One of the commonest questions asked by dog owners who have a bitch that has not been desexed, is - Is my bitch coming into season?
To help you know - its VERY IMPORTANT to know your dogs age, as accurately as possible! A bitch can come into season from the age of 6 months - to as late as 12 months. You will need to be switched on though and start checking - at around 6 months of age.
PLEASE NOTE - professional breeders are obliged by their breed associations to breed ONLY from 12 months onward. This is because dogs that are only around 6 months of age are still very much puppies, and are immature both physically and mentally. Your dog will be a stronger and better mother and her pups will do much better if you wait until shes at least 12 months of age.
If youre tempted to breed early ONLY because you think youll make money by selling pups - be warned, Vet bills can be high - it really is best to wait for the dog to be mature!
Early Signs of Heat
One of the really early signs can be a stage of "scenting" to let male dogs know of their condition. This will appear to the more observant owner as an increase in urination and generally occurs around 2 weeks prior to coming into season. There may also be an increase in the dog licking its vulva in an effort to keep itself clean.
More Obvious Signs (Pro-oestrus - about 9 days length)
This next stage is much more obvious and is really the first full stage of heat. The bitches vulva begins to swell and can go to as large as TRIPLE its original size, this stage will last about 9 days.
IMPORTANT you need to have been observing - in order to detect the swelling. For an indication of the extent of the changes - SEE PICTURES on my site under dog breeding.
You should not miss this stage though, it is VERY obvious, because usually there is a blood stained discharge, which will vary in intensity from bitch to bitch. The discharge may start off a brown colour and progress to red. The dogs appetite can also decrease, but this is not always the case. Also usually the bitch may be more dominant with other females and begin to "flag" male dogs - ie, putting her tail up and presenting her rear to the nose of the male dog.
It should be noted however that the bitch will NOT allow a male to attempt mating at this point!
Needless to say, being observant early on means that you should be able to pick the next stage - which is the BEST time for mating - OR if you do not want to breed, the RISKIEST time - the time of maximum fertility!
The next stage is called Oestrus or Standing Heat and is where breeders will want to introduce the stud dog, to allow for mating and a "tie" to occur, for more information on this next crucial stage of the dogs heat cycle, please visit my site, at the link below.
Steve Gaskin is an author of Dog Breeding, Feeding and Training articles - he and his wife own and breed Staffordshire Bull Terriers. For more information - for Ebook reviews and a FREE Home-made Dog Food Recipe visit: http://dogloverstoolbox.com
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