Hi everyone! Haven't posted in a while and things have been going very good with Daisy. She is now 7 months old, still very petite, weighing 18kg and only around knee height! Her training is coming on well, she's amazing off the lead and I can't fault her recall, on the lead is another story Her biting (which was the biggest issue) has almost stopped and only happens when she gets overexcited or over tired so much more manageable Anyways, I was just coming on to ask if this is normal and if this may be the 'naughty teenager stage' that everyone mentions. The past week, her biting has come back quite badly, she's not very settled in the house at night and she's also started taking a big interest in different smells on walks which she hasn't done previously. The biggest difference though is definitely that she's just not settling at night whereas usually she's very calm. For example tonight she hasn't laid down for longer than 5 minutes, she's walking around as if she doesn't know what to do with herself. She lays down, stays there for 30 seconds then gets up and walks about or goes sniffing in random places like behind the sofa?! Lastly, what am I looking out for in terms of her first season, and how does this affect walks etc? Thanks guys
Hi @Jordan Maides Good work on the exercises mentioned in the first paragraph. Great training. Before I got to the third paragraph I was thinking the behavioural change sounds like she is coming into season. Is her vulva swollen? Once she comes into season, then the walks stop, otherwise you will have every male that has not been neutered and is running off lead trying to mate with your dog. And even if you don't go to areas where there are other dogs any male dog that is off lead will follow the scent trial she leaves to your home. Beware some male dogs will try to climb a high fence (and may succeed) to get to your girl. I had my female dog and a stray male dog lift a heavy gate off its hinge in order to get to each other.
Thanks Michael, a lot of the training was down to your great advice Yes I was thinking it may have been her coming into season, however her vulva doesn't seem swollen. Do these types of change in behaviour seem typical of a female coming into season, if not could there be any other reason she has changed so drastically over the past week? Okay so the walks completely stop? Even on leash walks? In that case I am not looking forward to have a crazy unwalked puppy in the house! How long do we stop the walks for? Sorry if these are silly questions we've only ever owned male dogs so have no experience with this. The neighbours have a 9 month old male dog on one side of our garden fence and an adult male dog on the other side so this should be interesting...
Oh and I should add, today she's just kind of restless and letting out the odd whimper.. just seems like she doesn't know what to do with herself..
Here is a link that answers most of your questions. https://www.thelabradorsite.com/dog-in-heat/ I have an example of one of the points Pippa makes. We had a Lab when I was a boy and discovered a male dog in with her when she was in season. He had scaled a 2 metre high fence to get into her pen. You will need to determine how you're going to keep the dog next door, next door for the season. If she doesn't start spotting soon I would call your vet and describe what you have observed.
I agree that she may well be in the run-up to a season. For weeks before you actually see any blood, there are physiological processes (hormonal changes) at work which will eventually trigger the heat cycle. So just because her vulva isn't swollen yet, doesn't mean this isn't related to her first heat. In addition, often there is little physical warning for the first heat in terms of vulval swelling - the body isn't prepared for what is about to happen(!) and it can all happen very suddenly. The 'naughty teenager' stage which people talk about, shouldn't really occur if you've trained the dog and raised the dog well - before this point. You will then have that training and work to fall back on. The 'naughty teenager' stage occurs because people have previously been relying on an immature puppy's sense of insecurity and attachment to the owner - an immature puppy in the wild by themselves, would die. They are therefore dependent on their attachment figures for safety. When the pup grows up, this is no longer the case. Unless training is there to take over from this temporary 'sticking with my people' phase, you can suddenly find you have an unresponsive dog... This doesn't explain the restlessness at night... At 7 months, my dogs would still be crated, so there wouldn't be a chance for them to learn to go wandering around the house at night. Night time is firmly established as a time for sleep that way
Thanks for the link, I will have a read now. Yes I'll be sure to keep an eye and call the vet if she stays the same
Thanks for all the info Jo, I'd consider her pretty well trained so hopefully she doesn't take too many steps backwards. Sorry I should have made it more clear, by "at night" I just mean in the evenings. For example when we are sat watching TV she usually naps but lately she's been too restless to settle down. She is still sleeping perfectly throughout the night until morning (thank god).
I agree. My pup developed one behavoir problem around this time, but mainly it was just that she got a lot more energy. However, she is working on that problem and getting better.
Hmm, it could well be that her season is approaching. If she's annoying you with moving about, give her a stuffed Kong or food puzzle to keep her busy and more settled.
