Female in heat - Page 1

This is the first time I have had a dog go into heat. Stupid question I know, but how long will it last and how long do I need to keep her away from my male. All my other dogs were altered till now so this is new for me.

keep her away from the male the entire time. males are tricky little things. They can hook through fences and babygaits. heat cycle lasts 21-28 days, depending on the dog. My girl always goes the full 28, and I know of a dog who has tied and become pregnant at day 26.

Wow, I thought it would be about a week or so. She is a great dog from a wonderful bloodline but I might need to have this issue ended. Thanks much for the info.

Macrowe is correct, the heat starts with spotting (blood) and follows through with less blood as they come closer to being receptive. Most females are receptive to males 12 to 20 days when they ovoluate. Called a "Standing Heat" But every female is different. At no time should she be allowed around the male or outside without you standing there watching her. As strange males can easily jump fences. As i found out on my females last heat when some strange dog was in my fenced in back yard waiting on her. Since we went out with her he didn't get even a chance to sniff her before we sent him packing.
Sanitary panites offer an extra layer of protection. But nothing is fool proof when a male really wants a girl. Your boy may need to go visit a friend until her heat passes. Even small dogs have been known to chew through doors or jump incrediable hights to get a girl.
And if you have't any serious plans for breeding, a spay will permently fix her problem.
Best of luck, as this can be a trying time for owners of females.

We would love to have a pup from her, we spent months finding her line and shipped her from Chicago to New Orleans. I can't see keeping her on lockdown twice a year for that long. She loves to run and play in the yard way to much for that. We have no plans to do sport with her so........it hardly seams fair to her.

She doesn't need to be on lockdown. She just needs to be separated from the male. Not a big deal. I've done it quite successfully with many dogs and you can too! You just need to get used to it. 

Jenni, we would only breed her once but want to do this when she is 5 or 6 years old, is that to late for her to have puppy's? We have Ando and Akeemi so we reallly don't want another till thay are older dogs, both are just one at this time.

No, but earlier is generally better for the first litter according to some repro vets. I wouldn't hesitate to breed a 5 yr. old in good condition. Mine was 5 in March and just had a litter a few weeks ago with absolutely zero problems. 

I take it this is her first heat cycle? I hope it's twice a year, my girl was 3xs, and of course was an inside dog, which wasn't fun haha, but manageable. Made it better that I didn't have a male at the time. But Jenni is right, no need to keep her on lockdown. Just make sure to keep her away from your male and away from places that she could find a male (like leaving her unattended in the backyard, even for a few minutes). I'd take Luna out and throw the ball for her in our backyard, but it's a privacy fence and I was always with her, just in case. Good luck with the male. I know my friend has a male and a female and when the female goes into heat, the male lets everyone in the neighborhood know by screaming and howling all day in protest that he can't get to her :( Hope you have better luck than that.

2-3 yrs old is the best age for dam to have her first litter.  
We have 3 intact male German Shepherds and 2 intact female German Shepherds that live with us in our house, never had any accidents.  But, we strictly do not allow our males to interact with a female in season in any way, they are kept in separate areas of the house and taken outside separately.  
Before breeding your girl, make sure she at least has health testing done and doesn't have any major conformational or temperamental faults.  There is a whole lot that goes into good breeding.  I have dogs now, and had dogs in the past, that I really wanted to breed to keep a pup from, but decided not to because the dog did not meet my personal standards...even if I emotionally really wanted to for sentimental reasons.