Caldas, one of the podengo
girls, has come into season. It was
expected, I have been keeping a close eye on both of the girls lately, as this
is about the time that they are due.
Habibi has also been keeping a close nose on them, checking them out
carefully every day when they go out to pee.
But since there are a few other bitches in season in the kennel at the
moment, I was not sure if he was really hinting something to me, or being
hopeful.
It became obvious that he
was hinting when I spotted a drop of blood. Yes, one drop! Okay, I thought, Caldas is just starting her
season, so there is not much blood around yet.
I started to figure out the
logistics – the podengos live in the house with Habibi, and I don’t really have
an outdoor kennel that is suitable for a little dog – especially a little dog
like Caldas who jumps like a kangaroo and is a total escape artist. So she would have to be crated in the house. I anticipated three weeks of hell, with
Caldas protesting being jailed and Habibi protesting for other reasons.
But after a day or so of
being crated, I noticed that there was not a spot of blood anywhere. Caldas is an incredibly clean dog, and if I had
not by chance seen the one spot of blood that she hadn’t managed to clean up
before I noticed it, I would not have noticed that she was in season at
all. Canaans are very clean, and it is
often very hard to see that they are in season, but this was really amazing –
in the house, after all, where everything is visible.
Habibi was also taking
everything very much in stride. He was
sniffing around, but didn’t seem to be stressed or over anxious. I thought that Caldas must be at the very
beginning of her season, so under the circumstance, I could let her out of the
crate until she got to the more interesting days.
This made Caldas very
happy! And the expression of her
happiness was to run after Habibi, stick her rear in his face, flag her tail
strongly to the side, invite him to play, and tear wildly around the house
inciting him to follow. Caldas running
through the house leaping on the sofas and beds is one thing, but Habibi
bouncing around after her is something else entirely.
And this behavior – obviously,
Caldas was not at all at the beginning of her season, she was right at the
stage of looking for a mate! This was on
the third day from the time I noticed the blood spot – what a little sneak she
is…!
Habibi was ready to play
with her, but (to my surprise!), he made no attempts to try and mount her. I underestimated him – he is not stupid, and
it is obvious to him that there is no way that he could stoop low enough to
even get a foot under her. He stands
there with a resigned expression as she flirts and does all she can to be sexy,
and turns his head away when he is lying down and she comes over and shoves her
rear in his face. The things a dog has
to tolerate…!
I made an appointment to
take her to meet her intended husband, a beautiful young Portuguese
fellow. We met at the kennel where I
work. I sat on the side waiting for the
dog to be brought in, Caldas sitting quietly on my lap watching the trainers
working with other dogs. But as soon as
Monte appeared in the doorway 30 meters away, Caldas ears pricked up, her body
quivered, and she leaped forward almost pulling the leash from my hand. A very eager bride – and who says that dogs
don’t recognize others of their own breed?
So we will be expecting some
new additions in a few months.
Meanwhile – poor
Habibi….Emma, the other podego girl, is also due to come into season at any
time….
