I'm new to owning a bitch and am delighted with my cocker. She is 7 and a half months old and today is day 17 of her first season. I have 2 neutered males who are oblivious to it and 1 intact male. Keeping them seperate etc isn't the issue as I really doubt he has a clue!! They are never together unless I am with them and 1 on a leash but my bitch has turned into a hormone driven mad thing. She pesters the poor boy and lets face it, he's not adverse to the attention. I'm just wondering when will she calm down. Even a little bit!! I've no experience with the females so this is all new ground to me. I'm lucky in that they seem to draw a line on the days efforts at bed time. She sleeps in a crate in the sitting room and he sleeps in my room behind closed doors so taking no chances. Its harder than I thought:-)

Allow at least another week of strumpet-ness!

A week!! Oh my good God. So much for the 21 days in the books. You cant beat asking those who have been through it. Is this the worst week?

Also don't rely on the boy ignoring her much longer, quite often the bitches are Keen before they are ready and get ignored by the boy, and then suddenly within seconds they are mated.

From now on I would keep them totally separate until around day 25, and then watch carefully that her vulva has gone down and that there really is not more interest, for safety keep them supervised until day 28.

One of my bitches mates between days 19 and 22.

I agree with the others and don't let them lull you into a false sense of security!! Where there is a will, there is a way, through crate/ stairgate.
It's the joy of owning both sexes :) One of my girls was really well behaved but come her season I have never been so shocked to see the lengths she went to to try and reach the dog, she even stood on the windowsill with her " ripe flower" pressed up against the window :(

> she even stood on the windowsill with her " ripe flower" pressed up against the window

ROFLMAO!!  :-)  :-)  :-)

Glad I'm not the only one that has a total tart!  One of my girls flags from day 3, and acts like a call girl!  When not in season, she is the most refined, ladylike bitch that I've ever owned.  Talk about split personality!

In 'theory' the worst week is the middle one but as bitches never read the book but write their own, the worst week could be the last one is she is a late ovulator. I always allow 28 days to be sure.

My one's only a tart right at the very end of her season, long after she's ovulated. Weird girl!

The boy has discovered the point of the whole thing and has had to go to my parents!! Yesterday they were both flirting mad as we were out in the garden. And last night he wouldn't eat and kept waking me up during the night to look pleadingly at the door and will it open. I knew I was in trouble as when we arrived back from walking, he made straight for the front door to get in to his lady who happens to be his niece. I told him that a) she's only a pup herself and b)his niece and that I'm a great woman for snipping dogs at a minutes notice so he would do very well to mind his own business. Oh if only they could understand:-)