Hi guys,

Our 9 month old Labrador puppy came in season for the first time last week, I just wanted to check a few things with you experts, as this is our first dog. Here is a diary of her season so far...

11th - Day 1 - Came in season, visible drops - dark red/copper colour
12th - Day 2 - visible drops - dark red/copper colour
13th - Day 3 - visible drops - red
14th - Day 4 - visible drops - bright red
15th - Day 5 - visible drops - bright red
16th - Day 6 - visible drops - bright red
17th - Day 7 - visible drops - dark red
18th - Day 8 - visible drops - dark brown - no red at all
19th - Day 9 - visible drops - dark brown - no red at all
20th - Day 10 - visible drops - dark brown - no red at all

So this takes us up to today, the 20th. Is it normal for the blood to be dark brown, with no red colouring at all? After reading up on the topic I was expecting a red colour to start with, moving on to a pink colour and finishing with a straw colour/clear...it seems our puppy has read different books to us!!

I just want to check a couple of other things - since she came in season her 'poo routine' has drastically changed. She seems only able to produce very small poos and at times seems constipated and strains, moving around the garden doing very small poos in three or four different places. However, the poos are not hard and if anything seem on the soft side. Also, from day 8 onwards she has been weeing standing up! And walking around the garden as she does it! Is this normal?

One last thing, on day 8 when the blood turned dark brown, I noticed a really horrendous foul smell - now I can't be sure that she didn't roll in something nasty in the garden (fox poo maybe) as she was rather muddy since it had been raining and she loves to turn her lovely yellow coat black (she has free access to the garden via the always-open back door!) but she has always avoided rolling in/eating poo of any kind, and never pays any attention to it. When I noticed the foul smell and saw the dark blood on the kitchen tiles my immediate thought was that she had 'pebble-dashed' the kitchen as she has also had a lot of wind since coming in season (normal?) but I am now sure that the two are unrelated and it was the blood on the tiles and the smell was something else. I have now thoroughly bathed her but still keep getting whiffs of this very foul odour, could it be related to her season?

What lovely things to talk about!

Thanks for your help

The smell needs checking out.  I would rather the vet say that I am wasting his time, than have a bitch with an infection or start of a pyo.

As for discharge changing to straw colour - I've never had a bitch that read the book either!

Nah mine don't read books either, I have had very light colour then red then not much, had them bleed like stuck pigs for a month, and anything between.  also swelling varies from nothing to very obvious. 

I took her to the vets earlier today as I was unhappy about the smell, which was getting worse and clearly coming from her, not something she had rolled in. First of all the veterinary nurse emptied her anal glands, and was confident that they were not causing the odour, which she could also smell. She then went to get a vet, who I have to say I did not like, who simply said to wait and see if the odour goes away when she has finished her season and that she could not smell the odour, only a normal 'doggie' smell - at which point the veterinary nurse and me looked at each other is disbelief, since the room was filled with the terrible odour! When the vet had left the nurse told me that she could definitely smell the odour and to monitor it closely - it is coming from her 'back end' area. All the actual vet seemed bothered about was telling me she is overweight (which she is certainly not) and trying to persuade me to spay her - even after I explained that I show her. Just trying to make money from operations and make commission on the light diet food that they sell.

Anyway, I am now very concerned as this evening in the space of 20 minutes the kitchen looked like a murder scene - she has lost so much blood. It's still this very dark brown colour which makes me feel slightly better as fresh blood would be bright red, but the more blood she is losing the worse this smell seems to get. She has also stopped cleaning up after herself which makes me think there is something unpleasant about the blood. She seems completely happy in herself though and doesn't appear to be in any pain or distress. She has dripped on and off every single day of her season so far but she has lost more blood this evening than every day combined, I am talking puddles more than drips, and is still quite heavy now (at 2am). I can't sleep with worry, I am going to contact a different vet if it doesn't stop soon, and either way take her to a different vet in the morning. Do you think I should be worried about a pyometra? Would she be in distress if it was that?

I think you would be wise to take her back and see another vet - of you can't try another practice.  It certainly doesn't sound right to me.

Hope you get an early appt - let us know how you get on.

I'd be going to another vets, don't like the sound of this, to me with 20 odd years experience none of this is normal.

Off to the vets preferably a different one. If it turns out that this is " normal" for her then you have not wasted money but given yourself peace of mind.
Bitches do have a smell when in season and it does alter when they are ready for mating, my friend described it to me years ago and it is only when you smell it that you understand but it doesn't sound like what you are describing.

Like others have said I would not want to leave it and have an infection brewing.

Good luck. 

I would say that in season the smell should be a feminine smell, ladies who menstruate will understand, but it should nto be offencive.

A bad smell points to infection, which at least appears to be draining well,s o less serious then when it is a closed Pyometra where the pus builds up in the closed womb and septicaemia sets in, and can kill.

I certainly think swabs for testing and a course of broad spectrum antibiotic like synolux would be no bad thing.  Then you need to keep an eye out for this happening again next time around and if it does spaying might be the best course of action unless  it is essential the bitch is bred from.

Bitches that have had an infection are prone to get them again,a dn they can be life threatening.

As for her weight I would take that on board as many in the show ring are overweight and it is better that she be slim, especially already at such a young age.

I keep telling lots of people at training that they need to cut their dogs weight down when the vet has said they are OK, so if Vet thinks she is overweight it is very likely she is.  It is very easy at this age for them tom get weighty as their growth rate will have slowed, but we are still feeding for growth. 

Cutting her food by 25% for a while until she has a more svelte figure would be of benefit, especially as she will be on restricted exercise through her season. 

I certainly woudln't use diet food but keep ehr on good quality adult rations.

when my lab was in season it used to look like a murder scene in our house and as you will know the "body wiggle" of a labrador caused blood spatter that CSI would have been proud of. (she is now spayed ;) )

hi, just wondering how your girl is? did you take her to the vet, was there a problem?