hello i have a female 18month old bitch, i noticed yesterday she has come on heat, though not positive its was the 1st day.
anyway she is bleeding, its dark red. so would she be around the start?

Are you asking if your bitch is coming into season or are you asking if it is the correct time to mate her?

If she is bleeding she is in heat. Her 'bits' will be starting to swell and will be very swollen when due to be mated, though she is far too young to be mated yet. Keep her away from males at all times until she is clear, and not just from bleeding, usually about 3 weeks, but could be as much as 4. A bitch will be ready to mate once the bleeding has stopped and you wouldn't want an unexpected litter through your inexperience. If you don't intend to breed form her then I would have a word with your vet about possible neutering after her season. If you do intend breeding then I would get 'The Book of the Bitch' and read it thoroughly. It's a very good book for any bitch owner.

im not breeding from her yet. she is locked in the laundry, i only let her out on a leash.

i know to mate her on about day 10, i know she is in heat, just as i thought she'd cycle every 6 months, but she looks to be every four, so i wasnt expecting it, i realised yesterday she is in heat but as i was thinking she'd be every 6 i was on total alert and she was in the yard with my male dog. so i was only wondering if she is still in the first stage. other wise id have to take her to the vet to terminate

Some bitches bleed throughout their season, (mine do), so she could already be in the receptive stage of heat.

I would take the to the Vet to be on the safe side.  He can do a premate blood test to check if she has ovulated, if she has then she can have the antimate jab, if not then you will just have to make sure she is kept away from males until all is back to normal.

Many bitches have seasons at shorter and longer intervals than the average 6 - 7 months.

Most of mine have started with 4 - 5 months cycles until they finally settled at about 6 1/2 month intervals.

thanks, yeh i think i will take her to the vet. my male is only 5.5months old but i know he can produce pups,not likley but he might so rather be safe than sorry. they are both reg and from good blood but id like them to be older and make sure they have no health dramas before they are bred

Yes both need to be Hip scored and eye tested, and I believe there is a DNA test for another health issue that should be performed.

i would def go get her checked. my bitch has just give birth and my dog caught her before we even knew she had come into season. then when we noticed she came into season my dog went to my friends 5 weeks later we found out my bitch was pregnant so do be careful its easier than you think.

> 5 weeks later we found out my bitch was pregnant so do be careful its easier than you think.

Unless you have spent years of research trying to find exactly the right stud for your bitch and then it may well not prove that easy at all.

well we seperated mine straight away and he was castrated so i thought i could not have been more careful

Out of interest how long since he was castrated did he mate her?  I had heard before that a dog was proved to have sired a litter many months after castration, but this possibility is never mentioned by vets.