Relationship Dynamics - do humans go into heat like dogs?
This past fall, my year-old Shih Tzu, Lily, was in heat. Initially, as she went through the throes of her period (do dogs call it that?), she was very much the picture of a typical menstruating female, from the ravenous appetite to the ferocious mood swings. At one point, Frankie, our Yorkshire Terrier, yelped at her just a little too much. She smacked his head into the water bowl.
We’ve all been there.
Then, she began her standing heat phase. Suddenly, sweet little Lily was a bitch on the prowl. She coyly lifted her tail, dancing suggestively in Frankie’s face. At one interval, she attempted to solicit some puppy lovin’ by nibbling at his back hair…and then down below. Frankie was, well, annoyed. He ignored her, he turned his head, he walked away. Lily, embarrassed and rejected, hid under the kitchen table, bowing her furry head in regret. (And maybe plotting revenge.)
We’ve all been there, too.
The very next day, Lily was still avoiding Frankie, somehow the war of the sexes eclipsing nature’s instincts. Frankie, however, had woken up and smelled the progesterone. Ready to embrace his role as stud, he was butt=sniffing and fluffy-white-puppy-mounting with no hesitation. Lily, excited to receive the attention of her intended, forgot all about the prior day’s cruel abandonment and was putty in his hands…er…paws. This went on all day, and all the next day, until Lily - ever willing to embrace nature’s cue - just got tired. she pointedly lowered her butt, rejecting Frankie’s advances.
He began to cry. (What a turn on.)
We’ve been there, as well.
Lily, perhaps in a desire to get some sleep and have him stop his piercing whine, acquiesced, and the marathon sex continued. (Who knew Yorkies were such stallions?)
Granted, we are on different rungs in the animal kingdom, but their struggle begets a larger issue of equality and partnerships within relationships. Lily and Frankie’s love (um, lust) illustrates a certain sector of that phenomenon to an interesting degree. Do we feel the need to downplay our own wants and desires in order to satisfy our mate’s emotional (or physical) needs? In doing so, do we actually ourselves create the situation where our self-value is lessened, thus perpetuating insecurity over issues about who makes more money or has the better position? Does it all start with the game of who wags whose tail?
Tags: appetite, ferocious mood swings, going into heat, menstraution, relationship advice, shih tzu, yorkshire terrier
