Female dog and season/neutering

[Spidey66]

We have a female border collie, who is coming up to 18 months now.

When she was about 6/12 old we took her to the vet to ask about spaying but were advised they should have at least one season to enable she's got sufficient hormones for growth and health.

Only she still doesn't appear to have had this?!? It seems quite late.

I was chatting to another dog owner a few days ago, who initially was reluctant to come to close to us as her dog is in season. (Maggie is very friendly and playful with other dogs and has to meet and greet every dog she sees.) Obviously the other owner was reassured by Maggie being female! I asked how she knows her dog is in season and she said ''trust me you know'' but mentioned weeing a lot to release her scent (she has done this a lot the last week or so) and licking her bits a lot, which she has also done. But she mentioned her nipples and genitals swelling (no sign), a little bleeding (nil) and being quite aggressive to other dogs (nil).

We were in the park a few days back and a male dog tried to mount her, but he'd been neutered and it appears this is his pattern of behaviour. Aside from that one incident no other dog has approached her for any more than normal playing and saying hi.

Is it possible that we have missed it? Or that she's got some hormonal condition meaning she's a late developer? The vet did mention collies can be a year-18 months before there first season so she may just be a late but still within normal range of development.

[Spidey66]

Sorry 6/12 means 6 months. I'm a nurse, that's how we write it, I keep forgetting that it's generally a medical term.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

My bitch had her first season at 18 months so she may not have had one yet. You'll know - she'll get the baboon-arse look.

[Wolfiefan]

I have heard of a silent season. No idea if that is a real veterinary term though.
You should notice blood dripping and engorged bits. Lots of washing themselves to keep clean.
Worth having another chat with a vet. I don’t think they necessarily need to have a season. Just that it’s not always seen as healthy to spay an immature bitch.

[Lightuptheroom]

Our lab was 15 months, there wasn't hardly any blood, literally tiny drops plus as said by a pp her genitals were swollen. She definitely cleaned herself a lot more than usual and it does go on for quite a while, so I would think quite difficult to miss it happening. If you do wait for her to have a season, then he aware the vet will ask you to wait 3 months after that. Might be worth talking to your vet again.

[Anon9990]

My vet recommended getting my collie done before her first season which we did.
I would speak to them again and see if they will do it, you don’t want her getting ‘caught’ if she is having silent seasons x

[NannyPear]

It's possible she had her first season but the symptoms were very mild so you missed it. It'd be easy to miss a swollen vulva in a dog with medium length or long hair. She might not have bled much and kept herself clean. In any case, I'd book her in now for spay. No point hanging around when she's this age.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

IME middling-sized dogs don't mature mentally until around two and a half. I held off spaying my bitch and she changed a lot between her second and third birthdays. More sensible, slightly more assertive, better focus. I prefer her the way she is now.

[Spidey66]

I think I'll ring the vet for further advice. I've never heard of a silent season.

[frostedviolets]

I spayed my border collie at 3 ish, I would wait until 2 or 3 personally

[Spidey66]

So it appears to have started. Her fanny (sorry I know that’s not a popular word on MN but it’s the word I use and I’m sticking to it) appears to be enlarged, she’s licking it a lot and while she’s always been friendly others appear to sniffing her more. There doesn’t appear to be blood, though my husband thinks she may have had blood on her face a couple of days ago which she could have got by licking.

Her appetite seems a bit less, is that common?

[Lightuptheroom]

Yes, she will now go through the season, check online how long it lasts as I can't remember! Keep her on lead if walking or preferably exercise in garden. You'll then have to wait 3 months to have her spayed

[spot102]

Seasons usually last around 3 weeks, though not always that easy to pinpoint exactly when they start and finish, I find the enlarged back end the most visible clue, but might no be so easy if your collie is long haired!
They can also go into false pregnancy after, including nesting, lactating, puppy guarding. Worth a quick Google for a heads up. My first bitch was terrible for them, current one doesn't seem to. They're all different.

[Spidey66]

She's a short haired collie. Her enlarged genitals is pretty obvious when she rolls over for a belly rub.

It's clear she's on heat now, there is some bleeding and discharge.

She's fluttering her eyelashes at every dog she sees. She's single and ready to mingle, that's for sure, but isn't given the chance as we won't let her off the lead at the moment.

[VanilIaSugarr]

I didn’t believe the “you’ll know” comments until it happened then, gosh, you know! My vet has told me to wait 3 and 1/2 months before they will spey her but there seems to be some conflicting information as one receptionist says “3 months from the first season” to “3.5 months from the date the season finished” so there is a good 6 weeks discrepancy here.

[Lightuptheroom]

We found this @VanilIaSugarr, perhaps it's one of those things where it depends on the dog, though covid put a whole new spin on it and we were very concerned that our lab would end up in another season, thankfully she was done and all went smoothly, despite 'aftercare' consisting of taking a photo of the scar and emailing it to the vet!