# Heat Cycle



## miasowner (Jun 3, 2009)

I was wondering how long did your chi's heat cycle lasted for?
Mia's started yesterday and I'm kinda regretting not getting her spayed sooner. I was planning on getting her spayed in March during spring break when I could be home with her.


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## rubia (Jul 3, 2008)

You will get better answers than this but ..March should be a good time for this because this one would be past and another not yet due. I forget the exact amount of time to wait. 

There are a lot of experinced owners here on the subject.

Mia is very pretty..hope she is feeling okay.


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## TinyGiant (Jan 20, 2010)

Why do you wish you would have done it sooner? Is it messy or what? Sorry i'm just curious because i've never had an unspayed female in the house but will soon and just curious what I am in for.


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## miasowner (Jun 3, 2009)

TinyGiant said:


> Why do you wish you would have done it sooner? Is it messy or what? Sorry i'm just curious because i've never had an unspayed female in the house but will soon and just curious what I am in for.


No it's not messy just a few drop here and there. I just wished I had here spayed sooner so she didn't need to go through this. I have her wearing a diaper right now and I know she's not enjoying that.


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## Terri (Aug 21, 2009)

I think my Daisy is in heat now.
When i was feeding the girls earlier and they were done and walked away i saw a little blood spot on my floor.

I only got her in November and although she is almost 3 years old she was never spayed, and had a litter too.
Due to complications with her c section she had to have part of her intestine removed and so my vet wants to wait a good while before spaying her, cause of scar tissue or something.

I am also wondering what i am in for, but at the same time I would rather go through this than lose her in surgery.


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## OurCheekyChihuahuas (Nov 18, 2009)

It depends on girl. Fifi never bleeds at all just is suddenly receptive so i have to watch out for her! lol. My girls usually bleed for 9-12 days thena re receptive for up to 5 days afterwards!


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## omguthrie (Oct 13, 2009)

My chi is spayed but one of my border collies is intact. She comes into heat about once every 9-10 months. She starts bleeding and will bleed for about 9 days, then the bleeding gets lighter and that is when she is receptive to males. Don't do the newbie mistake of thinking it's over and allowing her back with boys and getting her bred. She is receptive for about 4 days then starts bleeding again for another 9-10 days. The whole cycle is about 3 weeks or so.

Remember that dogs can breed through fences, crates, x pens etc. While she is in heat is it vitally important that she not have contact with an intact male. You need to accompany her outside to potty, even if you have a fenced in yard. Dog can and will dig or climb a fence to breed (or the afore mentioned breeding through the fence). Be careful taking her walking, you don't want to have to drive off intact males from her the whole walk. Also be aware if males appear while you are walking they can get aggressive in their attempts to get to her so be careful.

It's not so bad in my opinion and because this is her first heat she probably won't be too attractive to the boys.

Good luck!
Olivia


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## TinyGiant (Jan 20, 2010)

omguthrie said:


> My chi is spayed but one of my border collies is intact. She comes into heat about once every 9-10 months. She starts bleeding and will bleed for about 9 days, then the bleeding gets lighter and that is when she is receptive to males. Don't do the newbie mistake of thinking it's over and allowing her back with boys and getting her bred. She is receptive for about 4 days then starts bleeding again for another 9-10 days. The whole cycle is about 3 weeks or so.
> 
> Remember that dogs can breed through fences, crates, x pens etc. While she is in heat is it vitally important that she not have contact with an intact male. You need to accompany her outside to potty, even if you have a fenced in yard. Dog can and will dig or climb a fence to breed (or the afore mentioned breeding through the fence). Be careful taking her walking, you don't want to have to drive off intact males from her the whole walk. Also be aware if males appear while you are walking they can get aggressive in their attempts to get to her so be careful.
> 
> ...


So she bleeds, then stops bleeding during her fertile days, then starts bleeding again?


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

TinyGiant said:


> So she bleeds, then stops bleeding during her fertile days, then starts bleeding again?


Yes, that's right. And during that time her vulva will swell up like a plum. It gets HUGE. If she licks herself, she can keep herself pretty clean. I had a french bulldog and she couldn't reach herself so I kept lots of baby wipes around and wiped her after she went potty each time when I put the diaper back on. She bled like a woman, it was very messy and she was uncomfortable. It was obvious she didn't feel good. Then in the middle, when she was fertile, she would back up to our standard poodle and pull her tail to the side and stick her bottom clear up in the poodles face. She would do it to the cats too. I was so glad when it was over. For her, it lasted almost a month every 6 months. What a bother. 

