Right, as some of you know I have a 7 month old Bulldog boy and a 5 month old bulldog bitch who is deaf. Due to a chronic vaginal infection the vet has recommended strongly that she has a season before she is speyed. I know there are differing views on age for speying and to be completely honest I would prefer to wait until she is alot older, full stop, but as she is deaf and as I have my boy (who is and will remain entire) I do not want to risk any accidents and make their lives miserable by keep having to seperate them. Anyway, those are the reasons why she is being done etc etc. My question is while she is in season will I have to keep them completely seperated the whole time? If so for how long? Could they have supervised playtimes or will that not be fair on them? I am asking this for help not to start a debate on whether speying is right or wrong etc and I have my reasons while I feel she should be speyed. Please remember a question is only silly when you know the answer ;-) Advice would be welcomed :-) Thanks in advance.

Depends on the dogs.My bitch has just had her season and 2 of the boys were fine with her apart from the 3-4 days she was obviously ready to stand.I allowed supervised 'pay time' with these 2 males but none at all with my youngest male as he was far to keen and was trying it on from near enough day 1.
Needless to say none of the dogs were allowed with her when I wasn't present.
Archer

I wouldn't risk an accident happening so would keep them seperated.  My girls can be mated up to day 21 so it's quite a long time that they have to be seperated from my boys!

I think you're being very sensible! :) Spaying is the right thing to do with a deaf bitch, and to wait until after her first season is the right thing too. :)

However, you are going to have to keep your dog and bitch entirely separate for the entire season (21 to 28 days), not even using the same parts of the garden for toileting, and not having access to the same rooms in the house. Allowing them together to play occasionally will most likely drive your boy demented. :( If there's even the slightest chance that someone might leave a door open during that month then I'd suggest that you board your boy with relatives or friends or in kennels for at least the second and third weeks.

My 2 lads weren't bothered in the slightest...but maybe I'm just lucky! The other one drove me nuts!!:D
Archer

Hi Tigerlily,

FWIW I think you're doing entirely the right thing ;)  My girls would probably stand from day 1 to day 25/26 for their resident love interest so I take no chances - even although usually (but not exclusively) bitches are most receptive around mid-season, it's too big a risk so worth a bit of extra inconvenience in my opinion.

Good luck, Teri :)

Thank you all very much. Dozer will be lodging with my parents for the duration and maybe it will be best to keep them away from each other completely. I was hoping they would get a bit of play time, but maybe it would be best all round if they didn't. I usually take them round there with me to play but Bubbles will have to stay at home on her own :-(  I will use Dozer as my guide and as soon as he shows a slight bit of interest in her he will have his bags packed and will be off to be completely spoilt by the grand parents :-D

Hi again Tigerlily,

Maybe best to use the bitch as your guide rather than your boy ;)  You'd be amazed at how quickly a "bit of interest" can turn into "done and dusted" :D

Really? thanks. I have never had a bitch and dog together before un-speyed. Any advice to notice first signs? Sorry if I sound like a complete novice but I really don't want to take any chances and sometimes experience is better than books. :-)

Sometimes a week or even two weeks before there will be a change in her character - some bitches become a little more clingy to their owners or tetchy with other dogs - PMT basically ;)  However not all do!

When actually beginning the season, her vulva will start to swell and she will have a bloody discharge - sometimes this can be very slight, so any sign of swelling start to check her regularly with a piece of white tissue.  Any signs of pink to red and count that as day 1.  Occasionally, there is no blood - that is far less common - but can happen.  

Your bitches breeder should be able to let you know if her bitch line has a regular pattern - often that's the case and a breeder will be able to say "expect a season at X  months" etc. which makes life a little easier - of course we're dealing with Mother Nature so have to always be prepared for the unexpected.

Regards, Teri :)

Thanks Teri, appreciate it :-)