Puppy first heat - any top tips?

[puppygalore]

Earlier I noticed Pup had left a few drops of blood on the floor, though 'oh no' and sent H off for some puppy pants just in case it turned out she's a heavy bleeder. She's 8.5 month Lab, so I thought she might not start until a bit later - she's quite large and the vet said larger bitches will usually be after 12 months so we could potentially spay at 9/10 months. The bleeding didn't last for long, and after a bit the nappy had only got a tiny bit of red/yellow fluid in. Can anyone tell me is this normal for the start of bleeding? Everything I've read implies bleeding could last for 7+ days and finish with the fluid.

Anybody got any tips that might help us/her? She's not really been behaving much differently, always quite clingy anyway. The only change is the last 2 days she's been more unsettled and reluctant to go for her naps.

She generally has a lot of energy, mental and enrichment games do not cut it for her, she definitely needs her walk for exercise. We were out on a big long walk today and no other dog we met showed any unusual interest in her, which I thought would be a big sign it would be about to happen. I'm assuming from tomorrow we'll need to walk either very early/late which I'm not looking forward to! I let the dog walker know but she said it was fine and didn't mention needing to go early or late.

No advice about her season I'm afraid. Our old Ddog only had 1 and that was 14 years ago so I don't remember much.

I would look into how soon to neuter though, for many larger breeds research shows waiting until over 2 years would be better health wise and some say for labs you shouldn't neuter at all.

Thanks @Frenchfancy I haven't come across that about not having Labs spayed at all before. I did lots of research about spaying before we got her and had a 'pre-neuter' check with the vet when she turned 6 months to hear what their recommendations are. The upshot is that there is so much conflicting information of pros and cons to spay/not spay they don't come down on either side, but all they say is they recommend letting bitches get closer to 12 months, certainly at least to 10. My intention was to get her done as soon as the vet felt it was safe to do so.

Mine bled for 16 days. Fine, you just need mop on standby and pants for the rest.

www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00472/full

Our dogs first season took forever. It was like she had a short mini season followed by a couple of weeks gap and then a proper season.

The above link gives info on when to spay depending on the size of dog.

Our vet prefers after the second season for 20kg plus dogs. But only if she thinks you are a responsible owner. Publicly she pushes 6 months, as she sees too many accidental pregnancies resulting from the first season.

My lab is 11 months (and quite small for lab) and she has come into season over the weekend. She seems reasonably ok , just a bit of bloody discharge and the odd few drips of blood. She’s my first dog so I’ve been reading/googling as much as i can. I’m hoping to get her spayed 3 months after her first season which is the advice my vet gave. How is your pup getting on @puppygalore?

@Bethanemethane she's getting on ok really, hopefully yours is too! She's keeping herself very clean so only needed the doggy pants on the odd occasion.

Timing is bad as it's now the kids' 2 week Easter hols, as pup can't go to her daycare for the next 2 weeks that limits me on getting the kids out to the park and playgrounds which is such a shame for them.

Last week I've just avoided walks in parks and woodlands and stuck to road walks, crossing over when I see other dogs approaching but not a single dog has given her a second glance. The dog walker took her to a popular walking spot and said the same, no other dog was at all interested. Maybe she's not producing the scent yet, but she's on day 7 of bleeding and everything I've read here on MN and many other sites suggest that males would be going crazy throughout the whole heat period, we must only walk at 5am, boy dogs would be digging under our fence to get to her etc etc but either we've been super lucky, or somehow this isn't true for all bitches.

One benefit of her being in heat (for us) is that she's really quietened down during this past week. She usually requires a lot of entertaining, constant games, some training, plus walks and daycare, she's usually very high energy, but she's been choosing to lie down and chill out more rather than me enforcing naptimes. She is constantly seeking attention and action, it'll be interesting to see how quickly she returns to normal energy levels, or if she'll remain a little more relaxed now.

Thanks for the update. My lab seems similar - not much bleeding, just a few spots here and there and she’s keeping herself clean. I’ve not bothered with the nappies as all hard floors and it’s not as much mess as I was expecting (she’s also the type of dog who would enjoy ripping them off). She’s definitely a lot quieter. She is also quite a high energy dog and enjoys two walks a day as well as games/training but she’s been happy to lie on her bed or on my lap. We’ve taken her out late at night on the lead just for a little stretch but keeping her away from other dogs. I’m not sure what to expect as the next few weeks go on. It’s a learning curve!