For the past few days when taking Benson out for his morning walk, I have noticed that he is attracted to a particular spot at the end of someone's garden and refuses to move despite vigorously hauling on his lead/choke chain. Today I found the answer as we came across a lady with a black Labrador who screamed at me "my dog's on heat!". Benson who by this time was off the lead did not need to be told the good news and promptly mounted the bitch. After a frantic few moments chasing the dogs around in circles, getting tied up with the other owners lead and increasing my blood pressure by a hundred fold, I eventually managed to get a hand on Benson's collar and clipped on his lead. We parted amicably enough and went in different directions but I decided to keep Benson on the lead for about a kilometre when I decided it was safe to release Benson. On doing so Benson shot off like a bullet from a gun in the direction of his lady friend. In normal circumstances Benson responds well to the whistle so when he was about 200 metre awaybI gave him a blast. Benson skidded to a halt and put his backside on the ground as trained, turned his head in my direction, distinctly raised two fingers at me, taking off again at high speed and clearly beyond my control! My worry at the time was not to curb his mating instincts but rather that he would get killed in a traffic accident. I telephoned my wife who was able to rugby tackle Benson (all 35 kgs) as he sped past our house at high speed and all was well. The point of my story is to ask whether you think I am being unreasonable to suggest that owners of bitches on heat should avoid public places until the season is over? Roger
Re: Bitches on heat Glad Benson didn't come to any harm! When Mira was in season we did not take her out of the garden for about the first 10 days. We are fortunate to have a deer-fenced garden and a good grassy area where she had regular play sessions. She did start to get a bit stir-crazy though, so OH started to take her for a short on-lead walk late in the evening when it was highly unlikely they would meet other dogs and he always had an escape route if he did see one coming. Amongst our nearest neighbours there are only lab bitches, but there are 2 intact males a couple of fields away who are outdoor kennelled. There was definitely a lot more noise from them while she was in season which we did think may have been due to them picking up her scent. I would never have taken her out during the day, or even consider letting her off-lead for a second. Not fair on her or any dogs in the vicinity
Re: Bitches on heat When Harley was in season I only walked her next to roads knowing that other dogs would all be on lead so easier to manage. I also walked her around 3.30-4pm, missing the lunchtime walkers and the early evening walkers? They still need walking when they are in season! In an area where there aren't a lot of roads I can imagine that it could be quite difficult to find appropriate places.
Re: Bitches on heat When Millie was in season , I took them both to the woods at 7 in the morning , no one else ever goes before 8 so we were safe , even let her off lead for a few minutes, but certainly wouldn't have taken her any later even on lead . I also used a local bridle path and in all the years I have lived in this village , I`ve only ever come across another person once, so we used this for afternoon walks .
Re: Bitches on heat So tricky, they need to stretch their legs a bit but the impact on entire males is considerable. I guess you have to choose your spots and times very carefully!
Re: Bitches on heat I'm not sure what is "reasonable". Certainly, in London (very high density dog area) people routinely walk bitches in heat, and usually (!) keep them on a lead. I have met off lead bitches in season. : This may be because in London, people are very short of garden space. My friend cureently has a bitch in season in London and is doing her normal walks, at normal times, just on lead. So whether it's reasonable, don't know. Where I live, it's normal though.
Re: Bitches on heat I would have thought it unreasonable. I never walked my bitches in season anywhere near dogs, miles out in the country; even so a male dog could scent a bitch in season and follow that. One of the reasons I have had my males castrated is IF there is a bitch in season nearby, they won't risk getting run over in an attempt to find her; they won't be sexually frustrated when a bitch is in season which I think is unfair on the dog.
Re: Bitches on heat I got my very first dog when I was 14 years old. He was a heinz variety. The vet told my mum when she asked about getting him castrated that to remember " a bitch is in season twice a year but a dog is in season all year". Needless to say he was castrated. I've had bitches that were not spayed and never walked them from the house , I took them in the car. Then it was to areas where we were unlikely to meet other dogs. This was only at the beginning and the end of their season. I'm afraid they didn't get walked when they stood with tail to the side for poor castrated Jake to do the business.
