To not walk my dog at the minute?

[BourbonBon]

I really want to but she’s in season. She’s already a very reactive dog so I don’t think I should? But she’s desperate to go for a walk 😞 it’s snowing and I so want to take her out in it 😭

YABU - walk her
YANBU - you can’t

I didn't say he was in tact @Forgooodnesssakenow ?

An in season female can affect male dogs regardless of whether they are in tact or not as several posters have already said.

There can be many reasons why dogs are in tact or bitches are not spayed, ultimately that's their owners decision.

But as with anything in life, whatever decision owners choose to make its good to be considerate and cognisant of how their decision may affect others.

My sweet, obedient, prize-winning* springer becomes a different animal when there are in-season bitches in the village. Unrecognisable, stops eating, howls like a wolf through the catflap. He was 4.5 before he even scented his first in-season bitch, because all of a sudden there were a few neighbouring puppies, and vet advice nowadays (locally anyway) tends to be wait until your dog/bitch is 18-months old before neutering, allow them to reach their full adult potential first. Hopefully some or all of them will have been spayed by this spring’s in-season season.

*Puppy class competitions, but STILL PRIZES REGARDLESS!

@Branster Thanks for your reply.

>>>Not sure why you got sarcastic replies to this question.

Because some people enjoy being unhelpful & rude I'd guess. For the effort it takes to write nasty sarcasm, might as well answer the question. I'd never heard of this and I wasn't the only one @worried4698643 hadn't either.

>>>I've only known of these fields since lockdown but, presumably, they were available before that.
>>Not everyone knows about them.
>>Look up BarkPark. They used to have a basic website with a map of UK, you find a local field and book online, around £15/h.
>>>I haven't looked in ages so there might be more websites with more locations nowadays.

Thanks that is very helpful.

@019203847user some of the replies you and I got were very silly. Very pissy responses. I genuinely had no idea about them. Even with a google, it chucked up field hire for parties and weddings. Nothing like PP were suggesting.

. Even with a google, it chucked up field hire for parties and weddings

I wonder if it's area dependent. I got first stuff for secure park areas for dogs not fields.

In my area they're called dog adventure parks not secure fields. They have little bits of agility equipment and different plants and organic materials to encourage sniffing/mental stimulation.

www.roxloedogfield.co.uk/

I've never been to that particular one but looking at the fence shown in the pics my 25kg rotty mix could clear that fence with ease if an in-season bitch was on offer.

Your search results may vary according to location and what you've previously been searching for.

A search for 'secure dog field hire' brings up nothing but that, secure dog fields you can hire, some local and some national companies, for me - but then I have searched for that around the country for others on numerous occasions and much of my googling is for dog related stuff, and never for event/wedding related stuff.

What is disturbing is that a rescue released a dog without being spayed or neutered.

Not really, small independent rescues (And even some of the bigger names) may well rehome a puppy or young dog if its deemed better for the dog to go to the home first, be neutered second.

That might be because they're too young, there are behaviour problems to iron out first, there are health problems that need resolving first that are better dealt with in a home than in a shelter environment.

And of course there are also less responsible rescues who are little more than second hand dog re-sellers...

It is becoming more widely recognised that neutering without question, as early as possible is not the automatic 'responsible dog owner' action it was once thought to be. It can predispose a dog to health issues if done too soon or at the wrong time, it doesn't prevent or address behaviour problems except in very rare circumstances (and again, can trigger some) and the UK's unwanted dog problem is not a result of strays reproducing without control as it is in some other countries.

@WiddlinDiddlin just wanted to thank you for the most sensible, helpful advice I've seen.

My 9 month old bitch is due her first season I'd imagine, any month soon. This thread filled me with dread!

Luckily I have a large garden and WFH but will look up anti mate spray and we have a couple of freedom fields nearby i can hire for the middle week.

I was in no rush to spay her, but thinking again after this thread as it's been an eye opener.

Yes, thanks to @WiddlinDiddlin who clearly knows what they're talking about.

Many vets now say “wait until your dog or bitch is 18-months old before neutering, allow them to achieve their full adult growth first”.

But don’t dread the season @Nugg - it’s a bit of a pain but only 3 weeks of it. If you want to spay your bitch, the best time is 3 months afterwards, halfway between seasons, when the hormone levels are low and steady.

You're most welcome folks (it is my day job... doggy advice :D )

It isn't that bad, few bitches are messy, throws and put away any precious pale coloured rugs (what dog owner has these anyway though?!), most will clean up after themselves and its generally where they sleep that might be messy.

The middle weeks tends to be the crazy week, and again if you only have one dog, it's not that bad - do not be shocked if you find your dog offering herself to anything with legs, including household goods and furniture... I have only ever had to have help once, with a bitch who went back to her breeder for a week as she had no entire dogs and I at the time had two (and no one wanted a tibetan terrier x deerhound!) and lived in a household with two men who were genetically incapable of shutting doors behind them!

There was... a while back now, a free Coursera course on dog reproductive biology which I thought very useful for dog owners in general to understand whats actually going on (some of it a bit TMI though!). No idea if its still available but if it is, well worth the few hours it takes to do!

I always knew my bitch’s season was about to start when…

…she started humping the cats.

Our rescue wasn’t able to be spayed as we got her just before lockdown and couldn’t book her in for a spay until over a year later. We just walked her on-lead on pavements by roads during the two seasons she had in the meantime, and avoided parks, fields, woods Etc.
As it’s illegal to walk dogs by roads off-lead, we had no trouble avoiding unrestrained male dogs.