Elsa in first heat :/

TyChowgirl · Post by **TyChowgirl** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:20 am

So Elsa has just turned 6 months and had an appointment Saturday to be spayed. She however went into heat yesterday. My friend whose family used to breed show labs say it's better she go into her first heat and spay her than spay before. Any opinions on this? Also any things to watch out for other than obviously be super careful with her outside (leashed at all times except when fenced in in the dog run outside) ? It's my first time with a dog in heat too. She seems kinda blah...but I'm not sure if it's hormones or if she's just tired from our road trip this weekend.
Thanks!

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Cindy J · Post by **Cindy J** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 4:12 pm

Can other dogs get any where near her dog run? I am asking because I have seen dogs tie-up through a chain link fence before. When Elsa is in standing heat she will be much more "compliant". It would not be out of the normal for her to back up to a fence.

Just something to keep in mind.

Also, if you plan on walking her during this stage, be prepared to have neighborhood dogs mysteriously appear and follow you. I began carrying a stick to chase off multiple males that were insistent on mating.

As my female's 2nd heat cycle came around I was advised to begin adding Chlorofresh to her drinking water. I put a little in all the drinking bowls. It has a mint flavor and they all drank it without hesitating. Chlorofresh neutralizes the smells a great deal and it is safe. This worked great for us. Six heat cycles with an intact male in the house and it cut down on the drama.

TyChowgirl · Post by **TyChowgirl** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 12:50 am

The dog run is kinda like a mini dog park. She's supervised with me out there and typically we are out there alone or with the already fixed dogs of my friends. We aren't staying out long for the reason in your first paragraph and also the heat has spiked this week (summer's last hoorah?)

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sweetpea · Post by **sweetpea** » Wed Sep 03, 2014 12:42 pm

We allowed Gracie to go into heat before having her spayed, we had been told the same thing. I don't know if there is any truth to it or not, but it made sense to me, so we waited. I was told also to make sure to wait a few weeks afterwards before having it done. I think we waited three months. I can't remember now exactly how long we waited.

When Gracie went into heat, she was very blah too. She would literally sit or lay on my lap, just wanted to be near me. Sometimes she would sit at the window, looking out at the other two dogs playing so I would take her out to give her a chance to play, but she wouldn't play. She would potty, then just sit there watching the others play. She just didn't want to do anything during that time. It really made me feel bad for allowing her to go into heat, because she was miserable. But once it was over, she bounced right back to being her old self again.

I never left Gracie outside alone, and we didn't spend much time outside at all during that time, just because I was afraid to take any chances. Our yard was fenced in, so we just skipped our walks during that time.

WyoChowDad · Post by **WyoChowDad** » Wed Sep 03, 2014 10:56 pm

I just went through the same thing with Misha. She went in a week before she turned six months old. She was more clingy and wanted more attention but that was OK. I think it has to be beneficial to let a puppy keep her hormones until she's grown. I've read arguments both ways but I can't see how it is good to spay a puppy too soon. I was going to spay Misha last month and she went into heat the day before the appointment. In hind sight I'm glad I didn't spay her. She is turning out to be a magnificent girl and I am contemplating keeping her intact for her breeding potential. I can't see taking such a perfect Chow out of the gene pool. Her sire is a Hungarian Chow from Broken Hills Heart Chows. New blood to the USA! She has some great potential but I'm not interested in showing her as Wyoming is very limited for dog shows. I hope when the time comes I can find her a suitable stud in the Western U.S..
Misha's heat cycle lasted 23 days. It's not that hard to get through just keep Elsa close and give her some extra reassurance. You'll get through it before you know it. My vet recommended waiting at least a month after her cycle if I still wanted to spay her to allow everything to return to normal.
Best of Luck!

Mike

TyChowgirl · Post by **TyChowgirl** » Thu Sep 04, 2014 3:21 pm

They wanted to go ahead with the spay anyways, if she checked out ok, but were going to charge me extra. I found out how extra tonight and though it makes me nervous having an intact female around going through her heat I'm happy she's going through the changes first. I can image hormone levels going crazy if she's suddenly spayed during heat. So... We'll be waiting till next month after her heat has been gone a month.

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