Female dogs in Season / Neutering Male dogs

[LurkNoFurther]

My Beagle is 11 months old, recall is a problem with Beagles so I have been working hard on this. I have started letting him off the Lead but still keep a long lead attached to his harness, so if he doesn’t return when called I can retrieve him.

He is getting very good at keeping me in sight and returning when called, until Yesterday!

Out of nowhere, he ran across the field so fast, I couldn’t see where he went and would not return when called. I eventually found/caught up with him and he was with another man and his 2 dogs. when I apologised, saying this was out of character from him, the man explained his Bitch was in season.

I was surprised as I (wrongly) assumed that Bitches in Season wouldn’t be taken to a park frequented by dogs? Is this a regular occurrence?

I neutered my previous Male dog (as the ‘done’ thing) but the Beagle breeder was actually quite against it for health reasons.

In your experience do Bitches in season regularly get taken to parks and should I bite the bullet and just Neuter when he is old enough? He shows no dominant behaviour nor does he hump furniture.

I remember recovery was not great with my previous dog and was hoping to avoid it. He is still young and his training should become more concrete and less unpredictable…Is this likely to be a regular occurrence?

I always thought you didn't walk in season bitches, but it seems to be more common nowadays.

I have met two people (one in the woods, the other on a beach) who let their dogs play with mine before telling me they were in season.

When my bitch was in season, I walked her on lead late at night in isolated areas or hired a private field.

We take our in season bitch for walks when we know it is quiet so rarely meet other dogs and she is always on lead. We warn any owner we do see.

Even a bitch in season needs a walk. You can't police other people's risky behaviour.

Neither would I nuter my male dog for that small chance that he'll get lucky .

I never saw bitches in heat in the park when we had our dog ... did meet one on a walk once and was surprised they were walking her late morning as if I had one, I would walk her early or late when it's quieter.

I get my male dogs neutered at about 1 year old. A big reason for this is that it's hard to find anyone that will look after them when you go on holiday (in their own home) if they haven't been neutered. And we do rely on dog sitters sometimes as don't have family nearby.

I am surprised by the amount of un- neutered dogs full stop. Ours we always neutered at the appropriate age. I have a relative with an intact male always complains about his humping and bitches in season. People have said to me they haven't had it done because it ruins costs. Never saw that in any of my dogs. We have a 2 year old border collie, now recommended they have 2 seasons,so yes, she had to go out,we either kept her on a lead,or walked in fields, kept an eye out for any other dogs.

Ruined their COATS!! phone altered that.

Even if you delay neutering your dog, it still needs to be done.

If he can’t recall perfectly under even the most enticing circumstances, he shouldn’t be off lead.

why do the females have to stay in whilst the dogs get to go out and have fun during the day?

why not keep all dogs on leads?

eta I always neuter my bitches after a first season

Neutering won’t stop that instinct, my now late ddog was done at 9 months but always had an eye for the lady dogs until his legs weren’t up to running

Most vets advise letting a female dog have one season before spaying. We were very careful to only lead walk ours either very early or very late. I can say, that I don't know how anyone who survives that (very active young retriever) doesn't spay as soon as possible.

I also remember learning in training class, that an intact male can smell a dog in heat up to 3 miles away. So good luck exerting recall in that situation. Which is why we have always neutered our dogs.

I think you need to keep your dog on a long line regardless of this bitch in season, he is at a teenage stage and basically saying F you and not recalling, looking for others to blame isn"t going to help you in the long run. These owners had their dog on lead it was yours that was out of control and bothering others.

My male dog was neutered just after he was 2 he was an absolute menance with female dogs they were interesting even when they are not in season, but unneutered

Because responsible owners of bitches don't want them getting pregnant.

For the owners of dogs it's not such a big issue if their dog mates with someone.

And it's not fair to keep all dogs (or bitches) on leads all the time just in case someone hasn't the sense to keep a close eye on their bitch in heat and do whatever it takes to stop her mating during that fertile period.

I think you have a bigger problem with the recall rather than the other dog being in heat and need to work on it or keep dog on a long line that you are holding the other end of.

