How late before getting worried dog has not had first season?

[HalloweenDuck]

Hope some experts out there can help me.
We got our cocker spaniel last september. She had all her jabs etc.
Very happy healthy puppy, grown up lovely.
However after researching alot when we first got her we decided that we would wait till after her first season to have her done.

Family death, loss of buisness, children starting school etc etc means i have sort of forgot about it. Actually hit me when someone asked me how old she was and i answered nearly 1, then worked out she is actually 16 months!
She has not had her first season yet, is this a problem?
I know it is not the norm but is it something to worry about?

Our vets are money grabbers (very good at animal care but money grabbers around it) The receptionist would not answer me/ ask a vet for me etc.

So made an appointment in 2 weeks. (non emergency waiting list)
But would like to have a heads up before if anyone does know.

[HalloweenDuck]

Just to add she is def not pregnant, and we are not going to breed her.

[DoesItWearingWellies]

Some bitches have 'dry seasons', where there is no actual discharge/bleeding, so it is possible you missed her first one as usually the only other signs are a swollen/enlarged vulva, but in a Cocker (due to longer coat), unless you were looking for it, I imagine you wouldn't spot it.

I wouldn't be too concerned even if she hasn't had a season yet as some are just late bloomers, like humans.

If she hasn't had a season by the time she's 2 y/o, I'd spay her anyway, just to reduce the chances of associated cancers/infections.

I'm sure one of the vets/someone on here would be able to correct me if I'm wrong, but I certainly wouldn't be worried yet.

[alice15]

Anything up to 18 months is normal, or occasionally longer, and as DoesItWearingWellies said, the first one can be very subtle. Have a look at her groin - if it's hairy all up inside her thighs but the vulva itself is more or less bald, she's sexually mature, pretty much, and if she hasn't had a season yet she should do soon. If her groin is still bald and there is a tuft of hair on her vulva, she's not yet mature. The other (very unlikely) possibility is that there is something a bit odd with her - dogs can occasionally be hermaphrodites and have some attributes of both sexes, just as people can, and cocker spaniels are a breed that has an inherited tendency to this - I have seen one hermaphrodite CS in 22 years as a vet, so it's not common! If it did turn out to be that, which it almost certainly isn't, it's not a problem anyway, as whatever ovaries or testicles she has can be removed in any case and she is not going to be psychologically affected anyway.
I can't believe it's a two week wait for a non-urgent appointment and you can't get advice over the phone! At our practice you could speak to a vet or have them ring you back about anything, same day, and you could always be seen the same day if you didn't mind which vet you saw - maximum wait 2 or 3 days to see a particular vet at a particular time of day. I'm amazed!