Our puppy has come into her first season at 8 months old. She has been bleeding for 18 days. At the start of her season she was very clingy and off her food and all her bits were very swollen, but that is all settling down now and she seems more herself. I've not taken her out walking for the past week as I know that from day 10 onwards is her very fertile time. We have spent a lot of time in the garden doing training and playing games. I also know that we have to be careful for a period of time after she stops bleeding.
My question is when is it safe to take her for a walk? We usually walk in fairly quiet fields and I often use a long line for training so she is used to that. On the one hand I keep reading stories of dogs running for miles to get to dogs in season and on the other hand a good friend of mine took her dog out the whole time she was in season and just asked other dog owners if their dog was neutered. I don't want to get into a tricky situation. What is the responsible thing to do?