What do you do if your bitch is on heat ?

[zandp]

I'm just wondering do people avoid busy areas where dogs may be ? Do you let your bitch run around off lead ?

Locally people seem irresponsible and it's dogs that bear the brunt of their stupidity - last night someone went to kick my dog - their bitch was running around loose on heat but he was the problem !

It's not an isolated incident either, in the last few weeks there have been 3 on heat bitches loose in the park - we have a large dog community in this park.

 

[springtime1331]

When my bitch was on heat we walked at strange times in areas where we don't see other dogs. It is sensible dog ownership to do this. However, it might be wise if you see your dog pestering another dog to go and get him on a lead to avoid conflict. Is your dog neutered?

 

[zandp]

He's not neutered yet, he's a puppy. He's not the only entire dog who goes to this park - there are a lot of others and there could be a real danger of them fighting over the on heat bitch.

Thanks for your reply I was wondering if I was going mad, none of these owners seem to get the point that they need to be in areas where there are no/fewer dogs.

I didn't put it the first post but I did go over, put him on the lead and kept him on the lead until they'd left. I then waited 10 mins and let him off to play with the other dogs (there were a lot of puppies there last night), he ran straight off the way the bitch had gone but luckily came back when I called.

 

[Dobiegirl]

Even neutered dogs will show an interest in a bitch in heat, mine all have anyway. I think just worry about your own dog and keep him away if one is running loose as there is likely to be a dog fight breaking out. Some people just have no brains and its impossible to reason with them so dont waste your time or energy on them.

 

[vieshot]

My bitch isnt entire but if she were I would still walk her as normal? She wouldn't be allowed to approach other dogs but that's normal. If your male approached the bitch, not the other way round then I would say you were in the wrong. Doesn't matter what sex the dog is, the owner should have a good recall and should not allow their dog to approach others. If you can't do that then your dog should be on a lead.

 

[PorkChop]

I do continue to walk them if they are in heat, but I would keep them closer than usual. If I had a bitch that was a bit deaf to recall however I would not!

 

[FinnishLapphund]

When my three bitches are on heat, I try to walk on times and places where we're less likely to meet other dogs, and I rarely let them off their leads when they're on heat (it has usually only happened because I've forgotten that they're on heat :redface3:, I have a memory like a sieve sometimes).

But regardless if my bitches are on their leads or off, if a male dog does turn up and are too interested in their behinds, I will try to simply put myself in the way, but if that isn't enough, I have both pushed, shoved, kicked (never as hard as I could), grabbed hold of and put male dogs on one of my leads when an owner haven't been anywhere within sight/hearing distance, and the male dog doesn't understand that I will not allow any unwanted mating to happen (and I always presume that they're entire).
Mostly the dogs have been intelligent enough to realise that it was a lost cause and gone away, other times I've managed to get hold of the owner and given the dog back to them, and one time I wasn't able to find the owner and had to hand the dog over to the police.

But it is one thing if it happens out in the woods, where I only need to worry about an unwanted mating happening. The two, three times that I've found myself standing alone on a somewhat rural road, just me, my three bitches, an unknown male dog with only one thing on his mind, and the possibility of that a car can come and drive by any minute, I've simply tried to solve the situation as quickly as possible, and if a shove or kick will make the dog go back to wherever he came from, I presume that that is better than staying loose with me on the road and risk being run over by a car. I'm really not a fan of putting other people's dogs on my leads, I only do that as a last resort.

I want to add that I'm usually successful in avoiding other dogs when my bitches are in heat, besides some male dogs doesn't seem to realise that my bitches isn't always in heat, so it isn't only on walks when my bitches are in heat, that we've had unwanted company. By the way, it has also happened several times, that we've found loose male dogs in or outside our garden. For example, more than 12 years ago, a medium sized Poodle that used to live nearby worked out how to squeeze himself out through their cat flap, the bitches that I had back then wasn't even in heat and still we found him a few times in our garden. It wasn't until they woke up one morning to a house with locked/closed doors and windows and no dog, that they worked out how he must be escaping and changed their cat flap, that his visits stopped.

 

[SusieT]

your entire dog has no more right than their entire dog to be pestering anyone - if he doesn't have 100% recall than don't take him to busy places off lead... I too would kick an entire male trying to hump my bitch (neutered incidentaly). Both dog owners have responsibility.

 

[zandp]

This wasn't to open a discussion about whether my puppy has recall or not - he does by the way. It was an enquiry to find out what other bitch owners do as I've only had male dogs.

 

[Dobiegirl]

Ive just realised I hadnt answered your real reason for posting, we have an entire Lancashire Heeler bitch and 2 Dobes who are both spayed and neutered, we walk on our own land but even so when she is in season she is kept on a long line. Entire dogs will travel when there is a bitch in heat and there are a lot of entire farm Collies around here. I think if you want to keep your bitch safe its up to you to put as many obstacles in the way to keep other dogs away.