2 heats in a row`

Question
My dog was attacked during her cycle a few months ago, she's o.k. got stitched up.  About a week after the attck, she went back into heat.  Went through that cycle & only a week after that stopped, started her cycle again!  What's going on?

Answer
It sounds as if your girl may be experiencing a "split heat" which is, essentially, a cycle that begins yet may stop suddenly or not last long enough for the entire cycle & then may begin again at a later time. This can occur for a number of reasons but my opinion is the strongest possibility for your dog's situation is probably due to extreme hormone fluxuation from the stress she went through by being attacked mid-cycle. Although not exactly rare it is not normal. I would advise having your vet give her a thorough exam just to rule out any more serious possibilites such as uterine or ovarian tumors or cancer, just to be on the safe side. If you plan to breed her in the future it would be advisable to have your vet run a progesterone test as well.
A normal cycle will last, on average, a total of approximately three weeks. The initial onset is characterized by swelling of the vulva & a bloody discharge. Generally the fertile portion of the cycle begins around day 9 or 10 which is when she would be receptive to breeding. At this point usually the discharge has lightened in flow and color, becoming more of a light pink to straw color. You can read more on this via the following links I'm providing. Hope this helps!

http://www.k9magazinefree.com/k9_perspective/iss1p23.shtml
http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dogpregnant.htm