How to handle a female in heat

[priscilla]

Hey, y'all. Though I've had dogs throughout my life, I've never lived with a female in heat. My other dogs were spayed before their first cycle, but I want to wait for Rose, my pup, to go through her first cycle before spaying.

 

While I know that I can get generic information from dog sites online, I want your advice and guidance. Nothing is too basic.

 

Oh. And one specific question: Should I worry about coyotes? We live in a very remote area.

[Covelo Dogs]

I have two intact females and number one is never allow them out of sight!

I give them chlophyll pills as soon as I know they are in heat. I buy them at health food store. I just open capsules and sprinkle on food two times per day. This seems to cut back on the smell ,but does not totally get rid of it. If I need to travel or dogs going to be close to others I smear Vicky's vapor rub around vulva.

Yes you need to worry about coyotes.

This seems to work for me and I do have intact male dogs.

Good luck, and never let here out of sight!

The dosage I use for chlophyll is 600 mg per day so 300 in am & pm

[simba]

Never really noticed the smell. We always just kept the dog inside and walked her only on leash when she was in heat. She got a bit whiney beforehand, but that was about it.

[Sue R]

Never really noticed the smell. We always just kept the dog inside and walked her only on leash when she was in heat. She got a bit whiney beforehand, but that was about it.

 

It doesn't much matter if you notice a smell but it sure matters if male dogs in the neighborhood do. When I was young, my mother gave a tablet (called No-Mate?) to our intact pet dog (back then, just about everyone's dog was intact and no one I knew ever had puppies, either) which seemed to eliminate the "come hither" smell that females in season secrete into their urine. Once my mother discovered that pill, we never had a male dog come around because they apparently had not a clue that Lady was in heat.

[simba]

That makes more sense- I thought that the bit about "this seems to cut back on the smell but does not totally get rid of it" referred to what the human could smell, not the effect of the smell on dogs. I know that dogs can smell it, and was wondering whether some bitches were so odorous that humans could too.

 

Brain is clearly not working adequately today...

[Rudolph]

Do you mean chlorophyll? Or is this something else?

Thanks!

 

I give them chlophyll pills as soon as I know they are in heat. I buy them at health food store. I just open capsules and sprinkle on food two times per day. ...

The dosage I use for chlophyll is 600 mg per day so 300 in am & pm

[Kian's Mom]

They have the NO-MATE in a spray. Can it at any pet store and I think even Wal-Mart has it. I have a natured male GSD but he still wants to try, he was done at 6 months. When my female was in heat I would spray this on her and he never gave her any thought.

As stated always keep her on a leash. A female is known to take off and go look for a male. My parents have a GSD and would walk her on leash( as she will not go in her kennel ) an then put her in her kennel. Which has a 6 ft fence. A stray tried chewing through the woven wire fence then he figured some way to climb in. Hence my dog. LOL

[terrecar]

Since I am living in a remote area where I often do not see people on a regular basis (my idea of paradise), I could see how one might be lulled into a sense of relaxation about using a lead (although my dogs are altered), even for a female dog in heat. I would caution against that. So, I would also say it is definitely important to have your dog on leash when she is outside.

 

Also, I would be careful about letting your dog jump on the bed and lay on your pillow (not that I know from experience or anything, ahem). You might go to make the bed only to find a stain on your pillowcase. Live and learn...

[Gideon's girl]

Male dogs can smell your female up to 3 miles away, so there is no such thing as being too careful.

[Donald McCaig]

Dear Priscilla,

 

You'll know when Rose is receptive when Gabe gets interested - real interested. While he can't settle her he may mount and tie (awkward for both). One or the other locked up is the rule. It doesn't last forever.

 

Donald

[bcnewe2]

I've had intact females for over 10 years collectively. The best advise I can give out of my experience is not to let them out of your site. IF you need to go somewhere without them, they are crated. When they need to go outside you are right there supervising. I have never had a female run away from me seeking a male if I'm standing right there. They are in heat not crazy. IF you have an intact male one of the other is always crated during that time.

 

I have neighbor dogs stop by and I send them on their way with a broomstick (waving it over my head and aimed at them like I'm a crazy woman) and during those visits the female doesn't go out. IF we have to go anywhere together she stays in a crate or at my side.

I have a friend who had a litter of puppies, they were known as the outhouse litter. We were at a trial she went in to use the port-a-potty and tied her female right next to the door. came out and her female was tied to a someone's free running male. I take my girl right in the porta potty if I have to!

 

What I'm trying to say is it's not that big a deal if you supervise and use your head. The above example was a non thinking moment.

 

I've heard of the vic's vapor rub deal but more for under males noses. I would imagine if smeared around the rear of the female, 1. how could the poor dear lick herself clean without getting it in her mouth. 2. I think it might burn a bit if spread by licking or poor placement on her privates, although I'm not going to check that thought out.

 

Now a little smeared under an intact males nose that is living with you might help him relax a bit but seems to me putting it on the ladies private parts or around them is a bit harsh. Could be wrong though. I have had my male need his anal glands expressed soon after a female was in heat, I think it stresses them more than the females.

