Dog's first heat, any tips?

[Isadora]

Hey guys, my dog went into heat yesterday. She's getting close to 8 months old. I noticed a few blood droplets on the floor yesterday morning and she's pretty swollen.. She's keeping herself very clean and I haven't found any blood since then unless she lays in one area for a long time. She's been subdued since it started, mostly just laying down. When I take her out to use the bathroom, she does her business or just sits down. She actually pooped in the house yesterday, which she hasn't done since right after we got her when she was a puppy. Usually she poops after running around the yards for a few minutes so I'm guessing since she skipped that part she didn't quite stimulate her bowels when I took her out. Needless to say, I'm being much more vigilant about taking her to the bathroom more often!
Any suggestions or any tips? Something that has helped you with your dog or anything to make her more comfortable?
I did get her a few new toys. I figured if she was laying around most of the time she might like something to chew on.
Just as an FYI, anytime she's outside she is supervised. She is either in a pen (with us inside the pen with her) or on a leash, so there's no chance of a male getting to her during this time.
I do plan to get her spayed in a month or two. Opinions seemed kind of divided on whether to spay before or after the first heat, but my husband and I decided to let her have her first heat and then get her spayed.

 

[cassie]

You are going to have to keep a VERY close eye on her. The dog's heat lasts for three weeks. She is attractive to males this whole time but she will accept the male only during the second week. I said to keep a very close eye on her because sometime during this period she will get very restless, If given a chance she will slip her collar or get out of the yard somehow and go shopping.

 

[ryneaeiel]

Yes, keep a very close eye on her until the heat is over. While it's possible to spay animals during heat, it's usually not recommended unless it's an emergency because there's increased blood flow to the uterus, which makes the surgery more risky. The ovaries are also more difficult to locate because the swelling of the uterus hides them.

Spaying is necessary unless you're going to breed, because if an animal goes through repeated heats without impregnation, their uterine lining grows thicker and thicker and can cause all kinds of complications, ranging from cysts to cancer to a potentially fatal infection of the uterus called a pyometra.

My dog was unable to be spayed because of her alleged allergy to anesthetic, which resulted in her getting a pyometra at 11 years old and nearly dying of it. Her uterus was on the verge of rupturing from all the pus inside. The uterus of a dog her size normally weighs 5-7 ounces. Hers weighed 7 pounds.

She had to go into emergency surgery to save her, and thankfully her allergies were able to kept under control during the procedure. We now think that her allergy was actually caused by the food she was given at the time of her first spay attempt, but that's beside the point.

Spay and neuter your animals, folks.

 

[berryncherry]

There isn't much you could do, except for keeping her away from males and cleaning up her environment. Sometimes, I know that females do get aggressive towards each other when one of them are in heat, but it is less common.

 

[Dusty Chicken]

I had never owned a dog that was not spayed until my current dog. At first I was so paranoid that I would drive long distances to walk her for fear that male dogs would track her down and break into our yard. I have yet to experience that problem.

My dog is now seven years old and her heat cycles are no big deal. She keeps herself very clean & tidy, sometimes it is difficult to even know she is in heat. While she is in heat we both miss our normal dog park excursions but we still take lots of walks.

There are pros and cons to spaying/neutering dogs, we each have to decide what is best for our pet and our lifestyle.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

It's a pretty big myth/old wives tale that dogs 'need' to have a first heat or a pregnancy before spaying them. Spaying/neutering only effects large breed dogs max size/growth (Danes, mastiffs) so they usually wait a little bit with those.

With small breeds it makes absolutely no difference and it's better to spay them before you get an 'oops' litter that you can't take back.

In the long run, just spay & neuter your dogs folks. It isn't fun or healthy to have accidental litters and you're just putting your dog at risk for pyometra and ovarian/testicular cancer.

 

[Isadora]

It's a pretty big myth/old wives tale that dogs 'need' to have a first heat or a pregnancy before spaying them. Spaying/neutering only effects large breed dogs max size/growth (Danes, mastiffs) so they usually wait a little bit with those.

With small breeds it makes absolutely no difference and it's better to spay them before you get an 'oops' litter that you can't take back.

In the long run, just spay & neuter your dogs folks. It isn't fun or healthy to have accidental litters and you're just putting your dog at risk for pyometra and ovarian/testicular cancer.

I'm not sure why you replied to my thread seeing as I asked for tips during the heat and you had none for me, unless you just wanted to preach about what you perceive I'm doing wrong about the operation timing.
AKC had an article just last year about how many factors should come into consideration when spaying your dog. Hardly a myth / old wives tale.
https://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/library/articles/what-is-the-best-age-to.html

 

[Miami Leghorn]

I'm not sure why you replied to my thread seeing as I asked for tips during the heat and you had none for me, unless you just wanted to preach about what you perceive I'm doing wrong about the operation timing.
AKC had an article just last year about how many factors should come into consideration when spaying your dog. Hardly a myth / old wives tale.
https://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/library/articles/what-is-the-best-age-to.html

There many arguments for and against spaying/neutering. I hope you figured It out. I only wish I had seen this thread when it counted.

 

[Isadora]

There many arguments for and against spaying/neutering. I hope you figured It out. I only wish I had seen this thread when it counted.

Thanks Miami. I figured it out as well as I could. She's spayed now so I don't have to worry about it anymore.