Ruby's Bleeding

[sinecurea]

Hi Folks,
I've noticed Ruby bleeding slightly from the place where little women normally bleed from. The area looks a little swollen too - is this normal in a little lady's growing up, or should I have cause for concern?
She's certainly not in any pain or anything, she's running around full of energy as always.

Cheers,
Steve.

[Barbara Nixon]

Your girl is almost certainly having her first season. She will be very attractive to male dogs, even after the bleeding stops, so it's vital that you either keep her home and away from any male dogs or walk her where no dog can get to her. The latter can be very difficult, as some normally placid males can turn quite nasty if denied their' rights'.

[sinecurea]

Thanks Barbara!

[Caraline]

Yep, it is all very normal. Your little girl is growing up. Lock her up & throw away the key for about 21 days. When you think her season is comming to an end (when the discharge seems to have gone), take a white tissue & dab her vulva with it. If the tissue comes away clean, then allow an extra 7 days before you let her out. Remember too that during the season the discharge is not always red blood, but turns to an almost clear straw colour.

I was only joking about throwing the key away but do be very careful to keep her away from the boys & remember she will become a little Houdini to get to her man.

[Lisa_T]

You'll have to wait around a month before you can get her spayed. The being in heat is a bit of a pain- I went through it with Holly- so I had Amber done as soon as she turned six months. Give me a week of post op stress versus four of heat stress anyday!

[Karlin]

Actually, usually vets will wish to wait about three months post heat to spay.

If you haven't considered spaying, be sure to read through this:

http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showthread.php?t=10784

Aside from pregnancy risk, there are strong health reasons to consider geting her spayed. If Ruby isn't spayed by her third heat, she will have a 25% chance of acquiring mammary cancer, which is obviously very high. If she is spayed following this frst heat, it will only be 7% (if spayed before a first heat, a dog has 0% chance of such tumours). Unspayed females also run a high lifetime risk of pyometra, a post-heat infection that has a very high death rate.

Your vet can talk through these points and also give you advice on what to do over the next three-four weeks that Ruby must be kept inside and away from other dogs. You may want to buy some of the dog 'panties' that will keep her blood from getting on carpets and furniture.