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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

The doghouse

The dreaded first season has arrived

20 replies

PickledMoomin · 22/07/2014 21:53

Any tips for surviving it? Poor pup is bleeding lots more than I thought she would.

I may have purchased some dog pants today... She's not impressed!

Should I avoid walking her? Or walk her in her pants? How long will it last? When will she be fertile?

OP posts:

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seagull70 · 22/07/2014 22:04

She'll bleed for around 3 weeks.

How big is she? Can you pick her up if you need to on walks? Definitely keep her on the lead though.

Didn't try dog pants with ours but seemed to follow her around with a mop

PickledMoomin · 22/07/2014 22:11

She's small enough to carry back from a walk but I'm worried about dogs following us and trying to get at her.

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Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 22/07/2014 22:12

We said our next dog will be a bitch but I'm not looking forward to the first season. We've got jute carpet everywhere and it doesn't do stains well. Do they have to have a season at all? Never had a bitch.

PickledMoomin · 22/07/2014 22:15

I think it varies vet to vet. Ours likes them to have a season first. Someone will know the pros and cons...
You'll need to get dog pants. They seem to be doing the trick but she doesn't like them very much.

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Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 22/07/2014 22:52

Hahaha dog pants.

Sorry.

Yes I'll look into it a bit more when we finally get round to deciding on the next dog. We've only ever had male dogs but I don't think my old boy would go another male dog in the house.

Good luck with the pants.

EvenBetter · 22/07/2014 23:52

Our girls had always been neutered before it, so this time was a learning curve for all of us.
It starts with a brownish discharge and goes creamy when they're super fertile , then red and brown. They can be moody, super needy and just not themselves. A few hours before our girl started hers I had her out on a walk and another dog swaggered over and attacked her! (No shagging, thank fuck). If you're going to walk her do it at times when there won't be any other dog around and keep her on the lead. Don't leave her outside alone as horny males can go to great lengths to get at her.

We gave up on the knickers and just accepted the fact we'd have to wash our sheets more often and mop the floors a lot. It's not like, flooding blood or anything, just drips. We sometimes wiped her with a scent less babywipes.

Now, three months later, she's having a phantom pregnancy, so she's been demented by hormones for 4 months now, and I wish I'd had her neutered before the season. We only did this because of the benefit of the hormones on her long term health, but instead I have a hormonal mess of a puppy.

Anyway, the season isn't as bad as I thought it would be, just keep her safe from the boys and give her lots of cuddles.

Carpaccio · 23/07/2014 12:21

We had white rugs and white furniture, so I put her in baby sleeveless onesies (with a hole for the tail) and put a pantyliner in them as the doggy pants and doggy pads were awful.
She was less bothered by the onesies than the doggy panties.

I kept the onesies for when she was spayed - they were more comfortable than the big satellite dish of shame.

We walked her as usual and in the usual places but didn't let her off the leash, and told the owners of male dogs that she was in heat so they didn't take their dogs off the leash.
We did skip the daily training - she was in no mood for that and I didn't want to risk anything while off leash.

PickledMoomin · 23/07/2014 20:09

Wasn't brave enough to walk her again today. I may try walking her wearing a baby grow

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PickledMoomin · 23/07/2014 20:17

I missed your post, evenbetter.

Your poor pup! Do they know why she's having phantom pregnancy? How common is it?

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daisydotandgertie · 23/07/2014 20:30

People taking bitches in season, particularly during the fertile period, out walking make me really cross. The scent given off by an in season bitch can cause an enormous change in the temperament and behaviour of male dogs, which can take months for the dog owner to put right.

I only have bitches, but would never walk them where other dogs are during a season.

A season lasts for approx 4 weeks or 28 days and the fertile period can be at any point from day 6 to day 22. More usually, the fertile period is somewhere between days 10 - 16. Sometimes the bleeding turns straw coloured, sometimes it stops, sometimes it starts again after the fertile period and sometimes it doesn't.

Don't underestimate the enormous change of behaviour your bitch will display when she is fertile. It is usual for them to stop at nothing to try to be mated - and the same goes for a dog. A tie can occur in the matter of seconds.

If you do decide to walk her and the worst happens, don't panic or shriek, or take it out on the male dog. Get down by the bitch and cup her vulva with your hand to prevent the males penis from penetrating while you wait for the dogs owner to arrive.

To be honest the half hour you would have spent in the park could be equally well be spent training in the garden for the few days a season lasts.

EvenBetter · 23/07/2014 21:18

Google says phantom pregnancies happen in about 60% of dogs! And no one knows why, it's hormones doing something they're not meant to. She's had morning sickness, swollen boobs, some milk produced, intensive mothering of her toys, trying to build nests, completely refusing to eat, etc. it's a lot worse than her season was, and we can't even get her neutered until it's over because that can drag out the phantom for months!
Raaaaagh!
The boys can easily leap high fences/run across roads to get at her, and here'll be a week or so when she actually will want them to get to her. You can get pills from the vet to terminate a pregnancy but it's better for all concerned if that never has a chance of happening.

PickledMoomin · 23/07/2014 21:45

We luckily lived in a terrace which backs on to an unused lane (and we're quite a distance along this lane) so I'm hoping she's safe from other dogs in the garden. The walls are also way too high for her to climb- she's tried many times to copy the cats!
She seems very different today. Hasn't eaten anything except a bit of chicken from my hand. She usually follows me EVERYWHERE but I've been able to leave the room without her. Will be glad when it's all over.
There's a small part of me that would like her to have a litter but it's not fair for her to deal with this for two years.

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Lazytoad · 23/07/2014 21:55

Either walk your dog at 6 in the morning on a lead or play with her lots in the garden, they still need some exercise. I would be very reluctant to use pants or a babygrow, dogs like to be clean and I think mine would get distressed if she couldn't wash herself. The mess isn't too bad, just have wipes handy to clear up the drips, you might find that she cleans some of it up herself.

When she's fertile, her discharge should turn more pale and if you stroke her above her tail she will probably lift her tail to the side as she would for a male dog.

Good luck! It will soon be over.

Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 23/07/2014 23:02

Crumbs. Do you have to let a bitch have a season at all?

PickledMoomin · 24/07/2014 10:52

Thanks. How will I know when it's over? Is it when all discharge stops?

My vet recommends one season. I'm
not sure why or if this is always the case

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daisydotandgertie · 24/07/2014 13:20

A season takes 28 days from the first sign of bleeding. Day 1 of bleeding is taken as day 1 of the season. Discharge or lack of it is not a reliable indicator.

sweetkitty · 01/08/2014 12:04

Our dog still hasn't had her first season and her first birthday was last month, apparently it's common in the breed.

I'm dreading it she loves to run off leash and is going to hate being cooped up away from her doggy friends.

ggirl · 02/08/2014 14:23

Think we're going to get ours spayed before her first season , the vet bamboozled me with lots of statistics etc but essentially said it was fine to have her spayed as long as they were happy her vulva was mature or something ( mind boggles)

sweetkitty · 02/08/2014 20:20

I've read a lot on the when to spay debate, I think a bitch should have at least one season before being spayed, it's akin to giving an 8 year old girl a full hysterectomy, no sex hormones, no puberty etc, I think the bitch should be fully mature before she's spayed.

My own hound is a large breed and slow growing, we're waiting until 3 months after her second season just to be sure she's fully mature.

mermaidstale · 04/08/2014 21:09

Dogs have phantom pregnancies because they are pack animals and can feed another dog's pups if necessary.
Don't walk a bitch in season anywhere near other dogs, it drives male dogs frantic and risks your bitch getting mated.

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