Xasha is a young woman now...

[nlavett]

I didn't know whether to post this on the vet forum or here. As there is nothing "wrong" with her, I decided to come here. Yesterday, at 10 months and 1 day, our little Xasha became a "young woman". Lol, just as a 13 year old is no more mature, neither it seems is she. Anyhoo...

All prepared for this. Bought diapers, bought little boys underoos (someone suggested these were great to hold a kotex in place), stocked up on kotex. Well, my usually well behaved girl is having none of this! As soon as your back is turned, she shreds it. Obviously, we can't have her eating such things! Since yesterday, we have had ALOT of crate time. We have the pool area which is concrete and caged. This has always been her free zone. I just feel terrible she has lost some of her house priveleges. Without protection, I can't have her on the rugs, etc. We tried a towel underneath her. Again, once she bleeds on it, she tries to chew it up. Arrgggghhhh..... Any advice would be appreciated.

Next....should we be concerned about walking her while she is on cycle? Will other dogs react differently to her? I'm pretty sure most around here are fixed.....but who knows. We also live in a neighborhood where not everyone is leash conscious. You know, I have a friendly dog, my dog is small, no worries, etc. Xasha is walked 3 x's a day. I would hate that this get taken away from her, but am inexperienced in what to expect from other dogs.

Thanks in advance for the input.

[targonrotts]

when mine are in season, i keep them in the crate when not able to watch them with their panties. i would not risk one of them eating a pad or a pair of panties and then getting an obstruction.
i usually walk them in my own yard. if i must walk them out in the streets, i avoid the week when they are in full heat-as that is when you might get a follower if there are stary intact dogs in your area.
keep an eye on your girl. do not trust fences in yards. many i have heard of friends going out to their yard to find a neighborhood dog attached to their bitch!ps. size does not matter, they can accomodate, hence those weird mixes(chihuahua/lab ect).

i only have one class where they allow bitches in heat in agility as long as they are wearing panties and are in control. most classes will ask you not to come until all discharge stops and no longer attractive to males.

keep record of your dogs heat and lenght. keeping track will help you notice when her next due date might be and what to sort of expect(not every cycle is 100 percent the same)- but you can notice any weird things and when to watch when you might lose an obedience/agility entry!

[nlavett]

Thank you TargonRotts. Our backyard is fenced however we never let her out unsupervised. If she's outside, we're outside.

The diapers are just not working. She won't leave them be. So....from crate to outdoors the last couple of days we've had to wipe up and wipe up again the floors. She seems to be keeping herself very clean. We are disinfecting the crate twice a day though.

I didn't feel right taking away her walks, so we dropped them to once a day. We always carry pepper spray with us when we go out so will continue to do so.

I'm going to post this on the vert forum as well, but she has had a loose stomach for the last couple of days. We haven't changed anything in her diet. Is this normal? Possibly due to her menstruating?

[targonrotts]

the loose stools could be because of her changes/ hormonal stress.
taking a sample to vet to analyze is not a bad idea. parasites can be more obvious when body is under stress as well as bacterial overgrowth/colitis.

just make sure she has not eaten any pads!