Hi there, have received some great advice in the past about our bitch and now she is coming into her first season. She is swollen and pees a lot. Cant seem to find any general advice about things like, how much will she bleed (there are a few drops now but its mainly clear stuff?  How much should  we clean her? Any general tips? and we have a seven year old (human!), so is there any hygiene issues apart from the obvious.
Any advice would be fantastic
cheers
paul (in fife)

Hi Paul.
A season lasts for around 21 days give or take a day or so. The bleeding may or maynot continue for all of that time. My Labs always seem to hang it out to the end! The discharge becomes paler in the last week, becoming almost clear. The peeing a lot is the natural reaction to the season, marking to attract dogs!! You can wipe her hind quarters with a damp cloth to keep her clean although most bitches clean themselves up.

I never walk my bitches out of the gate when in season, I put them in the car and drive down the road a piece to break the trail back to the house. I only ever walk them on the lead and take them to an industrial estate where I'm not likely to find other dogs off the lead.

Best wishes, John

Like humans, all bitches are different.  My Golden bleeds heavily for about 14 days, and then it is lighter for the last week.  During those first two weeks though, it is a MUST for her to wear her pants, and I have to use human maxi-pads in the pants.  The peeing is also normal....Daisy pees so much and so often, it's aggravating. 

Never used pants on my bitches in my life!

Best wishes, John

yeah, i think putting pants on a dog is a bit excessive!! ;-)

Doggie pants, not MY pants, LOL!  She has to wear bitches britches because her bleeding is so heavy....we'd have a huge mess around here :(

you shouldnt need to clean her, she will keep herself clean by licking herself. the discharge will start clear, then turn to blood red, fading to clear again by the end of her season. where abouts in fife are you? my cousin lives in kirkaldy. ;-)

Hello Paul in Fife

Sorry to be nosey, but how old is your bitch? as I have a labrador who is now 12 months old and is still showing no signs of coming into her first season.
Iam rather apprehensive about her first season, as we are surrounded by dogs where we live one neighbour has 4 dogs 3 of them are kept outside, the other side has 2 and next door but one there is onther dog.

Zoe

Hiya all

Zoe,

Just read your post and had to advise NEVER,NEVER underestimate just how far a dog will go to get to a bitch in season. When your girl starts hers you may find that wiping down her back legs with eucalyptus oil will help to mask the scent.  As John suggests, it may be worth trying to find somewhere that normally you wouldn't find any dogs for her to have a walk, and travelling to and from it in a car is a really good way to stop 'unwanted' admirers from tracking her to your front door!
Take it easy, I'm sure that she and you will both be fine.
Ali :)

hi
My choccy lab amber has just had her first season at 11 months, but my other two had their's at 6 and 8 months so they're all different... 

Hi Zoe. I've had Labs go 13 months before the first season. At present my Anna comes in at 5 to 6 months and believe me, 12 to 13 months seems good to me!

Best wishes, John