What do I need to know/buy before bitch comes in to season?

[MrsTumbletap]

Hi all, my little lady is 7 months nearly 8 and I think she will come in to season soon.

So I was thinking about getting some of the nappy type things for her, but then thought about how she will wee/poo? She will have it on but it will need to be taken off every time she goes outside?

Do you all use those nappies? How much mess should I expect? She is a cavalier King Charles.

Will she be in pain? Does anything help with that?

Never used them tbh.
Keep her off soft furnishings. I just followed her with a mop. There's not much blood either.
My girl went off her food about a week before

I used a nappy with mine, but that was dual purpose. It helps with the mess, but it also prevented her neutered-but-still-capable brother from tying on.

She was sad and subdued throughout.

BUT we mistimed her spay appointment so that her second season started just before she was due to go in. The second season was when she became a genius escape artist and couldn't be out of sight for a single second.

So she could go off her food ok, good to know.

An escape artist? Wow was she desperate to find a male, that's interesting. I knew to keep her on lead in case a male comes near but didn't know she might be desperate to find one herself.

How long was she sad and subdued for?

Mine moped round the house for about a week - while she was bleeding then when she stopped was absolutely daft as a brush. Rubbing her arse up at anything and everything 😳

My 8month old is nearly at the end of her first season . It’s not been messy, she’s kept herself clean but I’m finding her very snappy. I’m hoping that is a season thing and she’ll go back to her normal friendly self.

I am currently dealing with the fallout from exactly what @WhoWants2Know Describes. We mistimed our 18 month old mini dachs 2nd season in January and Covid lockdown then led to her vet cancelling the spay operation in March. So fast forward to today and she's currently on day 6 of a phantom pregnancy and it is just awful

She's on medication to stop the lactation and help with symptoms from the vet, she will be seen again in a week.

Be prepared for her very low mood and sad dog for a while, they may collect up "babies" and become aggressive - take them away as this can help them to stay calmer and avoid the snapping.

We just covered the sofa with dark blankets and ensured we worked in the family room with her for the 21 day season. So she never felt alone. We used a mop to clean up, but our girl was very clean and usually
Washed it herself.

We walked her Reuther very early and very late every day (always on a short lead) she will attract males from so far away! Be prepared to pick her up and walk away as it really doesn't take long for them to mount and it's very dangerous to detach a male mounted dog from a female.
Good luck!

Mine had her second season in August..never again!
First season.. a breeze.. she went off herr food and was more tired but other than that not a problem, and very little bleeding..just a few drips when she stood up.
Second season.. became moody and anxious a couple of weeks leading up to it. Wouldn't eat, cried a lot and then became reactive and snappy to every dog (previously dog friendly) Walked reluctantly and just so depressed. Once fertile she tried to hump anything she saw (male, female) and was obviously very confused.We walked her late and early but couldn't avoid all dogs. Her bleeding was much heavier this time but still only a case of mopping the floor daily.

She's only now coming back to her lovely usual happy self and is still grumpy with some dogs so I can't entirely trust her off lead..I'm hoping she will continue to settle. I wanted to leave her til she was about 3 before spaying (she's 16m now) but I'm not putting her through that again..she will be spayed in a few months time!

They do really vary in how they react to seasons. My parents' dog used to get very dependent and maternal (not her usual self at all).

My young bitch has had three seasons and they've all been very straightforward (except for the reactions of male dogs, both neutered and entire). 18-21 days long, including a week of being up for anything with anything.

I'd get some disinfectant spray and kitchen towel for cleaning up, and a longline for walks - I was happy to let mine off where I could see that there were no dogs in range, but with her trailing the line so I had an extra level of control.

Thank you this is really helpful.

Didn't realise they could become snappy that's good to know.

Do they try to hump people? Can I expect her trying to hump our legs etc like male dogs do?

Good idea about a very early and late walk, will keep her on a shorter lead unless it's a completely dog free area.

Mine only tried to hump small dogs.. oddly enough she was most interested in a small female who was also in season.. I think she was just confused by all the hormones! She didn't hump us, thankfully (as she's a 23k lump!)

