Hi everyone i got up this morning and noticed what looks like blood on my 11month old labradors bedding, So i wiped her with some tissue paper and there was a dark reddish brown coloured discharge there is no foul smell and she is happy and normal, eating drinking, playing chewing, her vulva is not swollen its still the normal size i was told that its best to wipe and check twice a day to check if she is in heat well when i checked again about 20mins ago the discharge has stopped, Could this be her first cycle and if so why has the discharge stopped or will it start properly soon.

I have never had a bitch that was like this once they started they bled none stop, Not just start on a morning and finish by late afternoon.
My vet is out of town at the moment and my dog will not allow any other vet touch her apart from my vet and that is only because she has known her since she was a puppy.

Thanks in advance

Check her again after she's been lying down asleep for a couple of hours.

Hi thanks for the reply...

I noticed the blood in her bed at 7am this morning so i wiped her vulva straight away, I then checked her 20mins ago after she got out of her bed to be fed again, I have now just wiped her again and her vulva is normal and there is only a very tiny dot of blood on the tissue its the size of a pen point.

She is not licking her vulva any more than normal which is usually only after she has had a pee.
I have never heard of a dog going into heat then coming straight back out.

I think it's highly likely that your bitch is in season. It' is also possible that far from the discharge stopping, your bitch is keeping herself clean. You need to avoid contact with males now for the next 21-28 days.

Do you have a copy of 'The Book of the Bitch' it's available from Amazon and costs about £10.00. It's a great little text book for bitch owners.

Dawn R.

Hi thanks for the reply

I have the book of the bitch as i have a german shepherd, Her heat cycles were normal she would start and you knew she was in heat as everywhere she walked it was all over and her vulva was huge THis is whats had me confused with my lab, I know no 2 bitches are the same but was just strange one minute there was blood next there wasnt//

She does not come into contact with any male dogs she is kept on a leash when out walking. now its a case if she is in heat she will only be allowed in the back yard with me stood there she will never be left unattended as i know what dogs are like when there in heat or a male smells an in heat bitch.

If it was my bitch I would count it as day 1! They don't all bleed a lot to start with. Mine, she hardly had any blood at all for the first 5 days or, was still ready for mating on day 11.

It very much depends on the bitch. I have 2 bitches in season at the moment. One bitch is ready for mating & I haven't seen one spot of blood, with her daughter I've only seen one drop on the floor & 2 drops when I turned her over to brush her ready for Crufts :rolleyes: They are both very "discreet" in the size of their vulva (nightmare when you are trying to work out when they are ready for mating)

my girl is so clean that i never notice any blood anywhere but how i know she is in season is i count the days till her next on the calender but seens this would be that girls first season you can do that but i would say she was in season and i would mark the dates on the calender so you know when she can go for walks if you are going to stop walking her and so you will know when her next one might be coming in some girls season 4 months 6months 8 months 12 months so keep that in mind

It would be wise to put a white or cream sheet on the sofa (if she is a house dog) or/and in her bed just to double monitor that she is fully in season. Some have a very light first season and you were lucky to catch anything at all. Some keep themselves very clean ineedand so if they ave just had a lick and the you swab absolutely nothing will show.

If you are a 'hands on' sort of a mum, then part her vulva gently and look slightly higher up, there is often traces of blood there that wouldn't touch a tissue beig tapped. When you swab give her a gentle but firm scrub, not just a little dab.

Intersting considering her breed she won't allow any vet other than your own to touch her. And rather unfortunate, if you had an emergency you could be in real trouble. I would very much advise you to work on that problem as soon as possible. labradors should, ideally, be easy going creatures, and even if a bad experience has occured with one vet, it could be your body language that tells her all are bad. Don't let her pick and choose her vet! YOU decide which vet she sees! ;-)

She definately sounds in season. Not all swell, and some only swell a little when they come up to mating time around 12 - 14 days into their season when the discharge goes clear.

Di, UK - Wylanbriar labradors

I agree with Di about the comments about the vet - it's not really acceptable for a dog to only be able to be seen by one vet!  Not sure what you mean by she "will only let" this one vet see her, but if you mean she is aggressive towards other vets, that's a sign of a temperament problem and/or socialisation to being handled problem, which will need addressing too....

I did what you suggested and opened her vulva which i thought would grose me out as being a lad i didnt really want to do it but it was worth it just to know that she is definatly in heat as there is blood there, I thought she might try and bite me because of touching that are but she lay there with no problems.

As for the part of her not letting another vet touch her, What i mean is she is not aggressive in anway shape or form she is usually very friendly, But since she has only ever seen this vet she has become attached to her and will back away from anyone else trying to touch her.

I took her to see another vet in the practice today just to make sure it was her cycle and not something else, I explained that i felt like an idiot because i couldnt really tell if it was her first cycle as my my german shepherd really bled and everywhere she walked she dripped blood, The vet like everyone here said no 2 bitches are the same some will bleed lots others its just a few drops and some you never notice, she was great with her but its seems to only be the woman vets she will go near which i  find strange as she prefers men over woman usually. It has really put my mind at rest knowing its just her first heat.

She is very well socialised and friendly dog, She does not have an agressive bone in her body some may say she too soft but i would rather her be soft and gently than rough and bossy.