As soon as I could, she was spayed. (She was owned on a co-ownership and with puppies back agreement, so we went through several breedings. None of them took). I was never so glad to get a dog spayed as I was her.


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## TinyGiant (Jan 20, 2010)

Brodysmom said:


> Yes, that's right. And during that time her vulva will swell up like a plum. It gets HUGE. If she licks herself, she can keep herself pretty clean. I had a french bulldog and she couldn't reach herself so I kept lots of baby wipes around and wiped her after she went potty each time when I put the diaper back on. She bled like a woman, it was very messy and she was uncomfortable. It was obvious she didn't feel good. Then in the middle, when she was fertile, she would back up to our standard poodle and pull her tail to the side and stick her bottom clear up in the poodles face. She would do it to the cats too. I was so glad when it was over. For her, it lasted almost a month every 6 months. What a bother.
> 
> As soon as I could, she was spayed. (She was owned on a co-ownership and with puppies back agreement, so we went through several breedings. None of them took). I was never so glad to get a dog spayed as I was her.


Wow what a story! Truly every dog is different just as every human is different.


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## Terri (Aug 21, 2009)

Oh so it isnt just little spots of blood then?
Daisy is licking herself now and then and so far i have only noticed teeny spots on the floor.
Poor baby. 
I live in a flat so the only thing i have to be careful of is when we go out on walks.
I just wish i could have her spayed soon for her own sake.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Maribelle has only had one heat - she started it when she was 9 1/2 months (they can start as early as 6 months - sometimes even 2-3 weeks sooner than that!). She didn't bleed a lot, though some dogs do. She was great about keeping herself clean so we really couldn't even tell she was in heat other than her flagging the boys & basically following them around constantly with her head in their crotch. LOL A week after she started she actually began to tie with Milo, even though he is neutered.







They tied a few times a day for like 10 days straight. Even though I tried to prevent it because I was afraid they'd fall down the stairs or off a piece of furniture. They'd purposely go down into the puppy room (where their doggy door is) the second I wasn't paying attention and next thing ya know..... She also tied with Maxwell once toward the end when Milo stopped trying.  I obviously wasn't too worried about preventing it because I didn't want her to get pg (both my males were neutered) otherwise I would have kept a better eye on them. I found it uhm, interesting my most lazy pup that had never mounted anything before (the other was always humping something just for the fun of it LOL) was the one who successfully tied with her. She obviously thought he was the best match. 

Usually heats last about 3 weeks & Maribelle was right around that.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Brodysmom said:


> And during that time her vulva will swell up like a plum. It gets HUGE.


Ahh yes, Mari was quite swollen & "pink" as well....


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## omguthrie (Oct 13, 2009)

Terri,

If you aren't sure if she's in heat from the blood then turn her over and look at her vulva. It will be getting much much bigger and redder. She will also have some mammary development (nipples will get bigger). If there is no vulva swelling and everything looks completely normal then I might worry about a UTI. Was the blood actually blood or was it pink? Heat blood is actual blood, if it could be a UTI or bladder infection then it might be pinkish, not real blood. 

If in doubt get an opinion from a knowledgeable breeder or person with experience with intact females or your vet. In the mean time keep her away from boys!!

My girl doesn't bleed too bad. I use doggie panties with a sanitary napkin in it. She uses one pad in the day and one at night. She keeps herself fairly clean but I don't want to have to worry about cleaning up after her so the panties it is. She does act a little uncomfortable. Her biggest problem is that her brain goes away. She is my champion obedience dog and during a heat cycle you can call her name and she'll look at you blankly for about 15 seconds, then you can see the light bulb come on and she'll come running. Can be annoying. 

I also have an intact male so I'm excellent at keeping dogs apart. My boy is super obedience trained as well and he knows that he's not allowed to look at in heat girls without permission. He's been bred so he knows the drill. When Sol is in heat he'll leave her alone and not even act interested but she will all but pole dance in front of him. She'll lie down with her butt in his face. He'll sigh and turn his head away. Poor, long suffering boy!

Olivia


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## lilbabyvenus (Feb 8, 2009)

Venus is in heat right now too. I feel so bad, I promised her I'd get her spayed as soon as we can afford it, probably next month. At least Jack is neutered tho. But her last heat, she bled for about 2 weeks. This time, she's been bleeding for about a week now, but it's been a lot lighter than last time.


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## TinyGiant (Jan 20, 2010)

Can you smell a female in heat? I mean I know male dogs can, but can you notice an odor in your house from it?


