Hi,could anyone shed some light as to the problem i have with my gsd bitch,she had a season end of june last year and was mated 13th july,we only had the one mating and we used an outside stud dog.However she missed on that occassion and i have been waiting ever since for her to come back into season.She started having a reddy brown discharge on the 4th april and this continued until what would of been day 10 had it been a normal season but the discharge has stopped and there has been no swelling.I tested her with my own male and he was slightly interested in her urine and sniffing/licking her at one point but is not interested at all in her now.My questions are why has she not had a proper season this time and why has it taken nearly 10 months.She has never had a litter and as i say only had the one mating.Any info would be greatly apprieciated,thanks.

It does sound like a false start, not enough hormone to kick the season in properly.  Sometimes when this happens a proper season will follow a few weeks later.

Hi

How old is she and how many seasons has she had and what has been the normal interval?

Different bitches have different cycles and some have very wierd cycles indeed!  My youngest RR bitch, now nearly 5, didn't have her first season until 18 months (mine have never gone beyond 10 months for a first season before) and she never actually got round to having a second season.  My boys would show some interest in her every now and again, so I think her body was thinking about it, but never got round to it.  I had her spayed at 4 - for that and other reasons.

Yes another breeder has said that they can have a false start and come in weeks later but always having has shepherds i've never encountered this before,mine have always been regular as clockwork with no reddy brown stuff,just normal blood.She's 21/2 now but had her first season late too when she was 15 months old and then another season 5 months later when she was mated so although i dont have many seasons to judge her by,its just unusual for mine to go this long,suppose there is a first for everything though.......i know we still have plenty of time for her to have a first litter although it has worried me now that you say one of yours came in late for the first time and then never had another season!!! Do you think the reddy brown is anything to worry about?

I would be looking at having a full thyroid panel done on her.  Irregular, split seasons and infertility can be caused by thyroid dysfunction.

GSD's as a breed if anything are known for their short inter season intervals rather than the opposite.

Yes your absolutelty right,all my gsd's are either 4 or 5 monthly with their seasons and as regular as clockwork,which is a common trait in the breed.Its just this bitch who is all over the place but i hadnt thought of thyroid so i'll will be ringing my vet in the morning as regard to her "funny season" and reddy brown stuff but i'll also mention possible thyroid problems,thanks very much to you all for your help and advice.

?  was it just an infection of some kind

Well i've thought about that but as she's ok in herself and eating and drinking well and the discharge never smelt coupled with the fact she's only ever had one mating i cant see that it could be that but i suppose i'll know more once i've spoken to my vet,see what he suggests.

If your a checker like me, you will maybe find that the discharge starts reddy brown before becoming really bloody.  I have once or twice had like a false start, and then the season start properly a week or 10 days later, but this was with older bitches.

Oh yes im a checker alright lol,my girls only have to see me coming with the white tissue and they lay down and lift theirs legs up lol.......i have had bitches seasons where they have started slightly browny red but they change to true red within a day or so whereas this one has stayed reddy brown,and none of mine have ever started a season then stopped for a few days/weeks they've always progressed normaly(first time for everything though i know).I have been scouring the net for info on this hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism (whichever spelling/condition is correct if any lol) and so far it all seems to be pointing in that dirrection as although it says its normaly found in older dogs,in can affect ones who have just gone through puberty too and seeing as she's only had the 2 "normal" seasons this could be it but then on the other hand she doesnt really show any of the other symptoms.It also has a much higher incidence in bitches rather than dogs too apparently so things arnt looking too rosy regarding her breeding prospects as if it is this then she'd need treatment and i dont see the point in breeding from a bitch who needs help getting her hormones kick started as it could also be hereditary.

Both spellings are correct.  One if underactive (most likely problem) and the over overactive.

A dog will take an interest in a bitch also with an infection.

I would speak to the vet personally and maybe a course of antibiotics.

Well im even more confused now as she started again with the brown discharge a few days ago so i rang my vet and explained what has been happening and he said "although its unusual for a shepherd bitch to go 10 months between seasons and unusual to have brown blood its not abnormal" thing is like i said to him she isnt swelling up much and my male isnt in the least bit interested in her now but she still has this discharge.He said as she was well in her self and eating drinking normally nothing suggests anything abnormal and he said i'd just have to wait and see if the "season" progressed to a mating and if not then he would check her progesterone levels on her next season from day 7 onwards.I mentioned having a thyroid panel done but he said that was way of mark as it would be highly unlikey that a young shepherd bitch would have thyroid problems.......so im really none the wiser but i'm wondering if it really is a season at all now as it would be day 18 today and she still has the brown stuff and slightly more swollen although i think it may just look more swollen as it looks damp and spongey where she keeps cleaning her self but the only thing is she is losing her thick under coat in clumps at the moment which is exactly what she done in her last season.

Well just to let you know that my bitch has bright red blood now so im guessing that this is the true season starting,maybe because she went 10 months there was a lot of build up to get rid of i dont know,but i've no idea what day i'd class her as being on.Still hopefully this season will progress normally now!!