Female Boxer Dog

Question
My female boxer dog is almost 12 month and she didn't reach its first heat. Is it normal or not? However she's very healthy and active.

Answer

Hi Sherif,

While 6-7 months of age is the average of when you should expect the onset of heat cycles, it isn't set in stone age for the first heat cycle. Many dogs have their first heat cycle at 12-14 months of age.
It really depends upon what the norm for your particular dog. It's possible your dog's mother started her heat cycles on the late side, which could make your dog predisposed to start her cycles later than usual too. That said, there isn't much use is guessing about this. If you're concerned have a veterinarian examine your dog, just to make sure everything is okay.

If you are planning on breeding your dog, you should know that female dogs shouldn't be bred before they're two years old. A mature female dog makes a much better mother to her litter. If you aren't planning on breeding your dog, you should know that having a dog spayed before the onset of her first heat cycle drastically lowers her chance of getting mammary cancer. The risk of malignant mammary tumors in dogs spayed prior to their first heat is 0.05%. It is 8% for dog spayed after one heat, and 26% in dogs spayed after their second heat. It is believed that the elimination or reduction of certain hormonal factors causes the lowering of incidence of the disease in dogs that have been spayed. Your dog not having her heat cycle yet could be a wonderful opportunity to have your dog spayed, if you haven't already done so.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti