If you’ve missed the saga of Missy, the Mystery Dog, she has her own page under “pages” to the right. You can catch up and read her story, and how she came to join us, as much as I know.
She has completely and totally adapted to my tribe, or pack, or whatever you want to call us. She is a little leery of Dakota, the Alpha female, after the non-injury threats to put Missy in her place and teach her who is who in the hierarchy. Dakota has accepted her as one of her own, willing to groom her, if Missy would allow.
Right now, there are four of us who are miserable. Missy is going through her first heat. I have two intact males. All my time is spent making sure Gideon and Bear are inside when I let Missy out, and Missy is inside when they want out, and that Missy is in the bedroom when both are in, except when everyone is eating, which means Missy is in the bathroom, Gideon is in the bedroom, and Bear, Dakota and mellow Miranda are in the great room. Got that? Yes, the dance gets complicated – way more than I’d like. I thought of changing the feeding places to accommodate this new condition, but I really want as much consistency and routine as they like.
What amazes me, is that despite the very strong call of her instincts, minding and pleasing me come first. She is so wonderful. The dance of moving her from the bedroom to the bathroom for eating, passing through the great room past two intact males is accomplished with no problems. I carry a spray bottle, just in case. Never had to use it.
Missy has always required twice as much attention as all four of my others combined … she is young, and she is a Border Collie. Even this has doubled. I thought I had infinite patience, but at least once a day, I have to tell her to go lay down in her own bed and leave me be.
It looks like I am in for another week! It is like having three toddlers and a couple of teenagers in the house. Sleep is hard to come by! Bear has torn off the trim in the bathroom, bent my back screen door, and otherwise caused havoc. Gideon spends a lot of time “marking” his territory – inside – and I am spending an inordinate amount of time spraying a natural odor eliminator, and cleaning up. My whole life seems to be centered on this dance, and if I shared ALL the details of keeping this dance going, most, if not all of you, would say TMI! TMI!
Yes, we are going to the vet for spaying. I’ve heard owners should wait 2-3 months after a heat. I will, but I’m not going through this again! Oh, goddess, please let it stop! I really need to sleep sometime this month!