heat cycle

[fbkeays]

Having only owned intact male dogs and spayed bitches, all my friends with intact bitches have been gleefully telling me what hell I was going to go through with having Cipher in heat and Fizbin. Cipher's mother first went into heat at 6 months. So starting at the 5 1/2 month period I have been looking at Cipher's backside for all of the tale-tail signs of going into heat.
Cipher has had puppy vaginitis so Fizbin has always had his nose up her butt, but would cease if told to leave her alone. I knew I couldn't rely on Fizbin getting interested in her to help when she goes into heat. They have never been left alone because of this.
Sunday morning I discovered a smear of blood on her leg, a spot near her crate (she has a black pad in her crate so that wasn't helpful) and putting a paper towel to her butt showed spotting.
Operation lockdown started. I got steel threaded connectors and reinforced the crates (I was told about 100 horror stories about unplanned breedings). Figured that anything worth doing was worth doing over kill. Monday was spotting on a paper towel. But no spotting at all yesterday or today. Fizbin actually has less interest in her then two weeks ago.
Is it possible that the blood I saw on the weekend was actually the END of her heat cycle? Or is a couple of days of spotting normal and not a sign of being in heat?

[autumn]

I believe bitches can bleed some, quit for a few days and then bleed some more. Or it may not even be enough to be noticiable. Males are not generaly very interested until well into the heat.

[rottcrazed]

My bitch has always been consistent with her LONG and WEIRD cycles. She starts slowing, barely dripping, but enough you need the Swiffer WetJet around. Picks up very slowly, and when she stands, around day 21-28ish, it is heavier.

She may just dribble a little initially and then get progressively heavier as her cycle progresses. Hopefully, for you, Fizbin is a target male and will only be interested when she is ovulating, then you only have a few days of hell, not a few weeks!

Kristi

[hcelsa]

For what it's worth...I live with 2 intact girls, and one intact boy.

Arnie does not react any stronger to the girls themselves for at least the first 6-8 days of their seasons other than a bit of token flirting just because they're girls...he's a pretty big flirt in general (he DOES get more into marking where they've peed though...he doesn't start "sampling" the pee spots until mid cycle...and doesn't chatter until then either). Usually around day 9 he gets pretty interested, and then for 3-6 days he's pretty annoying (on those two or three days in the middle there he often gets to sleep in the van because even another room in the house is too close for him to contain his "singing" ...sometimes he gets a 2-4 day herding vacation if I know we're going to be too busy to get him the exercise he needs when he's that wound up). Then everything settles down, and we're all back to normal over the next few days. With Breve's first cycle he was much even more blaise about the whole ordeal (our repro vet said because she really wasn't mature her "perfume" may not have been as strong as an adults would be). I do give the girls clorophyl tablets when I remember to, and if we're going to be at a herding trial or something where I'd like to at least minimize distration to other boys.

[frontierrots]

You really should ask Ciphers breeder whats normal for her girls. Most (but not all) girls tend to cycle at least similar to their female relatives, especially their dam.

Myown girls almost never come in before 8-9 months old and then cycle every 5-6 months. Other people's girls cycle every 3 or every 9 months

Some ovulate at 8 days and other 23 days, some are in for just 2 weeks and others for 5.

Some bleed straight through the whole cycle like a stuck pig and others barely bleed at all

When I have questions about Bea's cycle I ask Gretchen because she owned her mom her whole life. Even though I've had Rotts longer, she's still different lines

[fbkeays]

Originally Posted by frontierrots

You really should ask Ciphers breeder whats normal for her girls. Most (but not all) girls tend to cycle at least similar to their female relatives, especially their dam.

Cipher's mother was bought by her breeder so it isn't like she has a good family history. Cipher's mother also has been on cheque drops for most of her life, so what her history is, it is chemically altered.

[frontierrots]

I thought that stuff was taken off the market because it was dangerous?

Never mind then, you'll just have to start from scratch and keep notes on Cipher.

Best bet is to always seclude the girls for 4- 5 weeks from when you notice a heat starting. That's safe as long as the female did not start sooner and have an oopsie before her cycle was noticable (that appears to be a "common" problem even with good breeders)

I start checking girls weekly within weeks of them being due in. Generally bitches shed out 4-6 weeks prior to a cycle so that's a clue

[fbkeays]

I am not going to do the cheque drops because the possible side effects sound scary- will just have to deal with the heat cycles. I am thinking that Cipher is having lost entry fee disease. She is entered next weekend for rally.
If she wasn't so young, I would think that missing the first half of her cycle is possible. I am plain paranoid about having a litter before its time so Fizbin and Cipher have never been left alone together. This complete seperation is a PIA tho. Cipher was down right hyper at agility training tonight since she hasn't played with Fizbin in nearly a week. Cipher tries to play with Duncan, but he just runs for a crate to hide.

[Tierarztin]

hi francis

sometimes in young bitches going through an early heat cycle (first or second season usually), things are not so cut and dried... she may have started to come in and then due to stress or whatever, cycled out - if that is the case be prepared as she will likely come back in again in the not too distant future! several of my young pug girls have cycled in 'split heats' for the first season - two fun weeks of discharge and male dogs refusing to eat, singing all day and all night and being testosterone fuelled PIAs, only to have the girls seem to be coming out of heat (boys less interested, etc) and then cycle right back in again and finally ovulate after 5-6 weeks of this foolishness! we finally tracked one girl with progesterone tests to find out what was happening... thankfully my rottweiler bitches don't do these things!

and, just in case, especially if she has had chronic vaginitis, make sure she is not getting a urinary tract infection... can often see a bit of blood with a UTI and your boy would not likely be interested in this case as he should be with a real heat cycle

hope this helps

cathy

Dr Cathy Priddle/Tierarztin/Daisy Hill
"TEST AND TELL"
Omnia vincit amor et nos cedamus amori
"Der Mensch tracht, und Gott lacht."