I hope someone can offer some advice please.
My bitch has bled for three weeks. It is her first season. She has now stopped and there is no longer any discharge. It is now five days since there was any bleeding . When would you recommend it to be "safe" for her to be around any dogs.

If she is now around 4 weeks since the start of her season then I would say you are safe.  3 weeks is normally about right with  an extra few days or a week to be on the safe side if she is to likely to be near entire malke dogs.

How long after the last sign of blood does everyone consider safe to start letting their bitch out again ? Do you keep her in a few extra days just to be *sure* ?

One of my bitches was mated on day 21 and 23, and she got pregnant,  so I think I would hang on for at least 4 weeks, or keep her on a lead at least!

The season is not over until the vulva has return to it's normal size, regardless of the colour of the discharge :) The first season can be a little strange and she may stay swollen for longer than the average of 21 days. When her next season comes, you should start to see a changing in colour from dark red to a paler red/pink as the season progesses, but even though the discharge may have stopped, she will still be in season and capable of being mated until her vulva has gone down again. I agree with SharonM, as it's her first seaosn, keep and eye on her, I wouldn't be letting her mix with any boys just yet! :)

Hi I wastold 4 weeks to be really safe too.

<The season is not over until the vulva has return to it's normal size>

I wonder if this depends on the breed as my girls don't shrink back to their normal size for weeks (nearly two months)

>The season is not over until the vulva has return to it's normal size,

I've found that the vulva never returns to the puppy size it was before the first season - it always remains somewhat larger.

I agree. Once they have had a season they are never as small as they were as pups but, I was thining of advise for future seasons with that one! Sorry for any confusion! :)