Recent studies have shown that responsible pet owners should keep their dogs intact, especially larger breeds, for up to 2 years (studies are listed here, here, and here). This means more and more regular pet owners are going to have to deal with things like their female dogs going into season. For many dog owners they have not had to deal with this in the past, so there are many questions. There are also many phrases that pet dog owners use to not be offensive, however these “cutesy” phrases are often seen as very immature.

Acceptable Terms

The two main groups of people that deal with intact canines are dog show owners or veterinary professionals. To be even more specific, reproductive veterinary professionals deal with intact canines the most. Many general practitioner veterinary professionals have still not had to deal with intact canines yet. This is not a bad thing as long as they are willing to learn. Here are the appropriate terms used, some of which you may find in this post:

• intact female dog = bitch; aka intact bitch
• intact male dog = stud; aka stud dog
• “bleeding period of an intact bitch” = season, heat, cycle

Canine Estrous Cycle

Bitches have 5 stages of their overall cycle. Intact bitches are always going through these stages. Some of these stages will be longer than others depending on the bitch. This is the same in humans. For example, one female’s period might last 3-4 days, while another’s might last 5-7 days. One bitch might come into season every 4 months, while another bitch might come into season every 8 months. We’re going to keep this super simple and briefly go over each stage:

• Proestrus – Approximately 9 days long (range 3-17 days). You may see swelling and enlargement of the vulva, along with bloody discharge. Many bitches are not receptive to males at this point. You may see some aggression, listlessness, increase in clingy or nervous behavior and decrease in appetite.  
• Estrus – Approximately 9 days long (range 3-18 days). The total time of Proestrus and Estrus should not be more than 21 days. There will still be some bloody discharge, but the discharge will have decreased and may have changed color. This is the time that people refer to as “standing heat.” Bitch will be accepting to males, stand with their tails over their back, and “flag” them. This is generally when ovulation occurs, but some bitches will stand 8 days prior to ovulation or as late as 11 days after ovulation. Puppies can happen during this time!
• Metestrus – Generally lasts 4-6 days. This is generally not important for a non-breeding bitch
• Diestrus – also called Metestrus II. Generally lasts 60 days. This is generally uneventful, unless a bitch has a pseudopregnancy. This occurs when a bitch acts as if she is pregnant, but she is not. She will generally begin to nest and collect toys among other “mothering” behaviors. You may notice more abdominal fat and an increased development of her mammary glands (sometimes with lactation).
• Anestrus – This is the longest period of the estrous cycle. Approximately 120 days with a range of 60-200 days. The occurrence of pregnancy does not affect the length of anestrus.

When Will It Happen?

This is a great question! Generally speaking, the smaller the dog, the earlier the bitch will come into season. This is not always the case!!! Sometimes bitches will come into season earlier due to being housed with other females. However, it is not unusual for larger dogs to come into season past a year old. It is not uncommon to hear of Portuguese Water Dogs (I am very familiar with this breed) to come into season around 12-14 months old.

As an example, I own a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, they are known to come into season around 8-10 months old. If you get your dog from a responsible breeder, you can usually get an idea of when your dog will come into season from them. Usually the breeder will know how old the dam and siblings were when they came into season. With Kiely, I was expecting her to come into season around 8-9 months old, due to her breed’s size and family history. She came into season for the first time, right on time. Kiely has a best friend who is a German Shepherd Dog named Amber, who is 6 days younger than Kiely. Well, we were watching Amber for about 10 days and since these girls are “besties” they always spend a lot of time together. When Kiely was on Day 10 of being in season, guess who started bleeding? If you said Amber, you are correct!!! That’s right, an 8-month-old GSD came into season! Don’t worry, she was at my house for the messy parts…

Oh No! What should I do?