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## omguthrie (Oct 13, 2009)

I can smell Sol when I change the pad in her panties but not in general. It's not an offensive odor, kind of a musky smell. I can smell my intact male too sometimes, again, not offensive but musky. Sol's smell goes away about a week after coming out of heat.

My experience with Sol may be a little different in volume of blood and such as she is a 30 lb border collie, not a 5 lb chi but the time frames and such should be pretty much the same.

Olivia


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

TinyGiant said:


> Can you smell a female in heat? I mean I know male dogs can, but can you notice an odor in your house from it?


Not that I've ever heard of?? And no, the 2 females I've ever had in heat in my house you'd never had known it by an odor. My lab was much messier than Mari ever dreamed of being blood wise. But no, no odor at all from either of the girls I've had.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

I would imagine it would be different with a pad/panty liner because it's all being caught in one place. Both of my girls cleaned themselves so maybe that's the difference? I know some aren't great about cleaning themselves so the pad would be a better way. But I would imagine it wouldn't be noticable unless it needed to be or was being changed? That's just an assumption of course.


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## Tracilea (Jul 27, 2009)

MChis.....are you saying that even though Willy is neutered , he will tie with Luna when she goes into heat? YIKES! lol 
I am curious about other females too. Rosa has been spayed and has never gone through a heat. I wonder how Rosa and Luna will react together when Luna goes into heat....


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## omguthrie (Oct 13, 2009)

Exactly MChis,

I can only smell an odor from the pad when changing it. 

Olivia


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## Terri (Aug 21, 2009)

It was Defo blood Olivia, i let her sleep in with me aswell and there were blood stains on my bottom sheet this morning.
I dont mind the clean up though.
Her lady bits are slightly swollen and her nips are bigger too.
Wee soul.
I am just cuddling up with her a lot more, cause i know how i feel when i am like that. lol x


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Tracilea said:


> MChis.....are you saying that even though Willy is neutered , he will tie with Luna when she goes into heat? YIKES! lol
> I am curious about other females too. Rosa has been spayed and has never gone through a heat. I wonder how Rosa and Luna will react together when Luna goes into heat....


Not neccessarily. I actually think it's uncommon for it to happen however, my two have & I have heard on another forum...a couple people say it's happened to them as well. I know some say if they had been used as a stud before it could happen because they're used to knowing what to do but Milo was neutered at 6 months & never been used before as was Maxwell so....

Matilda & Mari got along fine when Mari was in heat. Maribelle wasn't "moody" at all (except when she wasn't ready to be mounted - she was good about keeping them off of her as she always is even now when they get frisky LOL). Matilda may have sniffed her once or twice while she was in heat but Mari never got angry at her or whatever. Mari is such a happy girl anyway...I know some get "moody" or extra crabby but luckily Mari hasn't. 

Chances are Rosa will leave Luna alone. You'll just have to wait & see how Luna reacts to it. I bet you won't see *too* much of a difference in behavior though.  **adding: you probably will see Luna attaching herself to Willy & following him around & "flirting" (as I call it LOL). I meant not seeing too much of a difference in behavior as in their temperment.


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## Tracilea (Jul 27, 2009)

LOL Poor Willy probably won't know what to do with himself as he is neutered and has never "done it" lol
Luna and Willy are becoming good buddies though. They are starting to cuddle more and its SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute! lol Luna smells and has a lick every so often at Willys "parts" lol As for Willy, he's more interested in licking Luna's ears lol


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## rubia (Jul 3, 2008)

Brodysmom said:


> Yes, that's right. And during that time her vulva will swell up like a plum. It gets HUGE. If she licks herself, she can keep herself pretty clean. I had a french bulldog and she couldn't reach herself so I kept lots of baby wipes around and wiped her after she went potty each time when I put the diaper back on. She bled like a woman, it was very messy and she was uncomfortable. It was obvious she didn't feel good. Then in the middle, when she was fertile, she would back up to our standard poodle and pull her tail to the side and stick her bottom clear up in the poodles face. She would do it to the cats too. I was so glad when it was over. For her, it lasted almost a month every 6 months. What a bother.
> 
> As soon as I could, she was spayed. (She was owned on a co-ownership and with puppies back agreement, so we went through several breedings. None of them took). I was never so glad to get a dog spayed as I was her.


Tracy-
I thought that Frechies couldn't procreate the usual way and were inseminated by the breeder ? Is this the case ? Omg..l can't believe the
discusions we get going on here..


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