1st Season

[Kazzi]

Hi All
Coco is not quite 6months (10 Nov) & it looks like she's started her first season. She's been licking herself a lot the last couple of weeks & now we've noticed some blood spotting & she's swollen at the back. I've done the tissue test & yes there's blood on the tissue. I just thought this was a little young for her 1st time. Should I count today as Day 1?

Any other advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks
K

[zeta1454]

The first season is usually around six to nine months of age but this can vary a bit between girls so Coco is not very early. You may need to be aware though that if the season is very light, a puppy bitch may have a 'second' season within six to eight weeks after the first if her hormone levels have not reached their peak with the first bleed. It doesn't always happen by any means but we have known it happen with one of our puppy girls who was early-ish with the first season.

You count day one from the first obvious sign of blood and the season usually lasts up to 21 days or so with peak time at 10-14 days. Some girls bleed very heavily and others hardly at all in our experience so hard to generalise about that but, if it is heavy, you may want to consider some "pants" to save blood stains on furnishings/ bedding. Something like these:
https://www.nappypantsfordogs.com/size-small-68-c.asp

Coco will now be attractive to male dogs (neutered and entire) so you will need to be careful about where and when you walk her and always keep her on lead outside during her season. At her peak time, you may want to avoid walks altogether if you have a garden large enough for her to play and toilet there. Some girls do seem to suffer pain at this time, may be grumpy and / or needy but others sail through with no negative effects. Just keep a close watch on Coco and give her extra cuddles if she wants that or privacy if she wants to be left alone. She may get fussy with her food although none of ours ever have but it's just another possible effect of the changing hormones which can make a dog queasy. Our schnauzer girls have all had an easy time with their seasons so Coco may well be just the same

[Kazzi]

Thanks Leigh, thanks for the heads up about a potential "second season" I wasn't aware of that so will keep an eye out.
She's a bit out of sorts with herself this evening & not quite able to settle, she just wants to snuggle up but then keeps cleaning herself & fussing around. I think possibly feeling a little uncomfortable in herself. A little bit off her food but not anything significant & still up for a play although she's tiring a little quicker.

It's funny we met 3 male dogs on our walk today, one of whom I know is entire, he's always excited to see her & didn't seem any more interested although his owner always keeps him on a short lead as he's been going through an aggressive period with other males. The others didn't seem that fussed in her. She's always on a lead when out as we haven't mastered recall yet! I'll definitely just do lots of garden play when it's her peak though.

My poor little baby, vet said small dogs are often later so I thought (hoped) we had ages yet. Not sure I want to put her through a spay at just under 9mths old.....will have to give that some thought & chat with my vet.

[mikegoodson1]

I wanted to wait to reply until you had responded to Leigh's excellent post. My girl Sasha had her first season around 8 months old, it also took me a little by surprise and I thought that it would be a nightmare but to be honest it wasn't that bad. I bought small dog nappies for her but never used them! She kept herself very clean, there was the odd spot here and there on the carpet but we quickly cleaned it up. Walking on a lead was fine but frustrating for her as I knew she wanted to run free, so to speak.

On one of my regular walks, I found an enclosed field that I could use to let her off the lead - obviously I kept a keen eye on her and only allowed her off lead for 15 minutes or so. There are enclosed spaces/fields you can book so that may be an option if there is one near you? Other than that, she was always kept on a lead when walking and I always mentioned to other dog walkers I met, that she was in season, just in case they had an intact male dog with them. One particular guy kept asking me if she had scent marked the area, like I should not have let her do that! How am I supposed to stop her squatting and peeing!?

I was told by my vet that the spay operation is harder on the girl dogs than a neuter for a male dog, seemingly a neuter typically takes around 20 minutes and a spay around 45 minutes - and a spay is more invasive, hence the recovery takes longer.

I would just say that in my experience, the whole season thing wasn't as bad as I anticipated. We had Sasha spayed a three months after the end of her season and although it was tough to see her struggle post-op, literally after the first 2 days she was back to her old self.

Hopefully you and Coco will cope ok

[Kazzi]

Ahh thanks for the reassurance Mike. They really are our babies aren't they.
I can imagine the look on your face when that chap asked about her scenting
So far she's being very clean, like Sasha we see the odd spot around but she doesn't seem to like the feel of it. I'll have to have a think about the spay & talk to my vet about the options. It's a big operation & I'm not sure I want to put her through it so young.
We have several walks where we either don't meet any or meet very few dogs so we'll stick to those for now. I think I'll get some nappies, I don't know if the spotting gets heavier as she gets to her peak days or not but just in case I think I'll have them to hand.

So far this morning she's woken up full of beans & hungry so that's a good start to the day