How long does a heat last???

[GiXxXie]

I have a almost 10 month old female ,Heidi.

About 4 weeks ago, on a sunday morning she spotted a little bit on my kitchen floor, and from there it went on every day.
So 2 weeks into this , the spotting lightens up a little...and then it went really heavy, and her nipples are really large and her female area was really swollen . Now its been almost another 2 weeks and the spotting continues, its just every now and then, and not alot.

But is this normal??? Does it usually last this long??
I read up on this somewhat and it gives you a range of 2 to 21 days..It's been well over 21 days.

Im going to see the vet tomorrow in the afternoon, but I would like to hear some feedback from here if anyone has a clue.

Thanx
Karolina

[Rott-Wiley]

It's good that you'll be seeing a vet tomorrow. A normal cycle is 29 days but first time heat can be not exactly by the book. She should be OK.

[Burnsway]

Normal heat Cycles are about 3 weeks long give or take a few days. It is not unheard of for them to last a few days longer. And first cycles don't always folllow the rules! You said you read somewhere normal is 2-21 days. Well only dogs I know that had a 2 day cycle had what they call a silent or split cycle.


Silent heat is when the dog goes into heat and the owner doesn't know it (some dogs are better at hiding it than others, some don't display prominent outward signs, and some owners aren't perceptive enough or experienced enough to recognize it.)


Split heat is when the dog begins heat and shows all the signs (swelling, bleeding, etc.) that signal the oncoming ovulation but then goes into heat again several weeks later. This can be repeated several times.

http://www.bcrescue.org/estrus.html

Good to take any dog into the vet for a good checkup on this one because your risk increase for Pyometra with abnormal cycles.

here is a link on Pyometra: http://www.thepetcenter.com/sur/py.html

(warning: Yucky pictures!)

Someone posted a really good chart on a dogs cycle but I can't find it.

Here is a written part of the stages:


http://www.tricityvethospital.com/li...heat_cycle.htm

Hope this helps....
;)

[Luvs]

Originally posted by Burnsway

Split heat is when the dog begins heat and shows all the signs (swelling, bleeding, etc.) that signal the oncoming ovulation but then goes into heat again several weeks later. This can be repeated several times.

This is exactly what happened to a Brussels Griffon bitch we were given. Several weeks after we got her she went into heat. We kept her away from all other dogs for 25 days. About a month after her heat cycle she came back in and we didn't notice. There was no blood this time, just swelling and her hair covered that up. Unfortunately since we did not realize she was in heat again our poodle got to her:( She had three puppies and only one lived. Brylee our little 6 pound monster is the result of this breeding. Her mom had to have a cesarean (sp?) and then when Brylee was 4 weeks old she ended up having to be put down, due to some complications. Needless to say, Brylee was spayed long before her fist heat;)


Akasha's first heat was in August. It lasted over 30 days. I thought it was NEVER going to end
As others have mentioned, their first heat cycle can be a little goofy. Let us know how things go at the vets office.

[Diane Heller-Vaccaro]

Have you considered spaying your dog?

[frontierrots]

I've had two bitches that had 5 week cycles. It is certainly not fun.

One of them I spayed at 6 and it turns out her ovaries are cystic.

Bitches with unusually long cycles, unusually short time spans between cycles or cycles that are routinely split are generally better off spayed

[alexav]

Originally posted by frontierrots
Bitches with unusually long cycles, unusually short time spans between cycles or cycles that are routinely split are generally better off spayed

I agree.