Bitch In Heat - How Do I Know When It's Over?

[Sam&Saki]

Hi all My beloved Saki, a 9 month old Akita pup, is the first dog I've owned and not had desexed at six months (due to vulval involution among other things - never fear, I am not breeding her.)

She's just had / having her first heat and it has not followed the expected routine of 9 - 14 days of proesterus with bloody discharge followed by 9 - 14 days of estrus with non-bloody discharge.

Instead she had 21 days of bloody discharge, which stopped around a week ago and there is now no discharge.

I'm assuming being her first heat, and seeing she's still very much a puppy and nowhere near full grow, maybe it's not so unusual for her heat to not be textbook the first time...?

However I am wondering how to know when it's safe to assume her heat is over - so I can take her back to training, and walk her around other dogs etc?

Any advice much appreciated x

[~*Shell*~]

No advice but just wanted to say *sob* Saki's growing up!

[Sam&Saki]

No advice but just wanted to say *sob* Saki's growing up!

Heehee I know, it's crazy how fast they grow! Doesn't seem right that she's old enough to be on heat, she's still so small (err, for an akita anyhoo) and puppy-ish!

Never fear, she still acts like a silly little pup

[puggy_puggy]

With the rescue pugs that have been on heat whilst in my care there was bloody discharge for the whole 3 weeks.

If she has no discharge then it would be pretty safe to asume it's all over.

[Sam&Saki]

With the rescue pugs that have been on heat whilst in my care there was bloody discharge for the whole 3 weeks.

If she has no discharge then it would be pretty safe to asume it's all over.

Oh ok, that's been exactly my experience! Not what I thought was meant to happen though?

Thankyou! x

[Rysup]

Does her vulva still look swollen? Does she flag her tail (move it to the side) when you tickle her around the backside? They are the signs I tend to suggest to those not experienced with seasons.

As long as her vulva has gone down and is not open, she should be fine to take back to training. And dogs dont read textbooks, so rarely follow them

[Miranda]

Yes all bitches are different and while some may bleed all the way through others may not. From what you say it sounds as if Saki has finished her season.

[Sam&Saki]

Thanks Rysup, great helpful tips there

However I'm still not sure how they apply to Saki...?

Does her vulva still look swollen?

She had a recessed / inverted vulva - the specialist said having a heat should fix this.

So yes, her vulva is now an 'outtie' rather than the 'innie' is was before going on heat, and looks much more enlarged than it did before it went on heat. However considering I am comparing to a previously inverted vulva to a now normal vulva, isn't it going to look larger to me now anyway, even if her heat has finished?

Does she flag her tail (move it to the side) when you tickle her around the backside?

Just tried this a few times and she just looked at me funny, heh

She didn't move her tail to the side. However she is an akita, she has a double curled tail held completely over her back, it is never held dropped down over her bits anyway, so does this apply to her?

As long as her vulva has gone down and is not open, she should be fine to take back to training. And dogs dont read textbooks, so rarely follow them

Heehee thanks :p Is there a way to tell if it has gone down and is not open apart from the two questions you asked above? x

Edited September 8, 2008 by Sam&Saki

[Sam&Saki]

Yes all bitches are different and while some may bleed all the way through others may not. From what you say it sounds as if Saki has finished her season.

Thanks Miranda

I may leave it another week to be safe and then start taking her back to training and everything x

[Rysup]

My Keeshonds all flag and they have some pretty tight curls, so it should apply! They will sort of flip the tail to the side, arch their backs and point their butt out for inspection LOL

If you can see no discharge I would say she is all done. Some bitches stay a bit bigger after a season, so that can be normal, and as she was inverted before I guess you dont really have a measure to go by! I have boys who tell me when mine are finished, so I don't often have to rely on the normal signs!

[Sam&Saki]

My Keeshonds all flag and they have some pretty tight curls, so it should apply! They will sort of flip the tail to the side, arch their backs and point their butt out for inspection LOL

Hahaha oh dear, I'm actually kinda glad I haven't seen my precious baby display that sort of hussy-ish behaviour LOL

If you can see no discharge I would say she is all done. Some bitches stay a bit bigger after a season, so that can be normal, and as she was inverted before I guess you dont really have a measure to go by! I have boys who tell me when mine are finished, so I don't often have to rely on the normal signs!

Thankyou! Yeah I think we may start walking and training and everything again next week just to be sure. No boy dogs here to tell me, thankfully! x