I have 3 bitches..and  1 male, my  male puppy is now 9m, my eldest bitch has been in season  which will be 3 wks come Monday, she has had puppies in the past but she is obsessed with our boy (her Grandson)  :( I know the days can alter from season to season but she has been courting him for the whole season today in particular either side of the door ..she is flagging she will do anything to get to him ,if he is in a crate she tries to lick him on the face and he her , he is as bad trying to open doors.
I realise I will have to keep an eye on this past the 3 wks stage and keep them seperate.

My question .... is this the norm with an in season bitch with a male in the home and is it because she has had litters and knows what it is all about I thought they would be at thier worst for 4-5 days which with her in particular has always been from day 12 ?
She is normally so easy to manage during seasons but this has been a bit of a nighmare during the holidays too!

I am considering having her spayed at some point for health reasons because she is now 8.5 but in the mean time just out of curiosity and for future reference would like to know if this is normal behaviour.

To top it all off one of my other girls started her season yesterday... it all begins again....

Looks as though you will need to have eyes in the back of your head. :-D

Age has nothing to do with the libido. A middle aged 'experienced' woman with raging hormones is going to get very excited if a young 'Brad Pitt' is living in her house and he the same. The Graduate here we come! :-D

Your girl hasn't had the opportunity before to have a young or older entire male living with her not many would turn one down I'm afraid, so the flirting and wooing will begin with her from the very start of her season, she is desperate to get him interested in her, she doesn't realise that you will stop them from mating. Bitches can be just as cunning and desperate as a male so don't think she wouldn't dig a tunnel under the floorboards to get to him also.

Your boy next year will probably become much more frantic on the days when she or her daughter is at their peak,  but as he is only young and inexperienced he will enjoy the flirting throughout. He's going to be like a boy in a candy store with two bitches in season now, his head must be in a spin. :-)

eyes in the back of my head... ha ha dont I know it, they have  locked doors, gates and crates between them and only allowed in the same room if one is crated and I or another experienced dog person is present ..I dont trust them one iota...

I am going to find somewhere he can stay in the future during the worst period when he is older , I feel so sorry for him now.. we are having trouble getting him to eat I have to add to his food to encourage him ..as a puppy I dont want him to loose weight.

So thanks Carrington able to understand the male/female behaviour a little more  :)

I think Carrington has a point -she's not used to having an entire male around so it's a novelty. :) I can't say I find any of my bitches flirting more because there are dogs nearby -not until they are ready.My only entire male Malinois is kennelled but the bitches can go right up to his fence every time they are outside (unless I deliberately lock them behind another fence) and they ignore him until the right day. (In fact they ignore him then as well as he is behind bars and try to convince the two neutered boys to mate.) Same with the Papillons except there the bitch and the one dog will take it in turns to be caged indoors -but they can still see each other.

Thanks Marianne .. thats why i asked the question as I was under the impression from books etc I have read that she wouldnt be that interested until the right time or even be a bit off with him for being pushy.... must be his age and her knowing what its all about .... !  a new learning curve for me  :)

Yes, my oldest girl gets flirty right at the end of her season. Just be aware that they can be sneaky enough to achieve a mating through the bars of a crate, or so I have heard!

yep have heard that before too.... I have had males and bitches but never together...

My old girl was a complete floosie with a younger male we had staying with us.  I took a photo of her,bum pressed up against a wrought iron gate, tail flagging to one side with him on the other side of the gate totally disinterested.  He was an experienced stud dog, never bothered til the right day, he just rolled his eyes and ignored her. She was besotted with her 'toyboy'.

My old bitch was always very quiet about her seasons. I  had to check with tissue to see whether she was in season (Very fluffy knickers so the relevant bits are well hidden)
She had pups a couple of years ago and has turned into a complete tart. She now flags from day one and will hump anything that stands still long enough - including the cat if there are no dogs around (He just sighs and ignores her lol)

another question.. re male dogs ... living with bitches in season..

I have noticed  over the last 2 weeks that he looks like he has a slight arch to his back , he is constantly humping the air, anyone available , cushions... etc a friend said her boy tends to tense up on his back in this way when her bitches are in season ... is this also common.... he normally has a lovely top line so it is noticable to me so I am presuming this will correct itself when the seasons are over.?

Hehe! My boy does the same thing with his back when 'over-excited'!  Soon straightens himself back out to normal when the excitement passes but like your boy, while the girls were in season, he looked like the hunchback!  Oh, how I feel for you right now....And am dreading it all starting again soon in this house!

Perfectly normal behaviour, if my boy is anything to go by ;-)

I have a 9year old male and he is usually glued to the side of the cage, but not this last season Maybe he has finally grown up a bit (yeh right lol) They spend a lot of time licking one another, and pawing at the cage. I have tried to send him away in the past to family members, or kennels, but he loses a lot more weight so finally decided to keep him at home. 2 cages, opposite sides of the living room so they can see one another, and more importantly, so he can see that there isn't another male near her, and he is a lot happier. They each get time out, but only when I am there to supervise.