Dealing with...

[Cheza]

A bitch in heat?

I didn't wanna put this in breeding because it's not about breeding, it's about me being in totally unknown territory with an intact female dog. Feel free to move it if I guessed wrong

If I keep Nel in the show ring, she will obviously be left intact. I'm way out of my knowledge zone here other than the fact that she will:

Be some kind of moody, maybe (hopefully not permanent)
Could alter her looks somewhat
Will make a mess?
Is never allowed outside off a leash / without direct supervision.

Any tips for dealing with the bleeding? Anything I should watch out for? Anything I should (not) do?

Halp!

P.S. for those of you wondering she will have a professional handler, I'm just "the owner" heh, so my lack of knowledge won't mess her up too bad

 

[-bogart-]

well they dont call them bitches for nothing!

and it really varies between dogs , on how clean they keep themselves as to messes.
and they make diapers , even cheaper is boys undies on backwards with a pad stuck in to catch the blood.
some may blow there coat also .

i really cant think of anything else. i am sure others will chime in!

 

[Sweet72947]

I don't have a lot of experience with bitches in heat, but I can tell you what I've observed. My friend has an intact doberman bitch, and the dog spots a bit, and she follows after her with carpet cleaner and cleans up the spots. I think its easier if you buy some diapers, cut a hole for the tail, and put them on the dog. As for the amount of bleeding, that depends on the dog. I've known some who only spotted, and some that left such a mess it looked like they'd killed a small critter! When the doberman is in heat, she tends to moan and groan a bit, and she marks a lot more than usual, but otherwise I haven't seen much of a change in her personality.

I've also been around bitches in heat at FOHA, and a bitch in heat at the grooming place I used to work at (who lived there for a time), and mostly what I've noticed is they seem like they feel uncomfortable, but they otherwise still what to do what they like to do, etc. If it feels anything like OUR menstrual cycle, I don't blame them for being uncomfortable!

 

[Kat09Tails]

I crate a lot with my girls when they're in heat. Basically they go outside on a leash, come inside and get crated. Repeat for 3 weeks and wash bedding as needed with a little oxyclean plus normal detergent.

I know a ton of folks do the doggie diaper thing but it's not for me. So we crate, rotate, and walk often. Happily my three intact girls don't cycle as often as most bitches with every 9-10 months being normal for them starting at 18 months with my papillons and 14 months with my lab.

 

[Cheza]

We only have girls (the other two are, obviously, spayed), and we do have mostly hardwood floors so cleanup may not be too bad. She'll have a crate too. Maybe I'll go pick up a pair of Spider-man undies and make her wear those. And then take pictures and post them here.

Btw this is awesomely useful advice, I really appreciate it.

 

[-bogart-]

We only have girls (the other two are, obviously, spayed), and we do have mostly hardwood floors so cleanup may not be too bad. She'll have a crate too. Maybe I'll go pick up a pair of Spider-man undies and make her wear those. And then take pictures and post them here.

Btw this is awesomely useful advice, I really appreciate it.

DO IT! Spidey Undies would be a gas!!!!!!!!!!! or Spongebob ones!

 

[corgipower]

I've had two intact females over the years, both quite different.

Be some kind of moody, maybe (hopefully not permanent)
Morgan was horrible in heat. She was snippy, she tuned me out, she flagged big time. The only time Morgan ever bit me - or even attempted to bite me - was when she was in heat.

Nyx in heat is a lot easier to live with than Nyx the rest of the year. She gets more agreeable and more trainable.
Could alter her looks somewhat
They do blow coat right before coming into heat. Other than that, no changes to their looks unless you count swollen nipples which Nyx gets, Morgan didn't.

Will make a mess?
That all depends on the dog. Morgan made a huge mess. Nyx, I hardly notice she's bleeding. Diapers can be helpful to minimize it.

Is never allowed outside off a leash / without direct supervision.
If there are off leash males in the area, they will likely find her, and dogs are very determined when a bitch is in heat - they'll climb over, dig under or go through fences in ways they otherwise might not. The bitch also might seriously want to get to any males she can find, although I haven't had that problem with mine. They can also breed through a fence.

I don't take them anywhere - except occasionally to doggy places where I know everyone else there can control their own dogs (like training club where everyone was an experienced trainer/competitor and half of them were breeders).

Anything I should (not) do?

IIRC, she's fertile after the bleeding stops. I usually give it a solid four weeks from the first day of bleeding of keeping her away from intact males and then I watch very closely for any indication that she might not be out of heat quite yet when I let them be together again.
Also she can be in heat and not show any signs - a silent heat.

With only girls in the house, it should be a lot easier. Just keep an eye out for loose dogs nearby when you take her outside and I'd supervise if the girls are together, at least until you know what she's like - sometimes they can become snarky when they're in heat.

 

[CharlieDog]

When Enzo was in heat, her personality didn't change at all. She blew her coat and bled EVERYWHERE. We used diapers on her, they sell them at Petsmart. Her nipples did get bigger and never went back (or at least, they haven't yet, she's been spayed for a year now though). She didn't clean up after herself at all, so it was horrible and the reason I had her spayed.