You will hear or read a lot of advice on what you should do when your bitch comes into season. Some of the things you read might scare you. While this is a serious event and you absolutely should prevent pregnancy (for the most part; there are very few exceptions to being a responsible breeder), you should not be overly anxious or scared. Here are a few tricks of the trade that work for myself and others:

• Get panties that fit your dog.
  • Different breeds of dogs may have different requirements for panties.
  • French Bulldogs, Bulldogs, Staffords, and the like are all small muscular dogs, typical panties might not fit them.
  • Corgis, Australian Shepherds, Rottweilers, etc. all have docked tails, so they may need special panties.
  • Golden Retrievers, GSD, BMDs, etc. have really fluffy tails, they might need bikini style panties.
• You should buy panties well in advance and allow your dog to wear them here for short periods of time PRIOR to her HAVING to wear them!
  • Have her do short training sessions while wearing them
  • Feed her meals while wearing them
  • Do happy things that keep her mind off wearing them and gradually increase the time she is wearing them
• Depending on the other dogs in your house, you may be able to get away with using little boy briefs, with them on backwards. The “pee” hole then becomes the “tail” hole and then using maxi pads to catch discharge is a super cheap way to get through a cycle. This is a great option if you are planning to spay your bitch after one cycle.
  • Do NOT use this method if you have other dogs in your household. Maxi-Pads are absorbent, if eaten will cause a GI blockage. If your bitch is also too interested in the maxi-pad, this is also a bad idea. Only use this method if your dogs will leave it alone.
• Have her sleep in a crate or area where it is okay for her to be messy.
  • She will need to air out her lady parts.
  • Having panties on at all times can create issues and rashes. Let her sleep and have some nap times during the day in her crate without anything on.
• Intact male dogs can still breed with an intact bitch in season through gates, such as crates, baby gates, or fences. If there are holes in a gate and two dogs can make contact with each other, the dogs can mate. Dogs can also mate through panties and belly bands. These do not stop them from trying and it is possible for them to be successful!!!!
  • Ensure your intact dogs are kept completely separate during this time! There should be space between them. I always recommend an “air lock” system or at least solid barriers.
  • Recently neutered males (as in within 6 weeks) can still be fertile. If you have recently gotten your male neutered to prevent pregnancy in your bitch, you will still need to keep them separated if the procedure has been performed recently.

Complications

There are a few things that can happen when a female is left intact. We run the risk of a pyometra (or pyo for short), which means “pus filled uterus.” Due to the cervix becoming relaxed during estrus bacteria can become entrapped in the uterus. I do not allow my bitches to swim when they are in season. Pyometra is a life-threatening situation, which requires an emergency spay. There are some people who want to try to treat a pyo with conservative management, but really the bitch just needs to be spayed right away. There are “open” and “closed” pyometras, but for the simplicity of this blog, I will not go into detail about them. Bitches will usually experience them 4-6 weeks after a cycle. Some symptoms include: listlessness, fever, anorexia, depression, and increased thirst. Vomiting and diarrhea may also occur, but knowing the timing of a heat cycle is important. Older dogs are more prone to this condition than younger dogs, but it CAN happen at any age.

Mammary Gland tumors are often discussed when people speak about having female dogs spayed. Studies have shown that bitches who are spayed prior to their first cycle have a 0.5% risk of developing mammary tumors (https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/mammary-tumors-in-dogs-malignant). The risk of Mammary Gland tumors increases with each cycle. There are also two types of tumors your bitch could get. Some of these tumors are benign (non-cancerous) and some are malignant (cancerous). Both types of tumors should be surgically removed and sent to a pathologist for staging. It sounds great when we are only discussing one type of cancer. For the most part, mammary gland tumors are quickly caught and not typically aggressive. However, there are studies that have shown pediatric neutering (neutering is a term used for both males and females; pediatric is generally considered under 6 months old) can cause an increase in more aggressive cancers, such as lymphoma, hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, etc. that cannot be cured by simply excising the tumor.

Take Home Message

I believe it is healthier for your dog to be neutered at a responsible age! Many other animal professionals also feel this way. Due to this, that means more females are going to come into season. It is not the end of the world when it happens. If you are prepared and take proper precautions, you will get through it!!! You are NOT an irresponsible pet owner if you choose to wait to have your pet neutered. You ARE an irresponsible pet owner if you want to breed your pet and he or she does not meet the following criteria:

• Is a purebred dog, who has been purposely bred, and is in a responsible breeding program
• Has a Championship title at the front of his/her registered name
• Has Performance titles at the end of his/her registered name
• Is an actively working dog, who is too busy doing their job to get titles (this one negates the top three bullet points)
• Has genetic tests, OFA tests, and has cleared all health tests that are required by the parent club
  • Some breeds may only accept test results from specific laboratories
  • Having a CHIC number is even better!

Orthopedic, emotional, and metabolic health are all super important to long lasting quality of life. I truly believe we can have an impact on the senior years when our dogs are puppies!