A couple of months ago our vet said it was unlikely she would come into season, she's now 19mths and has just come in! What do I do??

It's all very well just Googling it but I would appreciate some firsthand advice 'from the horse's mouth'!

You don't need to do anything just keep her away from any entire males for the next 3-4 weeks.

agree with dolph . nothing need to do, hopefully she will keep herself clean if not just wipe her down as needed. the main thing is to keep her away from male dogs. I usually do this for a month from first signs. it means walks are  different and maybe at odd times and in very quie tdog free  areas and nothing off lead unless its totally enclosed  . next season may be 6 months time but could be longer > she could go off her food or indeed the reverse and be abit grumpy infact for some its very similar to a women having a period :)normal and nothing to worry about. btw as you haven't seen a bitch in season the swelling of the vulva has some people quite worried. please don't its very normal and can get very big from its original pre season state . somepeole use doggie pants at home if they don't want the mess that can happen but its quite individual as to how much mess

Thanks for the advice, the mess doesn't worry me as there hasn't been much mess so far! We walk in pretty quiet areas so that shouldn't be a problem. She's only dripped blood a couple of times, she licks herself clean so it seems. If I have a bit of a prod and poke blood flows freely, and she lets me clean it up, seems fine in herself but appetite has increased.

I wouldn't poke or prod let nature do its thing :)

Just to add that when the blood stops your bitch is still not safe to be let loose, this time can coincide with her most fertile period so watch her closely for at least 4 weeks after the first blood is seen.

Please keep her on lead on walks, as bitches can be just as keen to be mated as dogs are so obedience can fly out of the window.  So lead only and only walk where dogs have no business being off lead.

Even if you don't think there are any dogs around, someone innocently walking their male off lead may have their dog hurt if it takes off after your bitch, as of course they are unaware of the temptation.

Also a bitch in season being walked in an off lead are could cause fights between adult males, not to mention a male getting to your bitch and you being unable to prevent a mating..

It would also be better if you drive somewhere for your dog walk rather then walk from your house with your girl leaving a fascinating trail to and from. You could wake up the next morning to find a queue of dogs outside your house.

I walked mine every other day and drove out of the village to a quiet little lane with a wide verge and walked her up and down there on the flexi lead. Have her a bit of freedom, but under my control

I have never ever had followers, which is just as well as I don't drive, but where I live (in Bristol suburb) a loose dog is very rare, as they are soon reported and picked up by dog Warden and the owner charged a hefty fee to get them back.

So my dogs usual 'Road Walks' carry on as normal, (so only off lead areas affected) though I cross the road if I see another dog being walked in my direction (all on lead of course).

In the country of course there may be loose working dogs that might go AWOL to yore door ;)

I live in the country Brainless, so there are a few dogs that take themselves off for walkies, less now then there used to be.
There was a collie cross who always knew when a bitch was in heat and would suddenly appear by a back door in hope. He never strayed at any other time and his owner thought she had bombproofed the garden, but he always found a way out somewhere. She was often seen on her horse trotting down the roads asking if anyone had seen Apache or did we know of a bitch in season.

I do not walk my bitches anywhere but one field once they are in season - fortunately I have neutered boys to tell me when that is!  That field is somewhere we very rarely come across dogs and we have plenty of distance to spot them and move before they pick up the scent.  Out there other dogs are also unlikely to cross paths with each other, so we are causing minimal disruption in that way (that set of circumstances, with the scent trail in the middle, was what triggered my older boy's issues with males so I am super aware of the problems it can cause).

Towels or blankets over you sofa or other furniture she is allowed on is helpfully for keeping any mess down. Some girls bleed more than other. Watch her when in your garden Incase a neighbours male has climbed over

The biggest don't walk her anywhere dogs are likley to be off lead (so no fields, certain parks, woods, beaches ect). When mine is in season we stick to road walking at quiet times as all dogs should be on lead by roads.  Have a few times bumped into irresponsible owners walking their in season girls in fields some off lead others on but it still causes a big problem for male owners, the risk is high they may run off after her or her scent or cause a fight.

We give 4 weeks for a season before going back to normal routine. Then a month after keep an eye out for sings of pyrometra just incase.

Thanks everyone!

I'm not sure what to do about walks. It's usually quiet but occasionally there are stray dogs around. Perhaps I should lay off the walks altogether and concentrate on other stuff, like play and training, until the season is over.

> occasionally there are stray dogs around. Perhaps I should lay off the walks altogether and concentrate on other stuff, like play and training, until the season is over.

Then that may be wise.

Either keep her in your garden or drive her somewhere where you can do Street walks. When she's at her height of the her season I wouldn't take her out at all. My girls don't go anywhere in that week at all.

See this is where I get confused - when is the height? Is she 'fertile' the whole of the season or only for a part of it? Different books & websites tell me different things.

The average bitch is receptive sometime between 10 and 18 days after the season starts, but some can be early as day three, and some are fertile at day 23, which is why you need to take care throughout.

> A couple of months ago our vet said it was unlikely she would come into season,

I wonder what prompted a vet to say that!!   Depending on her breed, unless she was said to have been spayed before you got her (?) she should have been in season at any time after around 6 months much as some breeds don't come in that early.    My Whippet, who I wanted spayed before her first season and took her into my vet to book it (he recommended I let her have one season first), showed no sign of coming in by around 11 months, so I had him go ahead with the spay, in any case.

