Sex education

Ok, I know Leon is only 13 years old, but one of the key components to my classes is using EVERY opportunity that presents itself  to educate my students. Case in point, Pree is in heat and Sugar is FULL of himself so I will be taking the time to educate the class on the dynamics of a bitch in heat. After all, Ren is a bitch and within 6-8 months, she will have a partial heat and Leon needs to know what that means. So, I'll be sharing some of the dynamics with Pree and Sugar and Boaz as this heat progresses.

For now, the behavior change in an adult dog, towards a bitch in heat, IS NOTICABLE. What is surprising to me is that Sugar is indicating Pree IS "his bitch" and Pree is only on Day 8 of her heat cycle. Usually, it takes another week before the bitch is 'breedable.'  Pree is still bleeding and NOT breedable, yet, Sugar got in BIG trouble on Saturday afternoon when he took offense that Drago (still sexually intact) was interested in 'his bitch' and Sugar took after Drago. I did not see the interaction, but certainly heard the snarling and ran to the back deck where Sugar was in full 'defense drive mode' and going after Drago. 

Drago did NOT hackle (gratefully he backed down), but I yelled at an inappropriate Sugar and grabbed his tab (while being 'the Dragon Lady') and put Sugar on Place.  No way am I putting up with that kind of interaction in a Pack, so with a few loud words, it was over and done.  Sugar submitted instantly to my authority regardless of Pree being in heat. Praise God I have authority and that is clearly understood by all the dogs here.

Drago left to go inside and Sugar was embarrassed that he had to be treated like 'a dog', put on 'Place' as my puppy lesson puppy continued with Leon/Ren.  Anyway, like I said in class, a bitch in heat intensifies the drama 1000 fold and Saturday was no exception.  Drago is welcome here, always, but for the next two weeks, only with Monika present as without Monika here, and Pree in heat, I have no other trained assistant to monitor my Pack while I teach.

So, here's a video of the canine 'sexual dance' between Sugar and Iris from a 2015 Retrieve class. You can see the interaction is quite deliberate.  I will try to capture a video of Sugar/Pree and Boaz as they also do the canine 'sexual dance' together. It is interesting to watch.



So, Leon, ready or not, you are going to learn about canine sex interaction during this Retrieve Course 2018. With Pree in heat, it is a grand opportunity to teach you what is coming with little Ren.

In an odd way, I don't know how to teach a Retrieve Couse without a bitch in heat. Every one of my  Retrieve Courses I've taught has had a bitch in heat (the first course had 3 black Lab bitches in heat, back to back to back with intact dogs), so this is normal for me. It is a rare opportunity to have such a fabulous distraction, but it greatly intensifies my workload as I have to be on guard with the increased, almost to a fever's pitch, drama that a bitch in heat brings.

 Roxanne