Great Balls of Fire

Having three bitches in the house who are not altered means that multiple times in the year they come into heat. Having one Boy in the house who has testicles means that multiple times throughout the year he loses his mind. I feel very bad for him because he can't help that he is being driven almost mad by his hormones.

Knowing that doesn't really make me much more patient, or tolerant, with him but I do empathize. It's hard to describe the overwhelming, over-powering, single minded drive that a dog experiences when he is exposed to a bitch in heat. I watched an episode of Myth Busters once where they were trying to see what method worked best to get past a guard dog and one of the methods was to distract the (intact) dog with the urine of a bitch in heat. To me that's no gamble, it's a certainty.  Dogs have chewed through doors and walls, climbed fences, dug under fences, chewed their way out of crates, damaged themselves and a lot of property in order to get to that girl who smells oh so very good.

Leeloo came into heat and was quickly followed by Esme three days later. This meant that the period of time they made The Boy crazy was extended beyond what would be normal for either one of them individually. As Leeloo was finishing the time during which she smelled the best - ovulation - Esme was just starting. The Boy has been going on almost 10 days of torture, in a crate, behind a door, behind another door, outside alone, inside alone. Crying, crying, crying, howling, barking and generally making the quiet life I like to lead almost impossible. It's hard to relax when there is a dog on the other side of the door who sounds like his very soul is wasting away.

There is one very simple solution to this problem and one which I need to give some thought to over the next few months. Do I want to neuter The Boy? He is a Canadian Champion, he is not likely going to be shown again in Canada much, if at all, and my main consideration is whether I want to try to finish his American Championship. Mostly, how important is it to me to get that title weighed against the angst and torture he must experience every time a girl in the house comes into heat. Cora is due next and frankly, there isn't a chance in hell he is going to get a crack at that!

The trade off for losing his testicles will mean that the house will not erupt into utter mayhem every six to eight months. Listening to him right now in my bedroom, pacing behind the door, whining, occasionally digging, and generally fussing almost non-stop, makes it seem a small price to pay.