Another thing my shepherd was quite quiet during her cycle yet my lab is more energetic and lively i guess this again is down to no 2 dogs are the same...

I thank you all for all your help and advice it is really appreciated.

Her blood is like a dark brown colour this surely can not be normal i thought it is supposed to be red or is it like a brown at the start of there heat, Oh i am so confused....

Now i am getting worried it is something else, the vet didnt swab her she just looked. could it be something serious with it being this colour

Thanks again

Blood goes dark brown as it oxidises - she's probably only bleeding lightly so it's taking a while to get down the tract and out. As she gets further on in her season the bleeding will probably get more profuse so you'll see it redder (being fresher).

I'm somewhat concerned that you were worried to touch her vulva in case she bit you, though!

I was only worried in case she bit me as some dogs do not like there parts touched, But she was ok about it.
I can see your point about the bleeding as she is not producing alot so this could be why its so dark. I love this site as everyone is so helpful.

She only started yesterday so will see how it goes.

thanks again :)

Isn't she happy to allow herself to be handled all over - teeth, paws, vulva, tail, ears? If not, that's something you need to practice every day - it could be vital if she's injured and needs emergency treatment before you can get to a vet.

She is happy to let you touch her anywhere but i have never touched her bits only when she been washed.
She loves her teeth being brushed and will happily sit there for hours letting you do it.

The only thing i was worried about was incase she didnt like me fiddling around down there, Wiping was no problem but was not sure about opening it a little to see, But like i say she was fine happily lay there.

I now only let her into the backyard with me stood there and once she done what she has to do i bring her straight back in as i do not fancy her either egtting out somehow or a male getting in.

I have even started scrubbing the yard where she has pee just so there is no smell for the males to pick up on even though i know thats probably not going to help but worth a try :)

what are you scrubbing with because getting rid of that smell is just about impossible they can still smell her anyway a male can smell a female in heat from a distance. If you are really worried about a male getting in to your yard i would stop your walks with her and i would keep being with her while she is goind to the toilet or having a little play

I am using bleach, Disinfectant to scrub the yard.
I never let her out of my sight when she is in the yard i am there, When we go for walks she stays on the leash, but now she is in heat the furthest she goes is into the yard.

For the past hour or so she has been giving me a depressed sad look as if to say what is happening to me, but as soon as i get one of her toys she is bouncing around like a crazy dog.

So its now been 3days and her discharge is still brown, and only appears on her bed during the night. I thought it would have gone red now and she would have started to swell but she not even doing that. Her vulva is normal no signs of swelling.

Don't be too concerned no two bitches are exactly the same & I've have bitches that have had a darker vaginal discharge & they have been fine

To be technically correct the estrous or heat-cycle can be divided into 5 stages:

1. Proestrus -  This stage begins with the appearance of vaginal bleeding. It generally lasts from 4-9 days. Male dogs become very interested in the female; however, she will not yet mate with them, as her body is not ready to conceive. She will be a bit more nervous than usual. Her vaginal area will seem more puffy and reddened. For young dogs note this first date and subsequent dates to obtain any pattern.

2. Estrus / Oestrus  -  Ovulation begins. This is the stage in which the female will accept the male and conception can occur. The vaginal discharge is much less and more yellowish than bloody. Ordinarily, the stage lasts for 4 to 13 days. Your female will generally stand still, appear servile, and hold her tail to the side when you touch her back, or a male dog tries to mount her.

3. and 4. Metestrus and Anestrus -  These 2 stages are periods of ovarian activity, but with no significant outward signs. This basically means, out of heat, but there could still be things going on inside. False pregnancies frequently occur during metestrus.

5. Dormus - This stage is the remainder of the six-month-cycle, where the bitch appears normal.

Not all bitches have 6 month cycles but the concept is the same for any length of cycle & not all bitches are calm etc when they are able to conceive either

Ellie had a brownish discharge the first couple of days, then it gradually turned red. I'm sure your girl's fine! :-)

Well her bleeding a little heavier but still no swelling, Also she is eating like a horse she always seems to be hungry is this normal? My other dog was never like this when she had a heat, Mind you since getting her spayed she does.
SHe also has loads of energy more than she usually has...

I got her a kong and nylabone because she is a chewer now according to the shop owner its near impossible for them to destroy them well thats what he thinks within 2 hours she destroyed both so within a couple of days she has destroyed 6 tennis balls, kong, nylabone is there anything at all that she would not destroy she can even chew bits of a house brick hahahaha

She may be eating more because it's so cold & nothing to do with her season (I  can't stop eating either )
Have you tried a Black Kong - they are the only non-destructible toys that I've found are anywhere near indestructible?
Bitches' behaviour does change when they are in season, especially their first one - just be careful she doesn't try to change into an escapologist like one of mine did

I will have to get one of those and see if that helps, mind you since giving her all these tennis balls, Kongs and nyla's she has left her bedding alone as she can make a mess with these, i have lost count on how many bits of tennis ball i have picked up hahaha.

She  has not tried escaping yet all she wants to do is stay with me and play with her toys.
When she is not running around like a possesed animal she is sound asleep, She is a totally different dog since coming into heat.