We waited a month and a half after she came out of heat to have her spayed. I think it's recommended to do that so that the hormones go back to normal. Her coat has never gone back to as full as it was before. Spay coat maybe? It's a lot thinner than it used to be.

 

[corgipower]

Her coat has never gone back to as full as it was before. Spay coat maybe? It's a lot thinner than it used to be.

Oh...I'm jealous. Morgan's coat is just as heavy as it was when she was intact. Except now shedding her out takes weeks because she doesn't blow it out as hard as she used to.

 

[BabyDane]

You've gotten great advice so far! Bailey wasn't bad at all, she just got more needy if you can imagine that LOL

One piece of advice I will share if you use undies or diapers....Don't forget to take them off EVERY time you let her outside. Kinda self explanatory from there

I'd say that she will be going into heat soon enough and that will be your biggest clue on whether you will want to keep her intact or not.

 

[colliewog]

Just to add -

This isn't a common thing, but you should keep an eye on the discharge by wiping her with a tissue daily. It should go from reddish to pink to clear. Any strong odor or dark discharge (or pus-looking) should get her checked out because of the risk of pyometra. If you decide to go with the diapers/underwear, don't leave them on for very long - they need to "breathe".

Keep track of the beginning of her cycle on a calendar so you know when she was in the last time and can determine what her cycles are going to be. (I'm assuming she'll be intact for a little while ... the Dane ring is ruthless! lol).

I've seen some girls who would have GI problems while in heat (due to hormone changes), others I've seen were more prone to cystitis. All of this can be handled if it happens, I just like to make sure people know what to watch for just in case...

I typically see mine blow coat about 2 months after the heat cycle - when they would have had puppies if they had been bred. It must be different for different dogs - my girls bloom right before and immediately after a heat cycle, then the Collies shed like mad about 9 weeks later. It takes them a month to 'regenerate' and then they're pretty again. With a slick coated dog, you should be in better shape. An out of coat Collie wouldn't be shown .... a shedding Dane probably doesn't look much different.

 

[Cheza]

Thanks everyone!

I feel kind of dumb because it's like... there's people with dogs in heat all the time who manage just fine, and here I am all panicked when confronted with an unknown... bahaha I am a wuss.

I'm tempted to print this out and use it as a reference.

 

[corgipower]

Don't feel dumb! Having an intact female is different and is something a lot of (nonChaz) people can't handle.

 

[PWCorgi]

Don't feel dumb! Having an intact female is different and is something a lot of (nonChaz) people can't handle.

Hey, there are chazzers too who can't handle it :lol-sign:
I kinda want to show my next dog, but with Frodo I want a girl, but IDK if I am willing to live with an intact bitch for those 4 weeks

 

[corgipower]

I kinda want to show my next dog, but with Frodo I want a girl

Uh...He did like the boys here more than the girls.

 

[JennSLK]

LOL.

Jazz and Emma didnt change much when they were intact. Emma went through BAD false preg after her few heats I let her have. With Jazz I used the largest sized no name diapers I coould get and cut a hole in it. They would be to small for a dane tho. They have B!tch Britches at most pet stores. PLace a pad in them and good to go. I never bought them because Jazz would tear them off and to expensive for that.

Personaly I dont like crating them the whole time they are in season. I dont feal its fair. Since you just have girls there isnt a risk in your own home of a preg. Just do the underwear thing and your good. They really dont bleed that much usually

 

[MericoX]

Tsuki was crated alot when she was in heat. The first twoish weeks she was let loose with me in the room with the boys crated (even neutered Stryder tried to make schnoodles). By week 3 I wanted to shoot myself, I guess that's the time when she'd have been bred, and Lincoln (intact at the time) was driving me crazy.

Though with all the crating, she still got pregnant! LOL. Either someone in my house forgot and let them outside together, or he got her through the crate (he'd be let loose in my room at night). Or an immaculate conception. LOL

 

[Lizmo]

*nevermind*

 

[Renee750il]

Kharma has PMS.

And it changes every time, the only consistencies are the neediness and the snarkiness. Oh, and it's the only time she really sheds, unless she's under a lot of stress.

Do watch for false pregnancies, especially with this first heat, and mastitis. False pregnancies in every one of the Filas, Tallulah, too, but she did the mastitis thing on her first heat as well.

Other than that it's not that big a deal if you don't have any intact males around.

 

[Laurelin]

Nikki was a pain in the butt. She had one false pregnancy and she was so incredibly flirty towards other dogs and snarky towards us. She tried everything in her willpower to get to Trey who was intact. We had to keep 2 doors between them at all times but Trey had zero interest in her ironically. We did the panty thing too. Just got some boys briefs and flipped them backwards and put a pad in them. One heat Nikki tried to chew her panties off and then ended up chewing a bald spot on her butt.

The others haven't been so bad though.