Heat question

Question
QUESTION: Hello there, I have a 2 yr old shih tzu and she gave birth last yr.  We decided to keep a male dog from the litter.  She is now in heat again and this pour male dog is going nuts.  I've tried separating them but they both just wine and wine some more.  They are both on the list to get spayed and her heat started 3/3/09.  I'm hoping that her heat will only last the normal 2 wks.   I'd like to know if he can keep her in heat and for how long?

ANSWER: He won't KEEP her in heat, but heat does not normaly last 2 weeks... in fact, once the bleeding starts the female is not even fertile until around day 7-10. A normal heat cycle is 3-4 weeks, and can last as long as 6 weeks.

The only thing you can do is KEEP THEM SEPERATED. Remember, if they breed its just going to be much worse then dealing with the whining and crying right now. Spay and neuter ASAP!!

Good luck,

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I really appreciate you getting back to me about my question.  They have not tied together yet, THANK GOD!  They are on the list to get spayed so I'm doing my best to keep them separated because she doesn't need another litter of pups, nor do I.  I'm curious to know if they do tie, what are the chances of the puppies having deformities?  

Thanks again,
Chelle

Answer
Chelle-

There is certainly a much higher risk of deformities/whelping problems breeding brother to sister. Breeding too closely related dogs can cause vleft palets, heart defects, lung defects, swimmers, improper eye development, you name it. It does not HAVE to happen, but it has a much higher probability rate.

Remember, even if they DO accidental tie (But of course, you want to prevent this at all cost as your male will go INSANE afterwords and scream and cry and pee on everything if seperated from her after a tie) you can still spay her, right up to the begining of the third trimester before she is due. We have had to do that in rescue situations before. How long until they are altered?