Heat Cycle - Page 1

I have searched to archives and I cant fine anything pertaining to my question and i know there are lots of knowledgable people on this board and would like some input please.
  My female will be 2 1/2 yrs old in Feb. She had her first heat at 9 mths and then every 5 months after that like clockwork except for her last heat , which was last August. I think it might have been a split heat. I am not sure since I have never had an intact female before.  What makes me think she has a split heat is that she came in right on her regular schedule and went thru her regular cycle, or so I thought. When she was in her standing heat my neutered male would try to mount her the whole time and when she went out he would lose interest in her. This is what helped me keep track of when she was in her standing heat. Well, with her cycle in August 2009 there was this same scenerio except that about a week after my male lost interest in her from her standing heat , he again acted like she was back in  her standing heat. This went on for another 4-5 days until my male lost interest again. I dont recall that she was bleeding when my male was interested in her the second time but she was still swollen but not as much as she would be in her normal heat cycle.
She also didnt bleed as much with that cycle as she did with the previous ones. It took alot longer for her swelling to go down completely after that cycle, too.
    
 She should have come into heat again a few weeks ago but she has not come in yet and she is not swelling at all right now. My male was sniffing her back end this morning so maybe she is just abit late with this one, I dont really know. So my question is: if she had a split heat last time would that throw off when she would  come in this time? As I stated above, she came in exactly every 5 months before this funky heat cycle last time.

She is otherwise actting normal. Thanks for any info!!
Donna

As long as all seems well, no temperature, loss of appretite or any other unusual signs, sounds like she is OK to me;  actually if she was in in August 2009, she technically would not be due until Feb 2010.  Hopefully, she will be keeping further distance between seasons, not closer.  Of course, I would be sure to keep an eye on her and anything unusual occurs, take her to your vet.

Thanks for your reply Nans gsd. Here is a list of her heat cycles.

First Heat Cycle:May 2008
Second Heat Cycle:Oct. 2008
Third Heat Cycle:March 2009
Fourth Heat Cycle:August 2009

I figure this that she came into heat on her 5th month for each heat cycle. Am I figuring this wrong? Right now I am not too concerned since she is acting fine. I was just curious if split heat cycles would throw off how often she does cycle.
Donna

Average cycle for bitch is every 7 months give or take... my girl seems to be every 6-7. Average lenth for cycle is 20-28 days, during this time she may seem to go into standing / flagging several times, even the bleeding may come and go. A lot of bitches I know blow coat a couple of weeks prior to going into season. The male could be reacting to the hormone levels... these peak in Post as well. Agree with Nans, if not lethargic, eating & drinking okay, no visible signs of infection you should be just fine. Just remember that some bitches have been bred up to 21-28 days into cycle, and it only takes a couple of seconds to get a lock.

 the way a slit cycle works is she will come in for so many days and then stops.

then she will come back in within  a few weeks to a few months this is here real cycle, so you need to count this  cycle not the last one.

i have been through this so i know.

hope this helps

I would be suspicious of the hormones on this bitch, mine come in every 6-9 months . Are you planning on breeding her?

Thanks for everyones replies!! Today I notice that she has some swelling so I think she must just be a bit behind in her cycling.
Lief,
No I will not be breeding her.  My plan is to get her spayed after this heat cycle. If I remember correctly, I should wait atleast a month after she cycles to spay her, is this correct?

Also, has anyone's female ever urinated while in the sphynx position? My female has done this in conjunction with her heat cycle in August and this morning when I took her out to potty she immediately layed in the sphynx position and urinated. I havent actually seen the urine come out but after she gets up she will go and sniff the area where her butt was and my male will sniff that same area also. She did this several times in August with that heat cycle. I am going to keep an eye on her with this but didnt know if anyone has experienced this with their female and/or if anyone has any thoughts of why she is doing it.
She holds her tail up and stiff while she does this so that is  what is making me think that she is urinating because when she is just resting her tail is always down on the ground.

Back in the fall I had her to the vets and had her checked for a uti and that came back negative. I also had a C&S done which also came back negative.  She is still acting normal otherwise and she did urinate in the normal squating female position this afternoon.

Donna

Most GSD come in heat every 6 months,you should count the days not the months, if her last heat was at the end of that month and her next cycle might be on the first week of the month.this can confuse you. the best thing to do is about 2 to3 weeks before she comes in heat check her out early in the morning  every day before letting her out , wipe her  with bathroom tissue,This give you very good accurate time  without taking her to vet for Progesterone test .