I can't remember my first Lab pup's heat cos I was a kid. Books and forums say she could be anything from six to ten months before she is in season. I know she will be willful, but how can we tell when it starts to get really serious (she has already started sitting outside on her nighttime garden time sniffing around) do we wait to we see physical spotting? I've seen advice on pants for her!! And how do we exercise her, she's six months, gets two half hour walks a day at the moment. Any advice would be gratefully received.
And relax ! One of the first signs of a season starting is that the vulva might swell , but not always ! She will become more clingy , possibly more prone to laziness , and might lose her appetite a little too . I haven't mentioned the obvious bleeding because often , with a first season , the blood loss is so light that it could easily be missed , especially with a dog who cleans herself . Expect the first season any time from six months to well over a year old , some even later ! Exercise must be on lead, apart from your own garden , and well away from popular dog walks . Bear in mind that many bitches are just as eager to mate as the males are , in fact they often become little hussies !
Hi @Jett's mum , have you read this article on the main site? http://www.thelabradorsite.com/dog-in-heat/ My girl was spayed before her first season, so no personal help from my quarter! Kate has lots of experience
Mollie's vulva started to swell a couple of days before she started to bleed. He nipples popped out too. She's (hopefully) going to have pups in q8 months time,, before her season we couldn't find all her nipples but they are clearly there now. She bled a lot and for the full three weeks, but it became much paler and more watery after a week. Her behaviour didn't change at all. She was hopeless at keeping clean and I was constantly mopping the drips up .
I think for some dogs it is quite an anticlimax! Indie was a bit swollen down there, and there were a few light blood spots on the kitchen floor every day, but apart from that, there was no real change in behaviour, no promiscuity and not even any interest from other dogs! Afterwards we unfortunately had a phantom pregnancy which obviously then brought a load of behaviour changes and problems, but as far as the heat went, it was a non-event really for us. So hopefully your pup might have a similarly low-key one!
Hi @Jett's mum, My pup is currently in season aged 10.5 months. I noticed a v swollen vulva Friday afternoon (I'd taken her to the beach in the morning with no idea she was coming in to season but there weren't any issues with other dogs, thankfully). The blood loss started Saturday afternoon and so far has been occasional but I've read it can get heavier. There were no signs before the swollen vulva and she'd been out walking with my dog walker and several male dogs the day before and they didn't notice anything, according to the dog walker! I have been walking her in the mornings by driving for 5 mins and walking down a road with grassy banks either side and around the local village, all on lead. In the evening I've been going out to a field a short drive away at about 8.30pm when it's empty of dogs, and I do a few circuits on lead. So far walks have been uneventful and I hope it stays that way. It's early days but I haven't yet noticed any behaviour changes, no extra weeing, definitely no loss of appetite! But early days as I say. Like you I worried about it beforehand but I'm seeing it as a new challenge, like all the stages in her little life so far! And at least now I know when I can plan for her spay. I've got a throw and a towel on the sofa, which can be easily washed, small fleece blankets on top of her beds, which are easily washed and I've rolled the rug up in the lounge because it's less easy to clean.
We had Zaba, an entire male, with us for the first five days of Mollie's season! He wasn't worried, he gave her a few extra sniffs, that's all. We didn't allow them to be alone together for a second, of course! .
