How can you tell if your dog is on heat?

R2R

R2R

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My Tibetan Terrier bitch is 1 on the twentieth of September.

For the past three days she has been a bit la la - really talkative (they are talkative dogs anyway, but she is actually answering lol) and OBSESSED with nesting socks, bones, pants, then getting them all out of her bed, taking them into the garden, lying staring at them, and carrying them one by one back to bed againg (???)

She also is not interested in us (usually very sociable dog) and is more in love with the bones/socks.

She has also taken to barking in the garden...so much so she has to have the flap locked in the evening when it gets late - apart from last night I noticed at least 2 dogs were barking back?

Could this strange behaviour mean she is on heat? I have not noticed any blood.

Thanks!!
 
Yep, sounds textbook.
Just keep an eye on her though, my bitch decided to mother (IE eat) two pairs of tights, cue a very expensive operation so while it is cute that she is nesting, make sure she isn't injesting.
She also ended up having a phantom pregnancy/pyo :o
 
Oh Lordy. Tights not good!!! I dont think she would eat them, she loves them too much. That and a bone she refuses to chew and just carries around.

Not very experienced with dogs on heat...can I still walk her (on the lead) etc...and how much blood will there be?
 
Basically lift up her tail and dab her nether regions with a bit of paper towel, you can easily see if there is any discharge. Her vulva will swell and get quite puffy and she will drip blood, how much will depend on her. I have a very small lurcher who bled for england, we had her spayed after her first season. Our other whippets just left the odd spot of blood. To be honest, if this is something you know so little about, you should seriously consider having her speyed, it will save you any mess or worry over unwelcome pregnancy and be better for her health.

She can still go for a walk, but you run the risk of unwanted attention from loose boy dogs. So it really depends on where you walk her.
 
Agree with CC :) I walk mine on lead and at random times or in areas where I won't meet other walkers. It's not fair on entire males. Besides, she is too valuable to be covered by some random dog!

Bleeding IME depends on the dog, Beastie had hardly any (she's now spayed) whereas poor Midget has a lot of blood and her 'lady bits' become very swollen. She's becomes very withdrawn and quiet when in season, poor girl.
 
Agree, walk her away from other dogs (I have had a spaniel try and force himself on my GSD while she was on lead, in quite a remote place!!!) and yes, bleeding depends on bitch. I had one bitch who looked a bit reddish behind and you wouldn't see a difference, the current one spots for Britain, it's all over the 'bloody' place and she goes off her food, listless etc.
 
tracey01 said:
Basically lift up her tail and dab her nether regions with a bit of paper towel, you can easily see if there is any discharge. Her vulva will swell and get quite puffy and she will drip blood, how much will depend on her. I have a very small lurcher who bled for england, we had her spayed after her first season. Our other whippets just left the odd spot of blood. To be honest, if this is something you know so little about, you should seriously consider having her speyed, it will save you any mess or worry over unwelcome pregnancy and be better for her health.

She can still go for a walk, but you run the risk of unwanted attention from loose boy dogs. So it really depends on where you walk her.
Click to expand...

Tracey01 - why is spaying better for her health? I have spoken to my vet who hasnt mentioned this?

I dont want to have her spayed becasue I would like the opportunity to have a litter of puppies from her - and despite not 'knowing much' I want the opportunity to learn, which is why I am asking. I have had dogs all of my life, she is my first un-spayed pedegree bitch, so it is not like I dont know about dogs etc - just the ins and outs of a bitch on heat :)

As for walking - she can go in a kennel with a run at the yard where she is usually free range, and at home the ever thrilling 'city walk' which is becautiful for me as involves walking down the Thames embankment and seeing all of the bridges lit up - the only dogs you see are on leads and are easily avoidable :)
 
There is an infection called Pyometria which un-spayed bitches can get. Basically it is an infection of the uterus. I lost one of my own dogs to this infection. I did not get her spayed because she only ever had 4 seasons in her life and at age 9 she suddenly became listless, high temperature etc and was too ill to have an emergency spey operation. It is not an uncommon way to lose a female dog. They are also more likely to get mammary tumours etc. I am very surprised your vet did not speak to you about this, because most vets are quite hyper about getting dogs done - male or female.

I did not mean to sound condescending, but it is vital you can spot the signs of a bitch being in season if you are to protect her from unwanted pregnancy. Some bitches feel so sexy they will actually go looking for it.
 
I know I have said this to you before and I know you are dead keen but I would wait until she is at least two before she has pups :)

And when she is having pups I would enlist the help of her breeder or another person knowledgeable about whelping to sit with you when she is ready, we lost a whole litter because my Mum left my cousin in charge for just one night, and not that it was on one's fault, but she had no idea what to do when there were complications and the vet was not able to save them in time. Or you could sit in on a few yourself in the mean time.

The pyo that I mentioned was pyometra as Tracey says. Horrible condition.
 
I didnt know about the infection - I think both vets know me by now etc.. we have only ever chatted about spaying informally, and I think they know that we researched into the dogs breeding etc so much that they accept we do want to have a litter of pups from her. If they say spaying is a good idea afterwards it is definately something we will consider.

When she has pups we are going back to her breeder (different lines etc) and taking all the advice we can get :) I dont want to put her or the pups at risk...CC just read your post (hence the edit) and we are going to wait...vet said at least 18 months so she will probably be 2 and a half.

I think I have spotted the signs :) so I obviously have better instincts than I thought!!
 
as a rule her "bits" will swell up about a week before she comes into season and she will have a bit of discharge, then her season will probs last between 2-3 weeks. most bitches want to go walkies more too as they no that male dogs will be out side and they will try get out at every oppertunity to breed. also be careful when out walking your dog males can smell a bitch in season from over a mile away and will do almost anything to get to her. we had a dog who chewed through our fence to get to a bitch down the road. and it only takes a few minutes to do the deed.
 
:p But I do see what she means, my wee cowbag will actually stand for her brother with a come hither look (He's been done, of course, and she will be too when I am less skint) bleugh!

Didn't mean to make my cousin sound negligent, she was pretty much like my big sister back then and handled and helped my mum with the dogs, there was just one big dead puppy which got blocked and she just didn't know enough to know there was something wrong and sadly all the others died because of it.
 
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