Help! My Maltipoo is in heat (I think)!

[Isadora]

Cow hooves?

It was a water buffalo horn.
But hooves would take awhile to chew down so that would work

 

[fluffycrow]

It was a water buffalo horn.
But hooves would take awhile to chew down so that would work

Ooh even better!

 

[Isadora]

Yes a new toy may help. But she could also think its a puppy if its stuffed. And it could turn into a false pregnancy. A relative of mine did this and her dog went through 3 false pregnancies.

I'm not talking about plush toys. I mean toys that stimulate the dog in some way or give it something to do that's specific, such as the example as I gave earlier.

 

[Alagirl]

Everything I guess. what do I do differently? Will she get blood everywhere?

She is a wee dog, there won't be a horrific amount, but you can get her some 'undergarments' to catch it.
Or cover chairs etc with blankets or sheets that can go in the wash.
Other than that, watch her, and keep boy dogs away from her

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I'm not talking about plush toys. I mean toys that stimulate the dog in some way or give it something to do that's specific, such as the example as I gave earlier.

Ok. Yes brain toys will help her.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

It was a water buffalo horn.
But hooves would take awhile to chew down so that would work

My dogs love water buffalo horns. They are chewing on one right now.

 

[DobieLover]

I’m not really sure what questions to ask. Could you just give me information ?

My 8 month old min pin pup, Piper, started her heat May 13 and is still winding down from it.
At first, she could keep herself clean but I quickly noticed that she was dribbling so much blood she made a mess of my sheets.

I was able to remove about 95% of the blood stains by soaking the spots in hydrogen peroxide then laundering them in cold water and line drying. But that had to stop not to mention all the little blood spots all over the floor I was seeing.
I bought her a 3 pack of XS diapers. She was not impressed.

I did not find that her behavior changed in any way. She remained her playful, happy puppy self throughout.
I don't recommend feeding cow ears, hooves, horns or anything of the sort to dogs. They can break off a piece and it can cause an impaction in the intestines or pierce the intestines. They are dangerous. Granted, a smaller dog like a maltipoo probably wouldn't have the jaw strength to do that but it can also break a tooth in an over exuberant chewer.
Kong toys are good for chewing and come in many sizes.
Exercise is the number one thing for curbing anxiety in dogs. I prefer to allow my dogs to be DOGS when I exercise them so they have all been trained to remote gun dog collars and run free. They get to run as fast as they can, dig holes, swim in the creek, roll in the grass and sniff to their hearts content. Maybe this is why I never saw a behavior change with Piper.
This is before I had her trained to the collar.

This is Piper 2 days before she started to bleed and you can see that her girlie parts had already started to swell.

Piper is on the wait list to be spayed by the local Humane Society. I should get a call well before her next heat. I do NOT want to go through this again.

 

[addctd2plnts]

You need to walk her only for 3 weeks. Do NOT put her out in an fenced area. Male dog WILL climb and dig to get to her. Right now even good breeders can't find homes for puppies and shelters are killing everything It's the worst I've seen in 30 years of helping rescues! After she's done with this heat cycle, make an appt to get her fixed. Small dogs are fully mature at one year old and it's fine to spay them then. You don't want the mess and hassle of having an unspayed dog.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

You need to walk her only for 3 weeks. Do NOT put her out in an fenced area. Male dog WILL climb and dig to get to her. Right now even good breeders can't find homes for puppies and shelters are killing everything It's the worst I've seen in 30 years of helping rescues! After she's done with this heat cycle, make an appt to get her fixed. Small dogs are fully mature at one year old and it's fine to spay them then. You don't want the mess and hassle of having an unspayed dog.

If you know what you are doing. Then its ok to have a unfixed female. Im on constant supervision. My dogs never leave my sight unless kenneled. Also if you have no male dogs around its fine. For me my vet wont spay until 2 and a half years based on breed.

 

[addctd2plnts]

If you know what you are doing. Then its ok to have a unfixed female. Im on constant supervision. My dogs never leave my sight unless kenneled. Also if you have no male dogs around its fine. For me my vet wont spay until 2 and a half years based on breed.

2.5 years old is for giant breed dogs tat do not mature till then. A Maltese is fully mature at 1 year old and leaving it unfixed gives no additional health benefits and dramatically increases the chances of an unwanted mutt litter.