Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Hooded Hooey


Ok, lets switch to something more lighthearted. First of all, does this make Reagan a butt head? Or is that an ass hat? (Sorry FIL and MIL :-).




Since we were at the vet, I wanted to ask my vet about Reagan's female nether region...... lets call it her hooey (sounds like who-ee). It is rather tiny and it is sort of trapped under a flap of skin or a hood. My vet confirmed that she had a little bit of vaginitis and that her hooded hooey could be prone to chronic infections in the future. One option if it is indeed a problem, the hood could be surgically altered. There is a history of good results with the procedure.





Another option, I could allow Reagan to go through one heat cycle which could permanently increase the size of her hooey lessening the likelihood of problems.




Reagan is currently not spayed. Generally for pet owners, vets recommend spaying at 6 months since most dogs tend to start coming into season soon after 6 months. However, dog performance minded individuals see some benefits to allowing the dog to become an adult, complete the growing process, and allow all of the growth plates to close before spaying. The great thing about greyhounds, they tend to not come into season for a couple of years. I know people with 2 and 3 year old intact female greyhounds that have never come into season. I was planning on spaying Reagan at 18 months (October), but this puts a wrench in my plan. I did not particularly want to go through a heat cycle with Reagan. I have never been there or done that. My females have always been spayed. I'm told a heat cycle lasts for about 3 - 4 weeks and opinions vary between "its not that bad" to "its awful".





I'll have to do a little more research on the hooded hooey before I made a decision.