Bitch in heat but vulva not swollen!!! - Page 1

This is my second attempt to breed my bitch but her vulva is not swollen enough. She stands for the male but because her valve isn’t swelled enough he can’t mount her. Have you ever heard of this or come across this issue? Could this mean something is wrong or something that the vet needs to check into? Thanks, your help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

JD

SORRY, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER.  I HAVE A FEMALE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.  I
AM THINKING IT'S WHAT'S CALLED A  "SILENT HEAT "    ALOT OF TIMES THEY COME IN
EARLY LIKE 4 MONTHS INSTEAD OF THE NORMAL 6 MONTHS.  SHE ALSO DID LITTLE TO
NO BLEEDING.  I'M GOING TO WAIT TILL NEXT TIME AND SEE IF THIS REPEATS ITSELF.

YEAH, YOU CAN'T BREED WHEN SHE'S TOO SMALL.  IT JUST GET'S BOTH YOU AND THE
DOGS FRUSTRATED AND TIRED.  THEN YOU ACCOMPLISH NOTHING.  I WOULD COUNT
FOR 4 MONTHS AND SEE IF SHE COMES IN AGAIN THEN.  KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON  HER.
LET ME KNOW WHAT HAPPENS THEN.  I AM REALLY HOPING THIS ISN'T THE NORM FOR
MY BITCH, CAUSE SHE HAS AN AWESOME PEDIGREE.

DONNA

Sorry, I forgot to mention that my bitch is 3yrs old. I first tried to breed her when she was 2 1/2 years and now six months later at age 3. She bleeds and swells up but I'm guessing not enough.

Quote: "I AM REALLY HOPING THIS ISN'T THE NORM FOR
MY BITCH, CAUSE SHE HAS AN AWESOME PEDIGREE."

This is exactly how I feel. My bitch has an outstanding pedigree as well.... :(

JD

Get the vet to check her out. She needs to have her hormone levels checked, and have her vulva examined. It may be deformed in some way, and if this is the case, she should NOT be bred. Even if it were possible to breed her by artificial insemination, you do not want to risk her passing this condition on to her puppies, as it could be genetic.

Sunsilver is right..check her Thyroid levels...good luck

I would not overlook infectious agents.

Leptospirosis can cause infertility.

The problem is not because she comes in heat at 4 months intervals, but most probably hormonal or other underlying causes. But one thing i found about such bitches is that they are usually "indoor dogs". They're kept most of the times indoors where the sun never bath nor touch or reach them. They're walked early and late during sun-down. Mine had nearly the same problem, her vulva later got swollen but not to my satisfaction. She was bred, with now semi large belly at a month and about one week or thereabout and dropping teats/developing breast. Yet i can't tell if she's pregnant or the false thing. From my little knowledge and understanding, such bitches need exercise, plenty sun bathing etc. What i can suggest is that you do a long walk with her and see if the vulva got bigger. Pls keep us posted. In this forum every dog's a guinea pig: we learn from every dog n others expiriences. Goodluck.

Have you ever been told her vulva was recessed? 

i have a bitch that  has a very small vulva and when she comes into heat it does not get very big at all , but i have not had  any problem breeding her as long as the stud is very experience, the unexperience one never get in.

besides checking her for the right timming , i would make sure the stud has had alot of breedings not just a few.

i do have expereince with split cycles too , so i know when the time is right.
you never count the first bleed start with the second bleed as her true cycle.
Females are so hard to tell some times.

http://www.uskbtc.com/article.php/465
4.1.2 Silent heat
Silent heat is defined as ovarian activity with no associated vulvar swelling, serosanguinous vaginal discharge, or attractiveness of male dogs [20]. While ovarian activity is occurring normally, no outward signs of “heat” are observed by owners or by other dogs, including intact males. Serum progesterone concentrations can be measured on a monthly basis to determine if functional ovaries are present. Levels greater than 2.0 ng/mL indicate the presence of functional luteal tissue [20]. Vaginal cytology can also be assessed on a regular basis to determine if percentages of superficial epithelial cells are increasing. Increasing percentages suggest influence of estrogen and functional ovarian tissue. Silent heats are not uncommon [21] and can make determining if a young bitch is truly anestrus or not difficult.