# Walking a female while in heat



## Sindyeli (Apr 22, 2005)

I'm doing research for our 9 month-old female pup heat cycle to come. We've never had a female so this is new to us. The breeder said her mom got her first heat at 1 year-old and that could be a good indication of when our dog will go into heat. This forum is helpful with ideas about diaper/chlorophyll.

But I don't understand how you can walk a female in heat safely, so how come people report doing so? Such as hiking, running with her. If you should be wary of intact males around, isn't the chance that one will find her if out and about? We live in a rural area, there are probably some ranch dogs around. The residential area we're in has educated, responsible people who neuter their males but you never know if there isn't one around. So, can you _*really*_ walk your female while in heat?

Thanks for any comments!


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

If you live in an area where there are likely to be loose dogs, have her wear a panty. 
Take her away from home to exercise her so she's not leaving a scent trail that males can follow back to your property.
Never let her out in the yard unsupervised. Male dogs can jump fences or dig underneath. And I have heard of litters being conceived through chain link fences! 

With my first intact female, there was a neighbour's dog who knew how to escape from his yard, He was camped out on my front doorstep through almost the entire heat. I sent him off to the Humane Society twice. At least when he came back the second time, he was wearing collar tags - the Humane Society had made the owners license and vaccinate him, and likely pay a fine, too.

He was back again a third time, but by then, she was on her way out of heat, so when he saw me, he took off...  
She was a rescue, so I had her spayed as soon as she was out of heat, so there were no further problems.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I don’t. You can do other things at home. Play ball in the backyard. Chase the flirt pole. It can seem like those three plus weeks stretch on forever, but it’ll be over soon enough. 

Dogs react differently to being in heat too. My Carly got very lovey (she was normally not an affectionate dog), Sage got very grumpy. Scarlet gets seriously wound up. And now 16 month old Nora (who came in yesterday) is off her food and seems sleepy.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Here is our word again, lol.
Shadow gets a bit trollopy in heat, so while normally she will actively avoid dogs when in heat she likes to chat with boys. I walk her, I have no choice.
Be aware that many males get persistent and some get pretty snarky about being deterred. Actually getting nasty is rare, their brains are being ruled by hormones so the clear thought needed to be nasty isn't there. Also note that some females get pretty ugly so you may be dealing more with your own dog then any others, and especially young females can get really upset or even violent about the sudden and insistent attention from boys. 
Check your local by laws. Some municipalities have strict rules about females in heat, look for the term attractive nuisance.
Beyond that I take the stance that my dog is my concern and the fact that someone cannot control their male is not my problem.


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## Biscuit (Mar 24, 2020)

I sort of take Sabis mom's stance on this. My dog is under control, your male should be too.

I haven't had much stress bringing Biscuit out in heat. I am conscious of going at off leak times. I leave immediately if there is a loose male interested in Biscuit. Biscuit will wear her drag line while in heat. Just to be clear, this is not a dog park and dogs are required to be leashed.

So my report is yes I am comfortable bringing my dog out in heat. I live in a city where most dogs over 6 months are neutered. I may see it differently if it was a rural area with many large intact males around.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Somehow, that didn't turn into a problem for us. I lived in town for a couple of years and we did fine. We weren't out and about at "high traffic" times for other dogs. Here, I'm in a 5 acre minimum situation and our walks are mostly around the perimeter of our property. I had worried about unapproved suitors but they never showed up. I can sympathize with the concern but also offer some reassurance.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I am a EU native and we never walked females in heat. It was just not done. Most males are intact over there and can mate regardless how you try to push them away. A pantie on a female won't do anything. They can also become aggressive to you. A friend of mine there, did walk her dog in heat and carried an extra leash. She would leash the male dog that bothered her and her dog. I found that gutsy.
Our area here doesn't have intact males so it would be easier.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

wolfy dog said:


> I am a EU native


I’ve never heard that term before, LOL!
There are 27 countries.Where are you from?


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Sunflowers said:


> I’ve never heard that term before, LOL!
> There are 27 countries.Where are you from?


Western EU.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

wolfy dog said:


> Western EU.


