Confused new puppy mom...

Hi everyone!
Well, I have a couple of related questions. This is going to sound soooo stupid but I can't tell if Coco is in heat! :roll: :sl*p: Perhaps a week ago I brought her in from the rain, and as I dried her I noticed that she had a bit of pinkish spotting on the towel. This continued all week I think. I have never seen any other spots or anything in the house.

She is going to be 5 months old on Monday. Her behavior has changed recently too. She has been taking longer naps. She loves to run away from us and basically be naughty. She's always been rambunctious, but she's going to the extremes right now. I thought that maybe it was related to teething because she just started to lose so many teeth about 10 days ago. She seems to be testing her boundaries. What does it sound like to you?

I will call the vet on Monday to see what she thinks. I don't want to endanger my baby while she is in heat!

I did do some reading on this on the internet and as a part of the puppy kindergarten class, but I still feel clueless!! :huh: This is another basic question-I am SO new to all of this! I'm wondering if neutered (male) dogs are also attracted to the scent of female dogs in heat.

I really appreciate you reading this! :flwr:
:thnku:

If her energy level is heightend and she is spotting then that sounds like a first heat to me. They aren't always as predictable as the later ones. Usually they don't come until closer to 6 months but that is not always the case. The best advice I can give is to not let her out of your sight, don't let her off leash EVER (unless it is your fenced in back yard with you supervising). Male dogs are relentless when there is a female in heat and can smell it over very long distances. They will easily scale a fence to get to her so be careful. All male dogs (nuetered or not) will be attracted. Female dogs can get aggressive when another female is in heat.

I was at a dog park once and this guy had no idea is female was in heat and all of the dogs went CRAZY when he stepped out of his car with her (wich was still about 20 yards from the park gate!!). Needless to say we all told him to get back in his car and go home. :?

If she is in heat they make cute little panties that you can cut a small maxi pad in half and put it in there. That way is a lot cheaper then buying the specific ones that fit. They are also machine washable. :flwr:

The first sign you generally see even before spotting is the vulva swells. After that, you can just hold a kleenex tight against her vulva for a minute and if you see any color, she is in season. From what you have already described, she is in season. How old is she? Is this her first season?

We also use the doggie diapers and put a panty liner in. Works very well. When our girls are in their crate at night, we take the underware off them so they can clean themselves.

When she is in season you should only take her outside on a lead. Even if you have a fenced yard, just to be safe. And I would not take her outside for anything but pee and poop. I've probably said it 100 times, but the cutest, sweetest little girl will turn into a shameless hussey when she gets around a boy. And the boy will be worse.

Once she is out of season (in 3 or so weeks, 4 if you really want to be safe), give her a good bath to get as much of the smell as possible off her. We may not be able to smell it, but a male will.

Shameless hussy is right! You should have seen that supposedly sweet little Tandie reversing right into the faces of both my neutered boys. :lol: She was relentless in TRYING to get them to take her there and then. My well-mannered fellows however weren't too interested. 8)

As noted be very, very cautious with her -- her drive to run away will often be just as strong as a male dog's to reach her, and this is a time when many bitches go missing (Tandie was found running thru traffic in full heat :shock: ). Males can smell a bitch in heat from over a mile away and this is often when unneutered males go missing, too. Huge dogs as well as small will try to reach her so even a fenced garden may bot be safe if the walls aren't high -- I know of incidences of larger dogs scaling 7 foot walls so you really do need to keep her under a watchful eye even in your own garden foir the next 4-5 weeks or so, so be safe. She will now not be able to be spayed until a couple of months after this heat ends. Check with your vet for details and more information; they will advise on the phone I'm sure.

Thank you so much for your replies! This is definitely her first season. Coco will be 20 weeks old on Monday. She is still such a baby! I suspected this could be it since I had read that they can go in heat as early as 4 months- I just didn't think MY puppy would!

I will be sure to be extra cautious with her. As it is, Coco is always on a lead outside- I am very careful with her. She sometimes plays off lead in my fenced backyard but always supervised- I guess I should stop the outdoor play for a while. The fence is not very high. Our daily walks will be put on hold for a while too.

Please forgive my ignorance- I'm so embarassed. How long does the spotting last? Bruce and Karlin, will she be out of season in maybe 4 weeks? Then we'll have to wait a month until she can be spayed or until the vet advises. Thanks again! :flwr:

The spotting lasts 3 to 4 weeks typically; it will be very obvious if you use the panty liners in the underware. What we do is wait for at least a week after we don't see any spotting just to be safe. Then, as Karlin said, I would suggest waiting a couple months after that before spaying her. That way you know she isn't going to go through a false pregnancy; we have one girl that has gone through the false pregnancy a couple times without being bred.

BTW, don't be embarrassed about asking questions.

On this topic, when can they actually conceive? I believe it is only in fact for a short period during the 3/4 weeks (the middle week?). Secondly, am I right in thinking that there is the equivalent of a 'morning after pill'!! Would be helpful to know about just in case of a disaster!

I am also very ignorant about the whole business!

Generally, it's true that they can conceive during only a part of the time, but (like anything else in nature), there can always be exceptions. We found out our girl Star is really early after missing the first 2 times we bred her. That's why we play it safe like we do.

Don't know about a "morning after" pill. Never had to deal with that problem, knock on wood, so never had a reason to look into options for an accidental breeding.

Bruce H said:

Generally, it's true that they can conceive during only a part of the time, but (like anything else in nature), there can always be exceptions. We found out our girl Star is really early after missing the first 2 times we bred her. That's why we play it safe like we do.

Don't know about a "morning after" pill. Never had to deal with that problem, knock on wood, so never had a reason to look into options for an accidental breeding.

Click to expand...

I know breeders who have had their girls accidently mated on day 5 and have pups-- there is one that was bred on day 20 and there were pups (vet said it couldn't happen-- she picked really funny names for that litter). The egg is receptive for a couple of days-- the semen can survive for a week.

There is a shot that they can give a bitch (mismate shot)--- I would never do that to my female--

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Brazen Hussie is right! Like Karlin said our mild natured Tandie was a woman on a mission when she met other males.

By the time Tandie came to us the spotting had stopped but I would say she was definitely still in heat. Karlin noticed her vulva was still swollen (I wouldn't have known the difference) and there was also the very obvious backing up against anything with a whiff of testosterone. So would I be right in saying that just because the spotting is finished she might not be totally out of the woods?