# Zefra; going into heat soon.....



## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Well, Zefra is almost 7 months old and we believe she is getting close to going into full blown heat.

Stark has been a little more interested in Zefra and she has become swollen a bit. No discharge as of yet, but we are keeping a close eye on her.

She is also a lot less tolerant of Stark sniffing at her (he would sniff at her every once in awhile but now he is showing a little more intent) and she has been "nesting" for the past week or so; bringing in anything and everything she can find into her crate and not letting Stark near them as she was being a bit possessive by air snapping and high pitched bark/whine... (which she got a correction for).

They have been kept separate for the past few weeks or more and we are now being even more diligent than before - if that was possible.

If Stark starts barking or whining 24/7 to get at her then we will be bringing Zefra to my breeders house since we live in an apartment.

So far we have the dogs in separate rooms of the house (opposite ends of the apartment with 2 doors, 2 babygates plus crates (each in their crate) away from one another. When Zefra is in the later stages of her heat we will be bringing Stark to a friends house when we are not home just to ensure that they don't get to one another. 

Just curious how everyone's dogs handled one of their pack in heat? How did YOU handle it? 

Also, I increased her fish oil and coconut oil about a week ago.. does anyone do anything special for their in heat females?


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## VomBlack (May 23, 2009)

Shade started bleeding last friday, a week before Odin seemed a little more interested in sniffing her than normal so that was kind of my first hint. Checked diligently, no swelling. Now for the past week she's been puffed up like a balloon and dripping blood, but nothing super messy.

Compared to Noire being in heat left November, this time around Odin could really care less about her being in heat. No whining or excessive drooling this time, he'll go out and sniff and drool around the yard but he's more or less himself.

I've been crating and rotating while i'm home, Odin has been coming to work with me as usual and getting his energy run down so by the time we get home he's pretty calm. Shade has been a bit more spastic due to the extra crate time so i've been giving her more one-on-one time out in the yard in an attempt to help keep her physically busy. I also have a 3rd GSD i'm fostering at the moment but he's a neutered male and not really paying attention to much, so he's been a non-issue.

Being about 2 weeks in this heat cycle so far has been very easy to deal with and manage (knock on wood!). Minimal stress for all involved so far. I haven't added any extra supplements or anything, kept her on a raw diet, coat is still super soft and shiny.

Hopefully it will go just as smoothly for you, good luck!


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

That gives me hope! 

I have increased her fish and coconut oil but kept the food the same (raw as well), haven't heard of doing anything else, but would like to know what others do.

Stark is just sniffing at this point, no trying anything and I hope it continues but who knows.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I don't do anything any different when Siren is in heat.

Wrangler (intact adult male) wasn't to bad to live with when Siren was in heat. He whined some, but never tried to get to her. I shut him in the bedroom with a baby gate. Door open during the day for the most part (for closed at night or if the whining got on my nerves to bad.)and she was loose in the house. (She has never been the trampy type that wants to get to a male, so she stayed away from the room where he was.) I put her in her x-pen when I took him outside. He came outside with me when I did chores. If I went somewhere in the truck, I took one of them with me so they were never both in the house if I wasn't also in there.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

*Question - heat?*

Okay, question!

Zefra had some discharge, was a tad swollen, Stark was interested more than usual, she was doing some major nesting... and so we were waiting for the next step... which never came. 

Today would of been day 15 and she is still not bleeding - at all.

It is unusual for her dam's daughters to go so early as most go right before 1 year according to my breeder and the other owners... so now I am wondering... is she really in heat or was it something else?

Could it of been a slight yeast infection or UTI? I am thinking of making a vet appointment this week coming... I am also headed to my breeders home on Sunday and she is going to check things out as well for me.

She has been around 2 intact dogs (ON LEASH) and neither have even seemed remotely interested.

Any suggestions? Ideas?


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## Ronda (Aug 23, 2010)

Saphira had a false heat about two weeks before the real one. During the first one she had a little swelling and a teeny bit of discharge for a day or two. Then nothing. Couple weeks later she swelled up really big down there and the bleeding began for real. Vet said it was fairly common for the first heat and that most people don't even notice the false start.

Ronda


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Thanks, I will keep that in mind. I am going to continue keeping them separated and keep a close watch. Hopefully my breeder on Sunday will give me some answers as well.


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## BUBBAGSD (Jul 16, 2010)

elisabeth_00117 said:


> Thanks, I will keep that in mind. I am going to continue keeping them separated and keep a close watch. Hopefully my breeder on Sunday will give me some answers as well.


hi elizabeth

zefra could be going through a silent heat has she started flagging ?
have you bought any doggie diapers for her when she does bleed, welcome to the joys of intact females lol


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I was thinking silent heat... but not sure.

Zefra is ALWAYS flagging.. she's a tease... just kidding.. kinda. But yes, there were a few instances where she did flag a little to Stark and her playmate Hunter (who is 6 months old). 

She has doggy diapers ready to go (they are super stylish too, actually there are a cool teal colour with a neat pattern on them.. LMAO) if we need them.


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## jchilders04 (Jan 11, 2011)

Something to keep in mind: all dogs are different.

My breeder has an amazing female in her breeding program; titled, etc, imported from germany...etc

She DOESNT discharge at all, no discharge, no blood no nothing. You just have to pay attention to the subtle hints which it sounds like your doing. The way my breeder knows she's in heat is when the male in the kennel next to her starts showing alot of interest...then she has to hurry to ship her off to a stud.

So just be aware, theres a small chance you won't actually see any blood or discharge.

EDIT: Unlike my girl who drips alot...however she is a very tidy girl, and cleans up after herself. Crate is sparkly clean


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## drosado (Aug 9, 2011)

We are in the middle of Mia's 3rd heat this year. She just turned 1 in October. R.D.'s behavior get worse each time. He is 3 months older than Mia and I think this is because his hormone levels are also getting higher. We have been alternating them in the crates. I sleep upstairs with Mia and my husband sleeps downstairs with R.D. We give R.D. outside time so he can play in the pool, but that only last for 5 minutes before he wants back inside. This weekend, my sister took Mia to her house during the day to give R.D. and us a break. She loves being with her and R.D. returned to the loving, calm, and sweet dog that he usually is. That only lasted until Mia came home and R.D. turned into the demon dog. He won't eat, we have to remind him to drink water, he drools, he whines, he tries to break the gate down to get to her. It hasn't been pretty, but we are managing.


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