vet who advised us that if there was no improvement by the next day (sunday), that she should be seen. So, of course, the next day, there was no improvement at all. In fact she threw up twice. So off to the “Emergency Vet” she went. My husband took here while I stayed home to get dinner together for guests we were having over. My husband arrived at the Emergency Vet at 1pm and $236.00 later, arrived back home about 4pm. 

They took a urine sample which confirmed a urinary infection and was placed on antibiotics that she must take 2/day. We are now on our 3rd day and there is much improvement.

With all things considered, Miss Greta’s heat cycle was uneventful and was a breeze to go through. But do to her infection, the thought of letting her go through another heat is out of the question. We will probably have her spayed in September or October.

Greta is still a very large and strong 8month old puppy. She still thinks the universe is hers and we, to a fault, let her believe that.

We still feed her Eagle Pack Dog Food and mix it, alternating ground chicken or turkey or hamburg with rice and cottage cheese. Her coat is magnificeint with little shedding. In fact, this is the first shepherd we’ve had that didn’t blow coat. We attribute that to her food.

Greta is not a lover of the heat as our last shepherd Baron was. We have a plastic pool for her, but she really isn’t to interested in it to cool down as Baron was. Baron would actually lay down in the water when he was hot. When Greta is hot, she just goes to the door to let us know she’s done and wants to go in.

Well, that is our update on ‘the girl’. We will be having a big 4th of July party with about 30 people. Now that will be a first for her and like I have stated before….she just jumps all over everyone when they come to the house. You see, they are all part of her universe too!!

Have a happy 4th and will be back with some updates!!

Greta 6/1/2007

This is a “Greta” update. She is absolutely a stunning, beautiful German Shepherd. The parts of her coat that is red, is becoming a deep brindle which compliments the black and tan. She truly is a magnificient specimen!

She is as funny as they come! For all of you dog lovers out there, you’ll know what I mean when I say that she “smiles” all of the time. There is not one thing that this dog doesn’t enjoy to the fullest. When I am weeding in our garden, she will take one of the pulled weeds and run all over the yard tossing it in the air only to catch again. She carries herself proudly as she prances like a pony with her head held high as if to tell the world she is here and loving every single minute of it.

Her “correction” collar has been a blessing and so has she in using it. She does NOT go beyond the invisible fence. Even if her ball rolls thru to the other side, she will sit patiently until someone retrieves it for her.

If I am doing something at the kitchen counter, she still insists on jumping up to see what I am doing. She really thinks she should be included in every single thing we do.

We have a baby pool for her that she is somewhat a little reluctant to go in. It has been very hot and humid here in upstate New York and we are outside a lot. So we try to encourage her to “take a dip”. She will put her nose in the water and her 2 front paws and just stand there. But we are at least greatful for that as we know that will cool her off somewhat. But she does love the water from the hose. If I am watering the garden, that is almost an impossibility. She is jumping at that stream of water continuously. She absolutely loves it. But then again, like I stated before, she loves “everything”! Like the universe is hers!

Now the down side. Miss Greta still jumps relentlessly on people when they arrive. She just can’t seem to control herself. We’ve used the correction collar, but it is still like pandamonium when folks arrive.

We go to the butchers now and buy Greta marrow bones. We usually get about 12 of them and she gets one a day. She loves them and it keeps her focus for quite some time. We also give her one when she has to be in her crate. We take them right from the freezer and give them to her. It’s not quite so messy than.

We send pictures of Miss Greta periodically to the breeder in Montanta, where we got her, so the breeder can see her progress. If you ever feel lead to go to the breeders website, you will see pictures of Greta and other dogs that they have bred and sold all over the country. www.kaykohl.com.

With all of this said, my husband and I just love her to death and are enjoying every day we have with her. She is a joy.

Updates to follow………………..