Hi guys, after a tough start, I still have my Labrador! She's nearly 9 months now. I noticed she has like a droplet of discharge on her lady bits and maybe her vulva is a bit larger. Could this be the start of her first season? Help!
If her vulva is swollen it is very likely that she is coming into season. Keep a close eye on her and you will probably see blood very soon. You will need to keep her on lead for a few weeks unless you have access to an enclosed area for her to play in. She will be at her most fertile once she stops bleeding so you will need to be hyper vigilant around then.
Good luck! You may need it. And remember these girls may well turn into flirty floosies when in season, its not just the boys that go sex mad. Vigilance is your key. Don't take risks. Walk in places its normal to be on lead - do some town walking, work on traffic calm, waiting outside shops, close control situations, and spend time on mental exercises at home working her brain to tire her out rather than an exuberant off lead walk.
Thanks guys. Day 4 of slightly swollen lady bits & droplet of discharge. Sorry tmi! Nothing else yet though. Does this sound normal???
Absolutely normal. It will last nearly 4 weeks, but probably very little discharge and she should be fertile for only about a week. Problem is knowing when that week is. We went through this last spring at about 11 months. It was not hard except that we could not let her off lead for about a month.
Now Betsy is 7 months, we are on 'watching for first season' alert. I'm a tad embarrassed to admit that I've had to google canine swollen lady bits....an extremely dodgy endeavour to get to serious sites about dogs. Thinking I'll just try to get a book instead! I've never owned a bitch before, nor has anyone in my family so not entirely convinced I know what's normal! Hoping it'll be obvious. I have an entire dog, and a couple of days ago, he carried out a teeth chattering examination of Betsy's wee! I thought 'oh, here we go...' until my dog walker pointed out he does that to his dog walking girl buddy, Peanut, and she's spayed!
Molly came into season at 7 months, that was 6 weeks ago and she still seems very attractive to some dogs! We got a washable nappy from amazon and used sanitary towels with it. We visited the cemetery quite a lot, no dogs there so she could run around.
All my friends said 'it will be obvious' 'you can't miss it'.........I honestly couldn't tell that Harley was swollen. If it wasn't for the blood I wouldn't know!
The girls that have been interested in Shadow have been very obviously swollen - you couldn't mistake it as normal. But, not having had a bitch in season, I couldn't tell you whether it's something that is less obvious the younger they are. The ones I've seen have also been on dogs with docked or "up" tails. A Lab's tail would do a much better job of hiding the evidence
The vulva is only really swollen during the height of the season, so I don't think this is really a good indication. Usually, there are several subtle hints that the season is coming soon - peeing more frequently, bit more clingy (or less so) than usual, slight swelling of the vulva... but often the first sign is the blood. When I think Poppy is coming into season I put a white sheet or towel into her bed to help spot it. Honestly, it isn't as big a deal as you think it is going to be! We are right in the middle of Poppy's fifth or sixth season; she is right on point and we will be on high vigilance for the next couple of days, but when I think back to her first season, how worried we were, how we used to check the wind direction whenever we went for a walk and were so worried that we would be mobbed by gangs of sex-crazed male dogs... it's not like that at all. It's fairly easy to spot when she is fertile, because she will almost stop bleeding (and what blood there is is far less concentrated and lighter coloured), and she will sniff the air for other dogs and will probably hold her tail to one side if you stroke her back and flanks. However, if your dog is still having discharge after four or five days and no blood, I would call the vet just to be sure.
Tut - I could really do without having no experience whatsoever, that's for sure! The pupmobile2 is yet to be delivered - once that's here, and OH and Charlie's get away car is ready, I'll relax a bit....I really do hope that it's not as bad as I fear. Although with an entire dog in the house it's probably just as well I'm on the edge of panic to be ready....
Oh god, imagine if she waits until Christmas MERRY CHRISTMAS MUM, I'M A WOMAN NOW! SO WHERE'S MY PRESENT?
I absolutely think Betsy will wait until Christmas. Yup..... In which case, it will be ok work wise as both OH and I will be free to take the dogs to different places, but I'll be stuck in London walking Betsy on lead, and OH and Charlie will be in Cornwall romping around the winter beaches and going to the pub for all the parties!
Well... You won't really have to separate the dogs for fully 21 days, you know. It'll all work out, panic not.
I hope not. I suppose it depends how upset Charlie is..... It would be good if it was just a week or so, that would be manageable a couple of times a year. Six weeks a year would be tough though.
The first time Poppy was in season, we still had Bones with us. A friend took him for two weeks. I think that had he lived for longer, we (and he) would have worked out a way for him just to be away for a week. I think the dogs get fairly used to it. I have a friend who is a breeder, with four female dogs and one male, all living in the house (i.e. not outside in kennels). She has them all together, all the time, and only separated into different rooms during the three days of actual fertility. Can't imagine how she manages it - but she says the dogs know, and that the male dog doesn't get all hot and bothered until the time is actually ripe, so to speak! Depends on the dog, of course, and he did grow up with his mother, siblings and half-siblings.
Bramble has just turned 11 months old, and has not had her first season...I have been on tenterhooks for weeks now. We are fairly convinced it will be Christmas!
I read that the first season can be so minor people can miss it....I reckon Benson might let you know though!