I knew to keep her on lead in case a male comes near but didn't know she might be desperate to find one herself.

What do you mean? You don’t intend to take her out for walks while she’s in season, do you? In season bitches should not be taken out for walk where it’s common for other dogs to walk. It causes all sorts of grief. Their scent lingers for hours after they leave the area and dogs will try to follow it.

I saw one dog follow a scary straight out of a park and get hit by a car. I had spoken to a selfish swine that felt it was other people’s problems if their dog couldn’t cope with his bitch walking around the park. It was an hour after they left that the male dog followed the scent. How are you going to prevent bigger dogs from mounting her, without you getting bit or two make dogs fighting over her and she gets hurt?

You can get ‘pants’ that you put pads in, for seasoning bitches. There are loads online. She might feel a bit ropey for a few days and hopefully she’s not a heavy bleeder if you could end up with droplets all over the place.

Btw, the scent can remain on your bitch for over three weeks after her season has ended, so you may find she’ll still get pestered by dogs.

My vet recommended to me a book called the book of the bitch, we were discussing possible breeding from our bitch at the time and the book has some very clear info on that, but it also has a lot of helpful information about caring for bitches in season and generallyI've found it really useful. You can get it on amazon i think.

Be a bit careful with the nappy things, it made our dog look very sore and we were worried she might be getting an infection. They can't clean themselves. They are fine for short bursts when we're in the living room with the carpet etc, but I try and keep her to the tiled floor in the rest of the downstairs.

She does bleed more than our last dog, I'm constantly cleaning up after her, but she does clean herself a lot too.

Strangely she doesn't seem interested in other dogs, doesn't hump. Isn't snappy. She does carry a cuddly toy around with her though and I thought that was sweet, but after reading a PP I might take that away.

She gets a bit depressed but that's the only symptom she gets other than the swelling/bleeding.

@DeliciouslyFemale I was intending on walking her yes. Other posters on this thread have also said they walk their bitches late at night or early in the morning. So there is obviously difference in opinion on this one. I have only had male dogs before so this season stuff is new to me.

If her smell lingers for three weeks after a season and she could be in season for 10-14 days that would mean not walking her for 5 weeks? She would be so miserable.

I won't let her off lead and will only keep a short one on her and she is easy to pick up. But I can't keep her in for several weeks and our garden isn't massive.

[quote MrsTumbletap]@DeliciouslyFemale I was intending on walking her yes. Other posters on this thread have also said they walk their bitches late at night or early in the morning. So there is obviously difference in opinion on this one. I have only had male dogs before so this season stuff is new to me.

If her smell lingers for three weeks after a season and she could be in season for 10-14 days that would mean not walking her for 5 weeks? She would be so miserable.

I won't let her off lead and will only keep a short one on her and she is easy to pick up. But I can't keep her in for several weeks and our garden isn't massive. [/quote]
I do indeed walk our girl on a lead, very early and very late I either walk with a friend or DH so that there are two of us if needed.

I also tell other dog walkers; most get to know us anyway at That time of the day.

I've always had a positive response and they always put theirs on a lead if they are worried.

Not walking at all is cruel IMO but I respect others views and each to their own.
She still needs and wants exercise; plus she wags her little tail the entire time, rest of the day she cries and is sad.

We actually got Galastop from the vent this week, to help with her symptoms - really helping her (day 5 so far)

We still took ours out for walks - but to non-doggy places. Were really careful letting her off the lead and told any other dog walkers that she was on heat.

My DH hasn't been so careful and took her to Pets and Home and the dog park. Until I explained to him that even if he was keeping an eye on her the other dogs would be getting all worked up.

She was not herself at all, kept herself clean, but was off her food - and then ate loads, was snappy with other dogs and scared of things she was normally OK with. Sleepy too. OK with us though - a bit more cuddly than normal - and she's pretty cuddly.

And she also looked like she had developed the biggest balls in the world. Quite odd looking on a small female dog.