new female German Shepherd 6 months old...need help with some stuff!!?

Question

we've just gotten our first female dog that isnt fixed a couple days ago. we noticed blood on the bed and then on my husbands pant leg after she had been on both. we think she's having a period but dont know for sure.
Is she on her period? how long does it last? how often will she get them? how do we keep from her getting blood everywhere?

Answer 1

It sounds like she is in heat, if you do not want her to get pregnant then keep her inside heat cycles can last up to three weeks and they also have doggy diapers that keep the blood from going everywhere

Answer 2

Sounds like it is her first heat. She will be in heat for about three weeks. Keep her inside or on a leash for this time. If you don't she will attract all the male dogs in the neighborhood and possibly be bred. Most bitches go into heat twice a year, but the first few cycles can be more frequent than that. A few only go into heat once a year. You can buy doggie diapers to keep the blood from the carpet and furniture. Having her spayed will prevent her from going into heat again.

Answer 3

Dogs can start their heat at 6 mnths to 2 years ( first heat)
They last 21 days.
The only way to stop the bleeding is to have her spayed.
She should get a heat every 6 months unless spayed.
She shuold not be bred until 2 years old and has been having all test done.

Answer 4

You can buy panties with a pad just like women wear. But made for dogs. And it usually is about 20 days as far as how long. And it will come every 6 mo. Thats way too young to have pups so keep good watch on her you don't want to risk her life or bring in unwanted pups. Get her fixed, soon its better for her health too. Good Luck!

Answer 5

She probably is in heat. In female dogs, its called a heat, not a period. It lasts for about 3 weeks. She'll get it twice a year.

The only way to keep her from getting blood everywhere is to buy underpants for her. They make underpants specifically for dogs that have changeable panty liners.

Keep your dog in your sight 24/7. She can get pregnant very easily, and every intact male dog in the hood will try to get with her.

I would reccomend you make an appointment to get her spayed as soon as she is finished being in heat.

Answer 6

Dogs come into heat every 6 mos and it lasts for 3 weeks. Get her spayed as soon as she is out of heat as every heat increases her cancer risk. You can buy panties but most dogs won't wear them so keep her in the kitchen, crate or very securely fenced yard to minimize the mess. Keep her away from male dogs as she can get pregnant this young.

Answer 7

When in doubt as to whether a particular b_itch is in heat I dab her vulva with some clean tissue. If there is coloured liquid on it she is "in season". The liquid starts as red blood but gradually becomes straw-coloured as she nears "urgency" to be mated. Pooches need little fore-play - when the b_itch is ripe they follow the first 2 words of "Wham bam, thank you ma'am ". But the last 3 words words won't apply until 12-40 minutes later, when the tie ends.

If the blood is from elsewhere you almost certainly need a vet.

If she is on heat, ensure that she has no opportunity to leave her "love letters" as a trail leading to your home. (Non-smokers can usually detect the aroma of a b_itch on-heat; canines have MUCH better scenting ability than do non-smokers!) If you don't have a perfectly-fenced (think of a castle wall with both an outer and an inner portcullis - and BOTH lowered!) exercise area at home you should have been DRIVING her at least 2 blocks from home before letting her start walking. It is probably already too late, but you can at least prevent her from "hotting the trail" for roaming dogs.
The book "My Dog Tulip" will tell you of the destruction lusty studs can cause on an open property!

Do NOT have her neutered while she is in season - too much risk of various blood vessels acting as though she had haemophilia. Wait until perhaps a month after she ends her season.

But DO have her neutered before her next season, which will occur any time from 4 to 6 months from now. You obviously didn't buy her as breeding stock or you would already be knowledgeable about heats. You obviously also didn't buy her from a reputable breeder, or your question would have been phoned to that breeder. This site will tell you about the pros & cons of neutering:
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

In my opinion ******** that aren't quality breeding stock should be neutered AFTER they are hormonally mature, and to most people the first heat is evidence enough of hormonal maturity, although physical and mental maturity don't come until much later, sometimes not until 3 years old. There is no point in having the nuisances of bleeding and of attracting stray dogs unless the b_itch is quality in herself and her bloodlines, the sort that can gain BH, SchH and a Breed Survey Classification and so produce top-quality pups to carefully-chosen studs.

You have been told about the "panty aids" for indoor dogs. There are also sprays intended to overpower her "Hi, fellaz - come & get me!" odours - DO NOT RELY on them, as some studs have learned to regard them as aphrodisiacs!


Traditionally a season lasts 21 days - 7 of "I'm coming in, boys!", 7 of "Take me!", and 7 of tapering off. But I've had a b_itch who preferred to be mated on her 3rd day in season, and one got pregnant the day after her owner decided that 29 days of isolation was enough...

If the worst happens, and she manages to get mated, there is a series of 3 injections that prevents any fertilised ovum from implanting to develop into a foetus then a puppy. It may not be available in the most-anti-abortion parts of the USofA, but most of the dog-world is more enlightened than those areas. No medication is 100% risk-free, but I've had no problems from the times I needed to use it (I had one lusty stud who several times ate his way through hurricane mesh to mate whichever of "his" ******** was on heat) and, as you will soon be having her neutered, the risk from the injections disappears as of that operation.


My GSD_Friendly e-group is set up with a "brains trust" of breeders, trainers, sheep-farmers, GSD rescuers, geneticists, and a vet, to answer almost any question you wish to ask about GSDs, but pet-owners keep the group alive. Click http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly/ to check out the rules and some of the messages, and if you like what you see, click the [Join] button to apply for membership - the many resources (such as the article about neutering) stored in the group's sections are for members-only.
Les P

Answer 8

Get her fixed. That will solve the problem.

Answer 9

check this Web site out: http://www.talktothevet.com/ARTICLES/DOGS/Pdogsheatcycle.HTM