Answer ~ Dear Wendy, There is variation in how long "heat" cycles last in individual dogs, but a general rule of thumb is to consider your dog "in season" for 21 days: 7 days coming in, 7 days in heat, and 7 days going out. A more detailed review of the female’s cycle can be done by looking at each stage of the estrus cycle. Proestrus begins with the appearance of vaginal bleeding and lasts 9 days on average (range 3-17 days). Male dogs are usually interested in the female but the female will not allow mating. During estrus, the vaginal discharge can become more yellow or may stay bloody. This stage lasts an average of 9 days (range of 3-21 days), the female will accept the male and conception can occur. Metestrus (or diestrus) and anestrus are two more stages of the cycle but have no outward signs and females will not accept males. False pregnancies often occur during metestrus.

Your dogs should be kept COMPLETELY separated for the entire 21 day period (longer if necessary!). Separate rooms with solid doors is the best method if you do not own crates. NO "panties" or other methods are reliable to prevent mating. If you attempt any other methods, you will most likely be dealing with a pregnant female. It is possible that your female is even pregnant from her interaction with your male dog, no matter how brief. An exam by your veterinarian is strongly recommended and/or have your Great Dane spayed as soon as possible if you do not want puppies. Contact your veterinarian and discuss options with him/her. Your Great Dane should also only go outside on a leash while she is in heat, as other dogs in the neighborhood will be attracted to her.

If you only have the funds to neuter one animal at a time, spay your Great Dane first. With each heat cycle that a female goes through, her risk of developing mammary neoplasia (i.e., breast cancer) later in life increases. An intact female who is not being used for breeding is also at increased risk of the life threatening uterine infection called "pyometra" (also very expensive to treat). Risks of other reproductive abnormalities and neoplasias are eliminated with spaying. The quality of life for her may possibly be increased as well since you will not need to separate her from your Labrador twice a year.

Altering your male dog as soon as possible is strongly recommended, too. Altering males decreases the frequency of roaming by about 90%, interdog aggression by approximately 60%, mounting by 60%, and urine marking by 50% (Hopkins, et al, 1976). Preventing roaming is important because it decreases a dog’s risk for being hit by cars, fighting with other animals, contacting toxins or viruses, impregnating females, and other dangerous behaviors or activities. Neutering also decreases the risk of prostate diseases (e.g. infection, neoplasia) seen in older intact male dogs.

Good Luck with your dogs! Call your veterinarian as soon as possible and have your dogs neutered - spay your Great Dane first!

(Hopkins SG, Schubert TA, Hart BL: Castration of adult male dogs: effects on roaming, aggression, urine spraying and mounting. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 168:1108-1110, 1976)

Answer ~ Dear Suzanne, Unfortunately, food allergies in dogs are not uncommon and can take a good deal of commitment and patience to work through. Dogs can manifest food allergies with signs ranging from skin problems, recurrent ear infections to vomiting and/or diarrhea. Assuming that your veterinarian ruled out the many other possible causes of vomiting and excessive saliva production, including diseases such as pancreatitis, renal disease and gastrointestinal parasites, your dog may have food allergies.

While serum tests for food allergies in dogs are nice because they are fast, relatively non-invasive and not very expensive, they can be unreliable. Skin testing for food allergies is also not reliable. The best method for evaluating whether your dog has a food allergy is a food elimination trial. Dogs can be allergic to one or more components in a dog food. Allergies to starches (e.g. corn, rice, gluten) or proteins (e.g. chicken, beef, lamb) are most common. It is also possible, but less common, for a dog to be allergic to one of the other additives in foods. So the plan with a food elimination trial is to put your dog on a novel protein and starch source - that is a protein and starch that he has never been exposed to before and would have no allergic-type immune response to. (This is one reason it is unfortunate that lamb and rice diets are so commonly available in stores now, because most dogs have been exposed to this protein and starch and we cannot use them as an "allergy diet" any more.) The food elimination trial should consist of your dog eating only the special dog food for a 12-16 week period. Your veterinarian can help you choose a food that is likely to work. There are special "allergy" diets available for dogs made with venison, duck, egg, lamb, fish, rabbit and other uncommon protein and starch sources available. Many dogs show improvement in 6-8 weeks, but some dogs can take as long as 16 weeks. Your dog should have no treats, no meat flavored medicines, nothing but the special diet for 12-16 weeks. Most dogs do well on a commercially formulated diet, but occasionally a dog will need a home-cooked diet before its symptoms will resolve.

Even after 16 weeks if your dogs symptoms have resolved, you still cannot be sure it was the change in diet, or if some other factor was involved. To confirm the diagnosis of food allergy you need to do a dietary challenge by returning all of the things your dog used to eat: treats, rawhides, bones, foods, flavored medicines. Usually within 1-2 weeks, dogs with food allergies will have their symptoms return and a food allergy is confirmed. The dog should return to the "allergy diet" until their symptoms resolve again. If you are interested in finding out what specific components of foods your dog is allergic to, contact your veterinarian for details on that procedure.

It is important that you have a consult with your veterinarian and/or a veterinary nutritionist on your dog’s diet if you continue with a home-cooked diet. It is difficult to create a well-balanced diet at home alone for your dog, and it is easy to supply deficient levels of important vitamins or minerals. One dramatic example is of a dog on a table-food diet suffering a broken bone from low calcium levels. I strongly urge you to speak with your veterinarian about this.

It takes patience and much work when your pet has allergies. I wish you the best of luck!

Answer ~ Dear Betty, Canine hip dysplasia is usually a bilateral condition in dogs. Dr. Fordyce of the University of Pennsylvania’s PennHIP program, describes unilateral hip dysplasia as "much more uncommon." With the traditional hip-extended radiographic view it may be difficult to see the predisposition in one hip or see subtle changes in one hip compared to the other. Some dogs who have been evaluated with PennHIP have had variation in passive hip laxity (e.g. distraction index of 0.4 for one hip and 0.5 for the other). [For those readers unfamiliar with the PennHIP values, the greater the distraction index number, the "looser" the hips. Values greater than 0.3 indicate a dog is susceptible to developing degenerative joint disease (i.e. osteoarthritis) later in life. Values greater than 0.7 indicate a dog is at high risk of developing degenerative joint disease.] So, in a dog having a problem in only one hip, it is possible she/he has hip dysplasia in only one hip. However, it is more likely that the hip dysplasia is present in both hips but is worse on one side or that the changes seen are another disease, possibly secondary to a traumatic event.

Wobblers can not be determined by plain film radiographs alone. Special techniques such as a myelogram or CT is necessary to properly diagnose the condition.