Yes it does make showing a bitch very challenging Mary
Ruby is now coming back into coat after 4 months without any but she has also just had her second season so in a couple of months time she could well lose it all again! If she's lucky, she will not lose so much this time - this seems to happen quite often with subsquent seasons so we're keeping our fingers crossed
Having a first season after 12 months doesn't seem to have any bearing on how often a bitch will have seasons in future. Most of our girls are over 12 months before they come into season & they average between 7-9 months for their regular cycle after that.