Collies not in heat

Question
Hi!
I have had experiences with two Collies ( one pure-bred another mixed) where neither female has gone into heat throughout their lives. Is there some genetic predispositon i should know about?
Thank you for your time
Melanie  

Answer
Melanie,
I've not had experience with female Collies not ever coming into heat and it IS possible there could be a genetic problem in those two specific dogs - particularly if they are related, I would suspect it.  I have never been made aware of a predisposition in Collies as a breed to have that problem.

There could be other factors at work however and if you are wanting to breed a female who isn't coming into heat I would check with your vet as there might be a physical problem. It is also possible that an infertility problem in two of your dogs could be environmental i.e. caused by some organism in the soil or passed to them from neighborhood animals or maybe an infection.  The best way to find that out is have a vet take a vaginal culture of the dog.

Once you have eliminated infection of any type I would go back to the breeder where you acquired your Collie and find out if there had been problems with any other dogs of that breeding.  Too much inbreeding can sometimes cause fertility problems in many different kinds of animals, not just dogs and there's always the possibility of genetic mutations occurring.

In summary, without more information than you have provided I can't help you track down the root cause of the problem. You also didn't say if your dogs are Standard Collies or one of the other breeds of Collie as each of them may have their own health issues.