Preventing Accidental Pregnancy

[ROTTnBRITT]

We have our first female in the house. So I'm really not sure what I'm doing. She is 6 mo now and I'm guessing she could cycle anytime in the next 6 mo.
I haven't decided on when I want to get her fix yet as I have heard it can have some negative effect on them before they have matured. (any thoughts on that are welcome)

What signs are pressent when a female comes into heat? What is the time frame that breeding can take place?

[RoostersMom]

Every dog I own is spayed or neutered( except the new GSP pup - who will be spayed when she finishes growing), so I'm obviously an advocate of that procedure. However, the more I've researched, the more I have come to understand that waiting until the female is over a year old - and maybe even 18 months to 2 years is better for her in the long run. I'm an advocate of spay and neuter because I despise "accidental" pregnancies or "whoops" litters. I see so many purebred puppies and dogs killed in our local shelter in a year that could have been prevented from spaying or neutering.

Owners that have it all "going on" and will go to lengths to be sure their dogs don't breed have my respect and support for their decision not to spay or neuter. With a female though, I would spay. My good hunting buddy lost two english setters this year - a 7 1/2 year old female to pyometra and a 4 year old female to mammary cancer. Both would have been prevented if the dogs were spayed.

As for time they're in heat, I'll let others chime in as I don't have much experience with this except for a "whoops" litter of ACD's in college.

[rinker]

Watch for blood and swelling. Some times the female will keep herself licked clean and the blood will be hard to see. It can easily be seen when she urinates on a concrete kennel floor. When you see blood you need to seperate her for three weeks, and I would still watch very closely for a couple of days after that to see if she is getting any attention. All this is not difficult once you know what to watch for. I have had 4 to 10 dogs, male and female, at all times for the last twenty-five years and I have never owned one that was spayed or neutered. I have had one accidental litter, a female in heat broke out of a kennel in the back of my garage and then jumped through a window six feet off the ground. My male dogs were in kennels so I knew that she hadn't been bred by one of them and there were no other male dogs around. I found out several weeks later that she did somehow find a willing partner.

[Buckeye_V]

Keep in a vari kennel in house. Only walk on leash. Sucks, but you've got to do it.

[brad27]

My avatar pic is from my girl's last heat. She was not happy about being in there all the time, but I didn't care.

[Munster]

My avatar pic is from my girl's last heat. She was not happy about being in there all the time, but I didn't care.

She looks pissed!

[ultracarry]

My avatar pic is from my girl's last heat. She was not happy about being in there all the time, but I didn't care.

She looks pissed!

She was very pissed.. and blowing air out of her nose loudly. That's why I took the pic.

Treat the dog like you have an impressionable 15 year old daughter that hangs out with the football or wrestling team... you should be fine.

[phermes1]

You do have some time between when she starts bleeding and when she will actually be willing to breed and able to get pregnant - so it's not like if you don't spot it IMMEDIATELY, she's going to get knocked up.
That said, as stated above, keep an eye on her, when she starts bleeding, separate her and/or keep an eye on her at all times. When she is ready to breed, it won't take a motivated male more than 30 seconds to get balls deep, so don't let your guard down. Buckeye and Rinker gave good advice.

We advise our puppy owners not to spay/neuter until the dog is 2 years of age.

[postoakshorthairs]

Treat the dog like you have an impressionable 15 year old daughter that hangs out with the football or wrestling team... you should be fine.

That's funny! I, having one of those, can picture all the obstacles i provide between my beautiful young daughter and all those horny little ba$tards!

Or...you could tell her she's married and she won't want to do it anymore anyway

[ROTTnBRITT]

Thanks for the replies.

Lets hope the males dont get to crazy. I can put them in an outside kennel when the time come if needed. All the dogs have there own crates so hopefully that will keep them separated when we are not home. The female is also upstairs in my daughter room while the males crates are in the basement.

Ive heard some pretty bad stories of male doing anything they can to get at a female in heat.

[JuliaH]

Some outside kennels won't stop either the female or the male. Both have been known to dig under, tear or pull apart wire, etc. to get out or in. I use only welded wire kennels. They cannot mess up those, or have not in the 3-4 years I have had those kennels. I also don't put kennels on the ground. My floors are wood (1 kennel) horse mats (1 kennel) or cement floor (7 kennels) so no breeding unless it is my idea

Crates are good, but don't turn her out even with supervision until she is for sure out of her breeding cycle, which comes at the end of the heat. Leash walks or in kennel, like others have said

Julia

Thanks for the replies.

Lets hope the males dont get to crazy. I can put them in an outside kennel when the time come if needed. All the dogs have there own crates so hopefully that will keep them separated when we are not home. The female is also upstairs in my daughter room while the males crates are in the basement.

Ive heard some pretty bad stories of male doing anything they can to get at a female in heat.

[Buckeye_V]

Keep that dog in a vari kennel or something that a dog's junk can't get through. I'm telling you IT HAPPENS. Get her secluded when the time comes and walk her on a leash. Anything else is risky behavior in my opinion. It's like leaving an 18 year old girl at a frat house by herself. No good came come from it.