Whether it's a bitch in heat, a rabbit they accidentally flush or a million other things they need a reliable recall if you aren't holding the other end of the long line. Too many times lately have I heard that a dog has been killed because it ran off after something and wouldn't come back when called.

A family member has a begal that is an absolute nightmare recall wise and it seems to be very common that the breed dosent recall well.

And no the other people should not have been walking the poor bitch in a park, her season would have had her emotions all over the place and put her at risk but you can't fix stupid.
My bitch had 3 seasons before she was done and I got up at 5am to walk and did the evenings at 9pm or later it was awful.but not forever.

This is something that has changed, taking in-season bitches to public parks. When I got my first dog, in early 1990s, owners of bitches in season tended to walk them in areas where other dogs would also be on the lead, so basically on the street. Even police dogs and assistance dogs can be derailed by the scent of bitches at such times - the drive is far stronger than anything we can offer them.

It's normal to walk bitches in season. They still need to go out!
I've always kept mine on a lead when they are in season though and then spayed as soon as I could.
I think your dog running off to get to female dogs he can smell from the other side of the park is a decent reason to neuter your dog tbh for his own safety, as much as anything

I have to admit I haven’t neutered my bitch. It would of been done in covid times and was delayed so just got used to her having a season. I’m rural though so just go round the fields for a bit. You do hear some howling from dogs at a farm across the way. Maybe half a mile? That said they were howling at 6:30 this morning and she isn’t in season so I suspect they are enthusiastic about meal times and walks and I hear it more when she is walked at home.

My male border collie is a full intact 7 year old male, he gets put on his lead when another dog approaches unless we know the dog and know he’s ok meeting them. We do make a point of introducing ourselves to new dog owners, ask whether they are female and have been spayed. We met a guy with his girl dog who was offlead, she ran straight to our dog, the owner came over running, saying she’s in season, I told him our on lead boy was intact, so he really should keep her on the lead, if he didn’t want to have puppies, it’s not worth it leaving it to chance, he then asked me how long should he keep her on lead and how long is her season, I give up sometimes.

It's my opinion that everyone is only responsible for their own dog.

Bitches in heat still need a walk and around here there's no particular time of day when you won't see other dogs.

Can I ask why you chose not to neuter your dog? I’m on the fence and not sure what to do

I feel dogs need plenty of running around / exercise, and don’t feel they get enough walking on a lead. This is why I am working very hard on recall, and up until now he’s been doing fantastically well, especially for his breed.

Ours is in her first season right now. We’re just walking her on the lead and crossing the road when other dogs are heading towards us. Wouldn’t think of letting her off the lead.

Mind you, most of the time she’s just wanting to have a bit of a rest / lick her privates.

I’ve always had male dogs until now when I’ve got one of each and the bitch is currently in season (her first will now be spayed), I’ve never had my male dogs castrated and never had a problem with in any in season bitches we’ve met.
My current male dogs has been chemically castrated (because the bitch hadn’t had a season when I got her) but I will just let it wear off. My vet says the jury is out on castrating males and each dog should be assessed as an individual. A friend has a castrated dog it runs off all the time nothing to do with in season bitches just breeding (it’s a working dog) and poor training.
It can ruin coats especially of spaniels.

Things evolve and thinking is currently trending towards don't lock your in season bitch inside for weeks on end.. take them out, but keep her on a lead.

It's very easy to say just walk her early or late in the summer months but what about when it is pitch f*cking black at 7am and 5pm?!

I mean years ago, people would have been shocked, no, outraged at seeing a heavily pregnant woman out in society. They used to get shut away in confinement, too....

Are you seriously comparing pregnant women to bitches in heat?

No one is saying they are offended by the sight of bitches in heat, the advantage of walking them at quieter times or in quieter places is purely pragmatic. Yes it must be harder in winter but the season is something to take into account when choosing a female dog. Owners of male dogs also have certain disadvantages of the male sex to take into account when choosing a puppy. Both are perfectly natural.