 

But these are just my opinions and in all our intact years of females in heat I don't have 1 oops puppy.

 

I would think sprays that are supposed to keep a female from smelling might give off a sense of safety that should not be trusted.

 

And as for the bed, my bed, I put a couch blanket over my covers and that usually does it. My girls have always been very tidy, you hardly see a drop of anything anywhere and if you do, one of the dogs will clean it up. Maybe it's a pack thing???

 

Very rarely have I ever had to worry about my covers getting soiled so using the blanket covering my bedding works for me cause I could never be sure they would stay off my bed!

[terrecar]

"When they need to go outside you are right there supervising. I have never had a female run away from me seeking a male if I'm standing right there. They are in heat not crazy." Per BCNEWE2

 

This is right, of course. If [ETA: you live in a rural area and] you have reasonable voice control over your dog, i.e. she will not bolt after a squirrel or rabbit into the woods, then the leash thing may not be necessary. I've called Hannah off of a groundhog that she started to go after (off lead). Still, I would probably not allow her out (even supervised) if she were unaltered and in heat without a long line at least, just because I tend to err on the side of caution.

[Gideon's girl]

It hasn't happened to me but I know someone who took their bitch out off lead to let her potty and another dog just popped up and bred her before the lady could get to her dog. But then again I knew someone that was so incapable that a strange dog caught her on leash dog and she couldn't do anything to stop it. I err on the side of caution too.

[Covelo Dogs]

What I posted is what has worked for me these past years.

Yes it is chlorophyll pills which is what the no mate tablets are. I tried different dosage till I no longer had the males hanging around outside of fences. My females are 33 & 34 # I triple the dose for the LGD.

The Vick's is only used if I have to have dogs out in public a little goes a long way and it seems to last most of the day. The females do not like the smell any better than males so they do not seem to lick it off.

As I staed this works for me and thought I would suggest it, I also live in remote area but there are a lot of loose dogs roaming around, which is why I have four LGD's.

Good luck

[bcnewe2]

The Vick's is only used if I have to have dogs out in public a little goes a long way and it seems to last most of the day. The females do not like the smell any better than males so they do not seem to lick it off.

 

This seems like it would be hard on my females. They are very licky during their cycle. If they couldn't lick themselves I have a feeling they would be very upset. So where do you put the vicks exactly? Could you put in on the top of the tail or somewhere where it wouldn't bother them when they lick themselves clean?

 

Are there no other side effects from the chlorophyll pills? I've been wondering and worrying a bit about our female LGD puppy. I'd like to let her finish growing before spaying but that is the one dog whom I worry about keeping safe. Enough so that I was considering spaying her before she ever comes in even though I'd rather wait. She is very respectful of the hot wire at the moment and I have a kennel within the barn within the hotwire. But they are crafty dogs when they want to be.

 

I guess I thought it would go without saying, that if you didn't have a recall or a good recall you'd do what ever you do normally to keep your dog safe when going potty.

[Covelo Dogs]

Kristen,

I place a small dab of Vick's on either side of vulva sort of on crease. I only it apply it if they will be off property. It does wear off by the end of the day so it has not been an issue.

I have not had any side effects from chlorophyll other than it turns their poop green. They eat it readily when sprinkled on the kibble.

As to LGD, mine respect electric fences which helps and my intact male is keep twenty acres away with three fence lines in between that has hot wire running along top. He did try once but I run a lot of voltage through wire so never had him try again.

The bitch is use to being by her self and the paddock I keep her in is a taller fence and has hot wire top and bottom.

I have kept them in kennels and stock trailers if they are a real problem when in standing heat.

The one thing about kenneling LGD I have found it the kennel really needs to have a top of some sort. They are pretty agile for big dogs.

Good luck.

[priscilla]

As usual, y'all are full of great advice. I'll keep you posted. Thank you!

[terrecar]

Just curious, are you waiting to spay her until after her first season due to the health implications of early spay/neuter? I actually hadn't kept up on current literature on the subject, so my Border Collie mix was spayed at around 7 months.

[bcnewe2]

That would be my reasoning. Letting them mature totally helps a bunch of health issues later in life. No time to give you links but I'll come back to it later. It's not waiting for the first heat it's more about age of spay which happens to be best after the age that the first heat would occur in my opinion.

[priscilla]

Terrecar: In answer to your question, yes. I hope to train and trial Rose, but I don't plan to breed her. The advice of others convinced me to wait until after her first season of heat and, perhaps, until after she's a year old. The question is whether I will survive to that point!

[terrecar]

Terrecar: In answer to your question, yes. I hope to train and trial Rose, but I don't plan to breed her. The advice of others convinced me to wait until after her first season of heat and, perhaps, until after she's a year old. The question is whether I will survive to that point!

 

I hope to read of your survival from your blog! Your latest entry about the rock/geological egg formation things was very cool, by the way.