Bitch in heat?

[SteveBrucesNose]

This is something entirely new for me so I've no idea what to do.

As some of you may recall, we rescued a dog from very poor conditions a couple of months back. We immediately got her booked in for a spay the following week, but her health took a very bad turn. Our vet has now told me that she reckons if we'd left it another 2-3 days without treatment we would likely have lost her. Obviously she wasn't spayed then due to ill health.

Last Saturday she was finally given a clean bill of health (yey!) and is up to a reasonable weight, maybe 1.5 kg off her optimum weight. She was booked in for Sunday to be done, and this got cancelled at the last moment as they got an emergency in (poor dog was hit by a car and needed major surgery), so we agreed to postpone until today. This morning we noticed a spot or two of blood, and her tail was down so we couldn't see her bits. I dropped her off at the vet this morning and they confirmed that she is in heat. Spaying is therefore off the table for 2 months.

So, apart from perhaps walking her earlier in the morning and later at night to avoid boy dogs who still have their balls intact, any advice? We're going to make sure we don't walk the two dogs together on our own, in case urgent intervention is needed. She's seeming clingier than normal with DH. Is there anything she'll need to make her comfier? I have no experience of this at all as OldGirl was done when we got her, and DH was about 12 when his childhood dog had her first heat so can't remember/didn't pay much attention.

[StarsInTheNightSky]

Before we spayed I used to put a pair of granny knickers (with a tail hole cut out) on our females to walk them, just in case!

[SteveBrucesNose]

What an awesome idea! Cheers stars, I shall go and find pants for the dog and convince DH that it's a good plan but I think that's fab

[StarsInTheNightSky]

You're welcome, I always used to use really bright polka or floral ones, helps to get the message across at a distance and to wind up poor DH
How's she getting on? It sounds like she settling in

[SteveBrucesNose]

She is settling in, slowly but surely. We had a horrible few days of scraps between NewGirl and OldGirl, which involved staples in OldGirls arse poor old bag, but they seem to be getting on ok now. She's walking better on the lead, but once she's been done well be able to take her to proper classes (for older dogs they won't accept unless they've been done for either bitches or dogs).

So. The pants. We tried her with a pair of DHs old boxers. She wasn't too chuffed at putting them on her (she doesn't like her tail being touched or manoeuvred, we think it's been broken in the past). They lasted all of a minute before she shat in them. As gross as that was, it was fricking hilarious. We tried another pair about an hour later. They also got shat in.

Talk about a dirty protest!

She's particularly grouchy too, and wants nothing to do with me. She's always preferring DH anyway, but I'm being treated with utter contempt and he's a hero.

[daisydotandgertie]

Pants really won't make a blind bit of difference to a randy dog. And I'm sure you know it isn't just dogs with balls who will want to shag her? And that from probably days 8-16 she'll be doing all she can to get out and have her wicked way with anyone she can find?

TBH, for a number of reasons, no walks are far more sensible for an in season bitch. Late at night and early in the morning is when you're most likely bump into an anti social dog, the scent given off by an in season bitch will cause massive behavioural changes in dogs, and a bitch will take off at the drop of a hat if they spot a dog during ovulation.

Use walking time to train in the garden instead maybe. It can't go wrong then and your girl doesn't sound physically strong enough to withstand an accidental pregnancy.