Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Dog Reproduction
By: Elda Rita Tessadori
When Nana, our little lurcher, was in heat - everybody knew. At the time we lived in central Rome and the whole neighborhood was following closely the adventures of Nana and her most persistent suitor, Orazio.
He was a tiny mongrel who inherited the genes of all his most persevering and stubborn ancestors combined.
Twice a year his only goal in life became mating with our Nana, who, on another hand, seemed totally oblivious of the commotion provoked by her estrus.
The wondrous fragrance of love impregnated not only our dam but also our car, house and myself. Orazio would follow me anywhere like the best trained heeler.
There was no way to explain to the supermarket attendant that I couldn't leave the little mongrel outside because he wasn't mine and he wouldn't dream of obeying me.
It was hard to sustain the reproving glances of the bystanders who thought Orazio was following our car because we were abandoning him in the street.
My neighbors were partial to Orazio because they saw in him all the virtues of enduring love and often asked me to let the two dogs mate. The idea of having to deal with a pack of little Orazios was disturbing.
Finally I learned the trick of tying the lovesick dog to my gate whenever I was going out and releasing him upon my return.
After years of this struggle I finally had to spay Nana for health reasons and we began to savor a carefree life with our pet.
Certainly I could have spared my little lurcher and ourselves a lot of troubles if I only had confronted reality. I was never going to mate Nana because there was no place for more puppies in an already over dogged world.
Definitely dog reproduction is better left to the breeders who will mate only superior quality dogs and whelp only puppies that can be placed in good homes.
The author, a biologist and lifelong dog enthusiast, ten years ago fell incurably in love with whippets, a beautiful, fun and easy care dog breed.
To see whippet pictures and find tips about training and caring for this amazing breed visit the site at http://www.thewhippet.net/
Labels: pets/dogs
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