Is this normal female behavior?

Kathryn · House Broken

Is this normal female behavior?

PawPrint · Smitten by Boxers

If she did not have any blood with her first heat, how do you know she was in heat? 6 months is rather young for most females. My guess is she never had a season and this will be her first.

I would suggest having her spayed as soon as you can. That way you won't have to worry about pregnancy or other complications like deadly Pyometra.

Some females will lift their leg. Most times it is a dominance trait. LOL---and it ain't very ladylike :)

BoxerSue · Congratulations!

I have never known a Boxer in heat to not bleed. What made you believe she was in heat at 6 months? Kind of early but not unheard of. When did her mother and grandmother have their first heat cycle and how often? That is the best clue to how often your girl will go into heat and when her first heat will be. As for lifting her rear leg when peeing on tall objects, she is marking, and it is normal behavior in a dominant female. In a wolf pack, both the dominant male and female mark their territory with urine, scratch marks, and scent from their pads. So just like a male "reading the newspaper and leaving his own ads" your girl is leaving her own ads. IF she is/was/or goes into heat... she will also be advertising that fact and drawing all nearby males to her. You need to be especially careful that no male can get to her at all when she is in heat. Chain link fences, and leaving her in the yard, unattended are NOT an option of she is in heat. It is amazing the lengths dogs will go to to mate. If this is a pet girlie for you, then I would advise you to spay her ASAP. IF you plan on breeding her, then I suggest you keep her safe from males until she completes all her health testing at around 2 years old,

Cinnamon Boxers · I Can't Stop Typing

Hello Kathryn,

My Delilah (age 8) always lifts her leg to pee. She has a need to pee over top of everyone's elses urine. (we have 5) She also has to "mark" her territory by peeing on shrubs, trees etc. She also does the "backwards' scratch. This is natural for an Alpha. I might also add that she is one of the sweetest boxer girlies you'll ever meet!

I also agree about spaying your little lady... I have experienced pyrometra...not fun! I almost lost my 13 month old Molly. Even though I was showing her at the time, I spayed her and retired her. Since your girl is closing in on a year old, I would spay her asap.

I can also relate to your girls playful antics!! LOL My Posey is a toy tosser! She loves her fuzzy "babies". But she also tosses them around the room!

Kathryn · House Broken

Thanks for your replies. It's nice to know she is "normal" - she is very sweet but very dominant, not aggressive with people or other dogs.
I am planning on breeding her after she has passed all her health tests (2yrs). I have several people interested in pups. I thought all female dogs had heats at 6 months, I noticed her vulva swollen and my two male neutered dogs lapping her alot, I just assumed she was in heat........
I recently purchased a book on canine breeding, guess I need to start reading. I do know many of the pro's and con's from reading posts and articles. I also plan to have her evaluated by a breeder for conformation, so far she is a very nice example of the breed standard.
I'll post more pictures as soon as I can get hubby to do some work on my computer. smile