Our 14 month old girl Stella is in her first heat. We don't intend to breed her, but stupidly wanted to wait as long as possible before she was spayed, and obviously waited too long. She has no bleeding at all (that I've seen), her vulva does not appear swollen, but her nipples have swelled & she is acting peculiar. Her boxer sister is currently fighting renal failure also, so lots of stress here! My concern is that she is constantly rubbing her lower back, just above her tail, on anything she can and quite aggressively too. I'm unsure if this if this is a heat thing or something different, such as anal glands or worms. This is the first dog I've gone through a heat with & she'll be getting spayed as soon as it's safe to do so. Any thoughts? It's the back/butt rubbing normal for a girl in heat? Thank you for your help!
When my girl was in season the first sign was a very swollen vulva followed a couple of days later by bleeding, which was never that heavy. Her nipples didn’t swell. If you’d have written your post following a season I would have suggested she might be having a phantom pregnancy. Would it be worth a chat with your vet?
What a stressful time for you, I'm so sorry to hear about your Boxer Although dog's do behave differently in heat, this isn't something I've come across before. As Plum's Mum has said, it might be worth a chat with your vet to be on the safe side. There are strong feelings on both sides of the debate when it comes to the pros and cons of spaying, you might find that article of interest. We've also got some information on living with a Dog in Heat here. Let us know how she gets along!
