Female problems - Page 1

First I want to say this is a friend of mine dogs that I am looking to get a puppy from. First She (dog) went in to heat last Febraury and yet to come back in to heat. She has been wormed, and is very healthy looking .i.e good wieght, very active, Has been around two other females that were in heat. But still no heat. What are your thoughts or what test should she ask for at the vets office? Thank you

EK, She needs a trip to the vetrinarian for exam and perhaps some tests run. Leave that up the Vet I am sure he will know what areas to check for.

Depending when(dates) she was in heat in February, it is only 6 months since she was in heat last, which is normal, if she comes into season in the near future. Some females are a tad shorter than 6 months and others are a tad longer than 6 months between cycles. You may just want to wait and save some money, instead of going to the vet just now, if she is healty in every other respect. Just an opinion. I have a female that just came in heat for the first time(Eramus Grand daughter) last week and she is 16 months old. I am curious as to how long her cycles are going to run, as I have never had a virgin heat cycle take this long. Stephen

Hi, You say she has been around two other females who were on heat, this could be reason for her late season, especially if the other two females were above her in the pecking order. Bitches lower down in the pecking order will often delay their seasons if one or more of the bitches above her in the pack are in season, just the same two bitches who are pretty level in the pack will bring each other in. I know of an Alpha female who would come into season earlier if she scented one of the lower ranking bitches getting ready for her heat. A lower ranking bitch has also been known to start then stop her season when an Alpha female has come on heat, then start her season again a couple of months later. This is an act of Nature, instinctive for Survival. Imagine your dog pack was a wild dog pack, the pack would become too vunerable if too many bitches were to be in whelp at the same time, apart from which it simply would not be able to support, care for and feed all the pups. If all the other bitches she lives with have now had and finished their seasons, I would guess it wont be too long now before she comes into heat herself. It's only 7mths since her last season in February anyway, so too early to start worrying yet. All the Best Sue B

I have one female that goes in heat every 41/2 months. Another that goes in every 9 months. I had one that took 18 months on fiirst heat then every 6 months there after. I have another that is 12 months and has not gone into heat yet. I wouldn't start worrying yet. If the dog is healthy and has already had a heat, then it should go into heat when it is ready.

some females also only have one heat per year, as do wolves. According to my repro vet this is also normal. So, depends on the female. It is also possible you missed her heat - some females don't bleed much, or they clean themselves very well, and if you don't have an experienced stud dog around who will "tell you", sometimes the heat is easy to miss. molly