Hi @Johnny, here is a good article on making the decision: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/should-i-have-my-labrador-neutered-the-latest-evidence/ I've chosen not to have my boy neutered. If he develops strong sexual-derived behaviours that damage his welfare, then I will reconsider, but not until then. The choice, though, is yours.
With us having a 'Girlie' house, we never allow our girls in season to run free. It is not fair on male dog owners to have a bitch season running free On most of the shoots that we attend to have a girl in season is not good practice, it sends the dogs mental. Last year Bella was in season and when taking her for walk through the woods to the fields where we train, we did not meet any one. So in my infinate wisdom took her off lead for a run, Big mistake! a dog came into the field about 100yds away, Bella was away and the recall did not work I was lucky the other dog did not have a clue although Bella stood for him the naughty harlot. Leason learnt?
So far, 5 days in, Cooper is not much of a problem. Just a little light colored blood, and no behavior problems. We try to keep her off the nicer carpets with fair success. She seems to clean herself most of the time. We are getting ready to replace the wall to wall in our bedroom and family room so we don't care much about them anyway. We haven't encountered an intact male yet, but it probably would not be an issue yet anyway. I think I could have let her off lead to play today, but decided not to take a chance. Next Wednesday we are going to the beach, but there will probably not be any other dogs in the area we are going to. (all of Oregon's beaches are public state owned, and some are quite remote.)
So we are 15+ days in, and I have to say it is a lot less traumatic than I expected. Other than a little discharge for the first week, everything is normal. We haven't encountered any intact male dogs anywhere. Loose dogs and intact males may be less common in the US than the UK. We have stayed away from off leash areas, except for our walk in Forest Park yesterday, and we did not see another dog on that whole trip. One behavior question: Will a female in heat be at all interested in a neutered male? We have two neutered Sammies that are dog play mates with our pups and both of them try to hump Cooper, but she has zero interest. Just wants to play and chase with them. Is this because she knows they are neutered, or because she was not ready yet. (This was about 6 days ago, and they haven't met again since then)
Going by our own bitch Millie when she was in season ( now spayed ) , it was a case of any port in a storm Sam is castrated, but she still made advances , much to his dismay , but this was only for a very few days around the danger period when she was most fertile and eager, little madam
Once you know your bitch and her seasons, it all seems far less of an issue - but that said, the first time can be rather freaky because you don't know what to expect. Once you know how your particular bitch's season unfolds, it is much easier to work out when and where it is safe to walk her, and when she should be confined to the garden. I have to say, Poppy is now 4 years old, and I only really keep her on a lead and confine her off-lead exercise to the garden during her 3-day fertile period. I know when that is, due to subtle symptoms that can differ from dog to dog. But I do walk her in quiet areas and at quiet times, to avoid possible annoyance to owners of intact male dogs. Generally speaking, you are pretty much safe after 21 days from the start of bleeding. The main thing is, don't be fooled if she almost stops bleeding after 7-10 days - this is the start of her fertile period. Good luck, and don't worry - use common sense, it'll be over soon.
Thanks I assumed she should be in her fertile period now, but she does not act at all different. We will see what happens when she sees her neutered playmates this weekend.
Cooper is about 18 days in, and she has no (sexual) interest in the neutered males, and they don't have much in her. They just run and chase like always. I kind of think the fertile period is over. It is 87F here today, a new record by 7 degrees. (30.5 C) HOT!!
So the first season is over, and it was remarkably un-dramatic. I did not see any real behavior changes in Cooper. A couple of fixed males she plays with were more interested than usual, although Cooper never was. We kept her on lead when we were out of our yard, and did not ever encounter an intact male. Did not have any trying to break into the yard either. I'm curious whether the first season is likely to be less dramatic than later ones when she is more grown up. While I think still plan to have her spayed, I'm not as sure about it as I was. I still might want to keep our options open for a while. She is a really great dog, but she won't have any field or show titles, so it probably does not make sense to breed her.
Poppy is also in heat now, about a week in. She is dropping more blood than I remember from her first seasons, but otherwise all is much the same. Yesterday we met our next door's neutered Retriever, who tried to mount Poppy - she told him off in no uncertain terms! Glad you got through Cooper's season without any dramas. I have decided not to breed from Poppy, but at present I have no plans to have her spayed. We shall see what the next year or so brings, I guess.
