Sex

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….