Yes, as advised, if you want to let her continue to be in the places she's normally in, you'll have to cover everything.   Some bitches are cleaner than others and obviously the bigger the breed, the more the discharge usually is.   DO NOT POKE HER - why do that?    It has to come away naturally and you won't hasten the end of this season.    By around days 10 and on, her blood coloured discharge may well fade to a light straw colour but this isn't the end by any means.   Rather its the time she will be in standing heat - ready to mate and care must be taken especially around those days.   The whole season won't be over until around day 21++ and I always leave a few days either end when mine didn't go outside on their own at all.   It would be kind to all entire males in the area, and their owners, not to walk her straight from your home if you have to take her off your property at all at this time.   Take her off in your car to a quiet place and don't let her off her lead at all.   When she's ready to mate, she could well take off.   Another reason I didn't ever take mine off our property at these times was having a low-slung breed, during a season they are 'wide open' and could well squat somewhere and pick up infection.    I can't prove it, but have a theory that not taking them off our property contributed to the reason we have never had a Pyometra.

Once this is over - get her spayed.   The best time is mid-way between seasons but as you don't know her cycle, presumably, get it done in another couple of months.    Problem solved.

ps    Just noticed re the 'height of a season'.   These would be the days she'd be in standing heat, receptive to a male.   BUT be warned, although the norm is around day 10 - 14, by no means do all bitches conform to the norm.  Some will stand early, and some later.   Which is why you MUST be with her outside from day one right through, and not let her off her lead off your property.   And again, I'd not take her off your property at all during a season!!

Regarding spaying I know it's a controversial area but please do your research as there is more and more evidence that spaying before maturity causes far more issues than it solves.  There us a  much higher incidence of many malignant cancers in neutered  dogs and bitches and joint and ligament  problems to mention just a few things. There are a number of good studies out there to support this so do Google before making the choice.

> Regarding spaying I know it's a controversial area but please do your research as there is more and more evidence that spaying before maturity causes far more issues than it solves.  There us a  much higher incidence of many malignant cancers in neutered  dogs and bitches and joint and ligament  problems to mention just a few things. There are a number of good studies out there to support this so do Google before making the choice.

A good point to mention...the OP bitch is 19 months now so would be about 22 months is they decide to spay this time

When I got her I was intending to breed her, as she is a vulnerable breed. Dog #1 I had desexed at six months old, because she's not a rare breed and I knew I wasn't ready to get into breeding. I put off desexing Dog #2 because I couldn't make up my mind whether it was selfish to breed from her or not.

Still undecided

> Regarding spaying I know it's a controversial area but please do your research as there is more and more evidence that spaying before maturity causes far more issues than it solves.  There us a  much higher incidence of many malignant cancers in neutered  dogs and bitches and joint and ligament  problems to mention just a few things. There are a number of good studies out there to support this so do Google before making the choice.

FWIW, from my understanding it's suggested that the more seasons a bitch is allowed to have, the greater the risk of them developing mammary, ovarian or uterine cancer.   And also the risk of Pyometra.   Yes, in the medium to large breeds, it's good to allow them to have one season before being spayed, or at least time to allow the growth plates to close.   Most of our main-breed bitches weren't spayed until retired, which meant by around 6 years although we only had one to develop mammary cancer in her final year (she was over 13 at the time).    None of our males were castrated other than for medical need (not cancer) and none of them had a problem from not being castrated.

current findings are saying more and more you are swopping one problem for another so its risk assessment. That is of course over looking the more minor possibilities of spaying especially early , coat change spay incontinence and in some particularly males behaviour changes. I had my fcr spayed at 5 and as breed very prone to cancer I am hoping that and raw feeding may help her avoid at least some of these. My first fcr, spayed after first season had 3 tumours over her life, all malignant  trouble is its not an area you can do fair test in. my view is later the better as hormones are not just needed for reproduction . So far we are only suffering from awful change in coat and just as well she is no longer shown as it would be impossible. Hoping we wont see any of the cancers. Same with my gsd who was spayed after first season she died of hemangiosarcoma which has a 70 % increase from the norm in spayed bitches. I now fall very heavily on the side of as late as possible unless medicali

Please keep her on lead on walks, as bitches can be just as keen to be mated as dogs are so obedience can fly out of the window.  So lead only and only walk where dogs have no business being off l

Good advice, shame the owner of the inseason bitch running off lead in the park and flagging in my boys face , did not read this ....

Now to top it off, my mum's dog (we live together with all the dogs) has started weeing up the doorpost every night - presumably, to mark his territory. Even though he's neutered and has never shown the slightest interest in my lovely bitch before. What can I do? Aside from mopping the floor every morning...

Probably all part of having a bitch in season around.my neutered dog would happily try and hump my uneutered bitch when in season.didn't bother any other time . Looks like it's out with the mop if you can't stop him

Yep bitch in season can mean accidents due to the hormones from her (partly marking too) and males will mark to stake their claim.

Crate him when you can't watch him, otherwise he will keep returning to make the spots he has marked due to lingering scent traces, even once cleaned.  It's OK to really tell him off if you can catch him about to do it, that has worked for me with visiting males.

Just wondering why the vet would say she was unlikely to come into season.