We also have a male 2 year old staff cross, my collie bitch (1 year old) has decided to start sticking her bum in his face and even goes as far as bending her tail to the side to let him get a sniff? He has been castrtated so no problems there, just a tad worried about taking her out for 'walkies' etc...

Any experience's welcome, cheers..

Silly question maybe but have you considered getting your bitch speyed? You are usually advised to wait 3 months after her first season.

My 13 month old lab was speyed on Monady and is recovering wonderfully well.

When she was on heat for the first time we had an awful walk experience in the forest. We kept her on the lead but every male dog within a mile came running for her!!

If you aren't going to get her speyed, then its on the leash walks only and not in places where other dogs are (parks,etc) until it passes.

TL

TL ~ glad to hear your lab is recovering well.

I agree that OP's dog should be spayed unless there are good reasons not to, & maybe it will be after this season.

As for walking a bitch in season, as the owner of an entire male for a few years, this is my worst nightmare. I appreciate that bitches in season still need some exercise & stimulation but owners have to also realise that entire males from miles around will seek her out. It's unfair on the owners of entire males to expect them to be able to control their dogs at these times. The best they can do is recognise, as quickly as possible, that their male dog has got the scent of a bitch in season , put their dog on a lead & leave the area completely!

Perhaps lead walks round the street or walking in the dead of night would help, but certainly avoiding busy dog walking places at popular walking times is a must.

Thanks
She's got her madness and appetite back



Can't agree more.
We were stupid to take her for a walk in the forest and whilst ignorance is not an excuse we assumed on the leash would be fine. We learn't our lesson

TL

Thats no way to talk about your wife

For various personal reasons we couldn't get our puppy spayed 3 months after her first season. She is due again any time soon. Do we have to wait a further 3 months after it finishes?

Sorry to appear stupid but is it protocol to ask here or should I have started another thread? If so I apologise.

bloody tease

Don't be fooled into thinking that because he is castrated - he cannot mate and tie with her, because he can. So from a physical injury point of view, you run all the same risks you would if he was entire.

This is particularly important to remember, because a bitch can be the flirt from hell until the dog tries to 'get on with it' - some can turn aggressive and do injury to both dog and bitch.

Be aware, also, if he was castrated less than 6 months ago, he could still be capable of siring a litter.

===================

Re: walks

No off lead - it isn't fair on other dog owners.

Find somewhere quiet whether there are ideally NO dogs around - this will probably involve rather late or early mornings.

Depending on the type of area you live in, walking directly from the house can potentially leave a scent for all the males within a 5 mile or so radius

I can't comment but a quick call to your vet should get you an answer.

Yes I think you do have to wait. I have heard that spaying effectively "freezes" the dog in hormonal time, so you need to get her spayed between seasons. But I'm sure others like Tass or StressMonkey, will be able to answer you. And your vet certainly will!

Bitches should be neutered three months after a season yes - so if you have passed the first one, you will have to wait until after her next one, unless there is a pressing medical emergency which dictates otherwise.

I am assuming she has only had one so far, don't be fooled into thinking there will be 6 months between seasons, I've had bitches go 4 to 5 months and some go nearly a year between seasons - with only one under her belt, there won't be any pattern established yet.

Sue51 is right that they do not all come into season at neat six monthly intervals ( in fact a quirk of one breed, Basenjis, is that like wolves they only have one season a year ).

While it is also true that there may be hormonal complications if you spay at the wrong time the main reason for doing it midway between seasons, (unless a medical emergency as Sue says) is because due to hormonal changes the blood supply to the reproductive system is greatly increased around seasons and the reproductive organs are enlarged in order to potentially faciliate a successful pregnacy.

However these changes can also cause these organs to be more "friable" (i.e. fragile) due to these changes.
Thus spaying at these times increases the risk of more heammorage or bleeding, or of an organ accidentally rupturing during surgery, maybe before all the blood vessels are safely tied off.

It would also mean the bitch would lose more blood just because more would be contained within the removed organs.

If your bitch had not yet entered the start of her next season you could maybe still have her done now, depending when she was last in season.

Or you could talk to your vet about a hormonal injection to arrest her up-coming season and then have her done after that, before the next season.

This isn't something that it is good to repeat too often, and it can affect future fertility, but these are not relevant considerations if you are intending spaying her asap anyway

Thanks so much for all of your help. We have always had male dogs and are not familiar with the "girly workings"

The_daddy sorry to have interjected into your thread.