Westie breeding

Question
QUESTION: I purchased my female westie at age 7 months.  She had a heat cycle at 18 months but we wanted to wait until the next one to breed in order to give her time to mature.  She is now 2yr7months old and has not had a heat cycle.  For a while she was with the male Westie but has not been in the same pen for about a year.  She is next to him.  All my other females cycled close together about 2 months ago and still no heat cycle.  Any ideas?

ANSWER: Hi Sharon

A couple of questions, how much sun does she get?  Is she in with the other females? What food do you have her on? Have you had her thyroid tested?

With a female like that I would let her spend as much time in the sunshine as possible.  For inside you can use full spectrum lighting (available at any hardware store).  Start supplementing her with fish oils and vitamins.

Could it be possible that she has silent heats and you didn't notice them?  Simple blood work will let you know if her thyroid is working as it should.

Good luck

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

QUESTION: How do you recognize a silent heat?  She is in a run that has a door to the outside run.  The runs are surrounded by a fenced yard so they all get to play almost everyday.  She is feed Royal Canin mini adult.  She is in with a couple of females and I have not had her thyroid tested.  She does seem a little docile for a Westie.  I have recently let her run loose in the kennel where she has full run of the outside fenced yard to see if she just needed more running time.bld60

Answer
It's not so much running time, but sunlight time.  Weather and sunshine can play a huge part in kicking a female into heat.

You can run her with the other females and get a dorm effect going which will also help.  

A silent heat are tricky, an experienced male will let you know.  They may swell slightly without bleeding.  

First try incorporating the fish oils and give her a boost that way.  Raw organ meats will also help.  If that doesn't work, I would have the thyroid test done.

Good luck