Season questions for a first timer

[MissShapesMissStakes]

Hi

We have a 3 year old male and now have a 11 week old female mini poodle. I'm just really nervy about what to expect and when in the way of seasons.

My male is castrated and she will also be spayed but I'm supposed to let her have one season aren't I?

I won't take her out then. But apart from that I don't know much about it. Will it effect my neutered male? Will they fall out or be snappy because of it?

Obviously I'll ask my vet about these things too but that's not till late next week when she goes for a general check.

What do I need to look out for? Any tips?
I am also googling but it's always nice to hear from real life humans too!

Check with your vet about best time to spay - small breeds may be OK to do before the first season

Do consider finding somewhere your male could stay for the duration - as he's neutered, there's no risk of puppies, but if he's interested, you could have difficult behavioural issues and it's not really fair on either dog.

She may still need to go out, eg toilet walks, but it should be on-lead on pavements (ie places where you are not likely to encounter off-lead dogs, so perhaps along busy roads) and at quieter times if thats possible.

There are lots of advice pages on main dog welfare sites about keeping your dog happy when walks are curtailed, useful for in season bitches as well as convalescent dogs or those whose owners are in isolation.

Make sure she cannot escape from your garden

And then just live with it when it happens. Some bitches stay pretty much their usual selves, other can have quite noticeable changes of mood, temperament, energy levels etc. And may well have a false pregnancy about, but again that's something you deal with when it happens but only really needs vet input if she's distressed or is dripping milk.

Get in stain remover

my 4 year old rescue doggie had her absolute final season over the last 4-5 weeks - she has finally stopped dripping so I think we are at the end. She is scheduled for a spay in October - which I am looking forward to even if she is not
She became rather skittish and escaped froom the garden through a very small gap 3 times until I found it and blocked. Fortunately although she hunted out a few male dogs who were all safely in gardens - all was well.
As this was new to me - I neglected to consider a few things - keep the bitch on floors that are easy to clean - absolutely no carpets - keep her off the furniture and use towels on her bed - easy to wash with accidents. I also had a spare bed in case of needing to wash one. I always walked her on the lead round houses and scrupulously avoided any area where there could be dogs off lead (neutered or not) just to be on the safeside. I also could not take her to visit others - worried about their carpets etc.
I would advise you to ignore the - have one season first if it is going to be a big faff - it is not absolutely necessary.

We find that more often than not, the neutered males in our dog walking groups will still pick up and react to the pheromones when a bitch is coming into season, usually at least 48 hours before there's any physical indication. One Visla male in particular is always deadly accurate with his prediction! So if you can arrange for your male to go away to stay elsewhere when things happen it would be more comfortable for both dogs and for you.

Thanks everyone. I'll def speak to the vet about getting her neutered as soon as is healthy.

I can cope with with the mess but I worry about how it will effect the pups or my dogs behaviour. The changes in behaviour would be to temporary wouldn't they?

I wouldn't be able to send him away but we live with my parents joined on so they could def do swapsies with us on and off

IME (three bitches, half a dozen seasons) all the first season is likely to do is help the bitch to mature socially and emotionally. One of mine did not mature fully until after her third season, when she suddenly became an adult dog. She'll still play and fool about, but she is much more sensible.

I'm not a fan of early spaying; I want my dogs to be proper adults.

Is that an issue with early spaying then? How do you know if it's just an individual dog thing or related to how the spaying/hormones effect them?
Thanks for mentioning that. I will ask the vet about that too.

It was a sex fest here when my female pup came into season - my 3yr old male is neutered but that didn't stop them.

I'm not going to have her spayed for a few more seasons. I spayed after the first season with a previous pup and she had incontinence issues for the rest of her life due to it.

@MissShapesMissStakes

Is that an issue with early spaying then? How do you know if it's just an individual dog thing or related to how the spaying/hormones effect them? Thanks for mentioning that. I will ask the vet about that too.

I don't know if there is any science on it, and it would be quite a subjective thing to study, but iirc there is evidence that neutering nervous male dogs before they are fully mature locks them into their nervy immature state (and I've known it happen).

I know dogs aren't people, but compare the mindset of a 13 yr old girl with one of 19. Partly the changes will be down to experience, but it's really hard to believe that hormones don't have an impact.

And it's also hard to believe that if hormones and their removal can impact a dog's risk of joint disorders and various cancers (and they do, there is paper by Hart and Hart which looks at dozens of breeds), they won't also impact the brain.

I have a 16 month old neutered male and a 11 week old female mini poodle too :)

We're having her done before her first season. Our vet says it's absolutely fine and lots of advice about waiting is outdated. We also rang another vets for a second opinion who said exactly the same. So we're doing it at 6 months.

@GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman yes that makes sense thank you.

@MeredithMae - how are you finding it? Our older boy is 3 and isn't loving the new arrival. Though she is pretty good at not bothering him. And he has had a play with her a few times. Sometimes though she's too wriggly and he just thinks standing still will be in his interests till she's gone

I'll def have a word with the vet. I think as long as she is still a happy little sole and still quite chilled (which she is for a puppy) then I will also move ahead with the op before she has a season.

We did not get a chilled one, she's absolutely barmy! She's so confident and feisty and into everything. H was much more chilled as a pup. They cannot stay away from each other and play until they drop. It took him a few days to warm up to her but now they're inseparable and can't bear to be in separate rooms! Hope your boy warms up soon, I'm sure he will/

Don’t have her spayed till she is fully mature, usually after a year old in small breeds. It isn’t just emotional maturity you want but it can crucially affect the development of the skeleton. The growth plates don’t fully close till full maturity which can cause all kinds of problems in later life. Then you need to have the op half way between seasons when the hormones are at their lowest to guard against the problem of a pseudo pregnancy following the spay.
You’ll most likely find that your dog will still be very interested when she comes into season. Not aggressive, just the opposite & they could spend hours playing conga lines round the house, they won’t actually mate & tie.
TMI sorry, he may pop out but cold water & a gentle push will have him to rights.
I’ve had dozens, both sex, over the years & often had a conga line of half a dozen bitches having a whale of a time sashaying around the house, a New Year shindig couldn’t hold a candle to them!

I generally listen to the advice of vets rather than the internet folk.