Upset stomach due to menstruating?

[nlavett]

Xasha started her cycle a couple of days ago at 10 months and one day old. I was so proud of how prepared we were. Diapers, kotex, underwear, old towels, etc. Yeah, we can't use any of it. She keeps chewing and of course she can't eat this stuff. Any help/suggestions on that would be great.

My main question though is that her stomach has been upset for two days. And I mean upset. We went to dinner the night before last (gone 2 hours max). Poor thing had a terrible accident in her crate. Nothing in her diet has changed. Is this / Could this be due to her cycle? Appetite is still good.

[Lola B Marie]

congrats !!Now help for you and the little woman. After raising two young lady rotties myself, I did the following.
Buy two or more pairs of woman's sized tights. Leggs brand XL woman worked the best for us cause we had some big girls. You can also use old panty hose if you have some.
Cut the legs off almost all the way up.
Use a self stick pad(thin super maxi pad) (Always) was good ,no wings.
Place pad in area that will cover as much as possible.
Have her step into the tights and pull all the way up past her belly.
If she has a tail, make a slit and pull tail through. If she has a nub, make smaller hole and just pull around nub.
This will keep everything in place and she won't be able to chew the pad. Everything comes off to pee and poop. You can just reach in and change the pads.
Hope this will help you.
As far as the upset stomach, it's very possible she had diarrhea from being in heat but, I'm not a vet. Lola went into heat a 6 months and started licking and cleaning herself. She too got diarrhea but she was better when she was padded up. In any event, she was spayed before her next cycle.

[nlavett]

Lola, thank you for the great ideas! Sent hubby straight away to the store for tights. As for the upset tummy...I'm going to give it another day as she is not showing any signs of distress. If she's not straightened out by then we'll go to the vet.

[Terri Lambert]

I use the regular dog diapers for dogs in season made by seasonals and put a maxi pad in them. Also so my girl who is a real chewer doesn't chew them off I had to apply bitter apple the first coulple of times but now she has learned they must stay on if she wants freedom in the house otherwise she is crated or in my backyard (6 foot fence of course and checked on regularly). And as with the upset stomach that can be normal for her first season as she is unsure about her body changes.

[Anne]

Can you buy bitches britches over there. That's what we use here, over the pond.

[nlavett]

I just wanted to post an update to let all know that Xasha's tummy straightened out early afternoon yesterday. I'd like to say we are back to our regular potty schedule, but for whatever reason (swelling, water weight,?) she feels the need to urinate alot more often. Thank you all for the advice given.

Lola, the tights were a miracle!

[mamamia1]

Originally Posted by nlavett

she feels the need to urinate alot more often.

First off... kudos for being so prepared for the first heat. I have not had a girl in heat and quite frankly I'm not looking forward to it. I'm still on the fence about letting her have a heat before we get her fixed.

It's more than likely just her being in heat causing the extra frequency, but I would keep an eye for a UTI. I would think it is much more likely when she's all "bundled up" down there to be brewing an extra batch of bacteria. Just a though....

Good luck!

[poohbearsmom]

My oldest used to get the "period poops". Try a bland diet of rice and chicken with a little yogurt. Small meals for a couple of days should straighten things out... if not, a fecal is in order to rule out coincidental parasites.

re: feminine gear.... Many girls keep themselves very clean, some do not. The crate is a great place for a girlie that chews her protection... you really don't want her ingesting all the crap they put in those things to absorb moisture.
Since we have tile floors, it's easy to wipe up spills, so we just keep our seasonal girls off the rugs, or put blankets on the rugs when they're out.

Hope this helps.

(just saw that your girl is feeling better, but advice would apply to anyone)

[nlavett]

I just wanted to say thank you again to all who offered much needed advice. Her stomach has straightened out. Thank goodness!!! Only using the tights and pads when we are with her (so she can hang out with us without getting everything messy). Also don't trust her not to eat them when we're out of sight.

The majority of our house is hardwood floors. So like you PoohBearsMom, it's easy enough to wipe up. All in all we're getting through it.

I have to say, I'm glad it's not as frequent as ours, lol!

[tmatty]

I just wanted to throw in here (not that it matters), that dogs don't menstruate. They have estrus cycles. There is a big difference. Also, GI upset is not at all uncommon when there are hormonal changes. Adding a little pumpkin to her meals will help to bulk stool.

[nlavett]

Thank you for the correction tmatty. I guess I just assimilated it with all of the commonalities. Since this is my first bitch that we have ever allowed to go into heat (others were spayed) I am an amateur. I have however done some some heavy reading to better inform myself so that I am aware of what should be going on with my girl and also so that I don't sound like a complete idiot.