OK, So that leaves 10 countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.🤔
I don’t get the secrecy, but OK. 🙃

PS— because you named your dog Deja, I’m guessing France or Spain.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

NL


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

wolfy dog said:


> NL


Darn.
No points for me 😂
Now I’m having fond memories of visiting Keukenhof 🤩


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I've trained my dog in a public park while she was in heat. Trialed her while she was in heat. Do I think a problem could arise? Yes. Anything is possible. But I've never had an issue with random dogs. I think you do what you feel comfortable doing.


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## NadDog24 (May 14, 2020)

At one point we were surrounded by intact males (5 in total). I still walked Nadja. I was just very vigilant and aware of my surroundings making sure I avoided areas where some of those males frequented. Never had any troubles other than the night we had two of said males show up in our yard sniffing around for Nads. Luckily we ran them off and called the owners.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Sunflowers said:


> View attachment 582641
> 
> 
> Darn.
> ...


I never visited it; it was "just" for tourists


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## Sindyeli (Apr 22, 2005)

Thanks for all these posts, apparently there are many points of view so we’ll find what we feel is best in due time. Luckily we plan to get her spayed shory after so it will be a matter of patience.


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## Rionel (Jun 17, 2020)

@Sabis mom is right on the money about watching your own female. I usually wait past the 21 day after the heat start, then give my dog a bath before taking her out. I even reschedule any vet visits if they're too close afterwards. But like @Sabis mom said, some get kinda ugly, and I made the mistake of taking her out to soon last heat. OMG what a brat!


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I’d walk my girls when they are in heat, but I’ve yet to go anywhere (our favorite parks, my neighborhood) without encountering loose male dogs. Too many bully and lab mixes running free here to feel like this is a good idea.


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## Wunderwhy6 (Nov 29, 2020)

Kai just began her first heat recently and I am planning on walking her today. My neighbor has intact males who have already proven to be able to jump the fence, so she is never outside without us attached to the other end of the leash. Our local hiking areas are a mixed bag but for the most part people have their dogs under control. I am just going to drive her out of the neighborhood to one of the various hiking locations. 

My brother has Kai's sister who went into heat last week. He has also been walking her. He reported that a few dogs acted up, confusing their poor owners who did not know why they were suddenly acting strange. For the most part though he hasn't had any unwanted attention. He lives in a rural area in a townhouse and just doesn't take his dog out without a leash on (right now).


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## drparker151 (Apr 10, 2020)

Living and traveling full time in an RV, we have to go for walks when in heat. I've not had to fight off a loose male yet. I tell other owners approaching with dogs we are in heat, for the most part, they give use space, pay more attention to their dogs behavior and move on quickly.


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## xthine (Nov 9, 2018)

Hi OP!

I’ve taken Josie on walks and hikes while she was in season. She was on chlorophyll water then and I’d use her lemon grass flea and tick spray to (hopefully) help hide her scent. 

I’m prepared to ward off off leash dogs or wildlife that may come her way (do the 180 soon as I spot them most times), so did not see the need to disrupt our routine so much while she was in season. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Squidwardp (Oct 15, 2019)

When our female was in heat, and we still lived in the city, we still walked her. Lots of dog walkers, but vast majority of male dogs we encountered were either leashed, fenced, neutered, or some combination. Sometimes she wore a doggie diaper, but that was more for the house. We also took her to training, and it would affect the order of training--dogs in heat last, or dogs in heat not in long down with intact male on field, and if tracking practice going on, dogs in heat take potty breaks well clear of the tracking area, and so forth. 

Now that we've moved to the country, I can think of three, maybe four intact male dogs along our road who could be a problem. But then, I would not walk her along the edge of our road, because there is nothing to sniff or see or do outside the fence that can't be done inside it. 

We did have two Pyrenees and a border collie (farm dogs from next door) pay an uninvited visit when I was at work, and my wife was walking the dogs on our property. I can't recall if our female was in heat. I don't think so. They only came over that once and my wife sent them packing. 

In general, you probably don't encounter nearly as many intact male dogs these days as when I was a kid, late 1960s-1970s. Nevertheless, walks and hikes seem more prudent than going to a dog park.


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