Expert: Renee Cox - 8/13/2007

Question


Hi my boxer turned a year old in march she went through her first heat cycle in
the beginning of Jan. and ended toward the end of Jan. but a couple months after
that she had a false pregnancy, my question is I'm waiting for her next heat, i
know they usually say every 6 months they go through it, when should i expect
her next cycle, will it be a lot longer since she had the false pregnancy?  

Answer
Well, I had a female Boxer that I waited forever to go into heat. She waited till she was 3 1/2 before she had her first cycle. Then she only went into heat once a year. Your girl may be one of those. A false pregnancy won't really mess with a cycle. It won't cause it to be longer/shorter, or the length between cycles to be abnormal. They are more prone to false pregnancies after they have one however. That doesn't mean she won't ever whelp a litter, just that if she's not bred during a cycle or misses again, she may have another falsie. As for when her next heat will be, that's hard to say. It depends on her. I've had females go into heat every 6 months exactly, every 8 months, and up to a year in between. I think those Boxer gals just like to mess with us! :-)