Keela came into heat in Feb. and she lost half a pound - it seemed almost instantaneous. It has been hell getting the weight back on her. I know half a pound doesn't seem like much, but when she weighs 7.5 lbs to begin with - it makes a huge difference on a small dog. She's holding steady at about 7.2 lbs - her hip bones aren't showing anymore, and you can't see her ribs (never could) - she just still looks a little too lean.
Back track to last years heat in January (at 14 months old) - she lost a little weight, but gained it back easily. The summer heat in July - I didn't notice any weight loss. I didn't have her for her first heat, she was still with her breeder.
So, winter heats seem to be a problem with her. Now granted, she is my first intact dog, not to mention a chow hound that would eat until she pops so I have to keep her on a strict portion control. The only thing is - a little too much kibble and she gains weight (outside of this heat cycle problem anyway). I've never had this problem with Jezzy - she holds at 6.5 lbs without any problem. Jezzy had a heat cycle and was over a year old when she was fixed (due to health issues we waited).
Throw in two other observations: any hair or whiskers trimmed for shows are not growing back at her normal rate. It was a month between shows and I had very little to trim - not usual. Plus, the whiskers are growing at uneven rates instead of her normal even growth of before. Secondly, they weren't big changes, and if you didn't live with her, you wouldn't have noticed it - but there have been small behavior changes. She was kennel raised with other dogs, so food and toy guarding were things we had worked on and gotten past - they returned out of the blue when she came into heat. I know they can be moody - but....you throw in the other personality change of total 'overly calm' dog in situations that she is usually bouncing off the wall Min Pin behavior - and I am concerned.
None of it is big in and of itself - but you throw all 3 problems in the mix, and I am concerned. I'm having a thyroid panel through MSU done next week (the earliest we could do it after her heat cycle).
Am I worrying too much? Is weight loss and heat cycles typical for some females? Her breeder doesn't think anything of it, nor do other Min Pin people. I'm not bashing them, but Keela lives in the house with me vs living in the kennels and coming in occasionally like some of these people do with their dogs. I'm not saying they wouldn't have it checked if they had her - I just don't want to make to much of this if it isn't something out of the norm. Experienced breeders - input please?
Thanks,
Amy