# Bitch's and heat



## JordanT (Mar 16, 2012)

Ok, so my pup turned 6 months a few days ago. And her mother came into season at the age of 6 months and 3 weeks. My girl hasn't been spayed.

Basically, i don't want to breed her, she would be a great mum im sure, but ill leave breeding to the people who know what there doing. There are already 2 many homeless dogs in this world, i don't want to add to it.

When i got her, i was always going to get her spayed, but i have been talking to a few other gsd owners in my area, and the general opinion is, they dont get there's spayed. Most said, it can reduce the chance of cancer, but she will probably gain alot of weight, and that is the last thing you want in a breed that suffers from there hips.

Im still unsure what to do, but for now she hasnt been spayed. My question is, when will she come into season. Alot of dogs in my local park are males and some have been neutered, but some havnt, and from what i see they are horny little guys. My pup today though, was walking on her lead, when 3 little male Jack Russell's came running over, straight away, i asked the owners to grab them, since my girl can be very narky towards other dogs. In the end everything was going ok, i kept her on the lead though. And 2 of them were playing, but 1 was trying to hump her non stop. Now shes never tried to get humped before.

Now is this a sign, or was this guy just really horny? She hasn't bled at all, and everything looks the same as it did. But i was just wondering. Because id hate for unwanted puppies, or for my girl to snap at a male.


Also, could somebody post the negatives and positives of spaying vs non spaying. And post any experiences you have had? I would greatly appreciate it.

( If this is in the wrong section can it be moved please. I was going to put it under health but wernt sure. Thanks )


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Don't worry on the weight gain. My females are all spayed and all at healthy weights because their calories and exercise levels allow that to happen. It is much easier  for owners to say that their dogs are overweight because they were spayed, than to do what they need to do to help them. 

Since you are in an area where it seems unneutered males are plentiful, and are not too sure about her repro abilities/timing, I would consider it strongly. 

There is a sticky in the health section called Heat for Dummies that has some good info.


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## K_9 (May 21, 2012)

I was told today that a dog won't gain weight just becuase you got them spade or nuetered. She told me this after I told her that I have a Rotty that was already heavey set and I didnt want her to have additional hip problems if she gained even more weight if she did get fixed. The Lady yild me that as long as you dont excessively over feed your dog and they get good exercise that they should be fine. 

I personally don't know, but she had the title "mediator"

Also from my experience with females in heat and males that arn't neutured. Males will try to bring the femle into season with licking and humping even though they arn't near their heat or even if they have just gotton over one. Thats just my personal experience.


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## CeCe (Jun 1, 2011)

You can actually save money by spaying your dog because you don't have to feed her as much. Dogs get fat from overfeeding and lack of exercise. Spaying doesn't cause weight gain but you have to reduce the amount of food that you feed her.
The dogs you mentioned in the dog park can probably smell that your dog isn't spayed. 
Another thing you should be aware of is how easy it is for a strange dog to get a mount on your girl if she is in public while in heat.


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## sabledog (Mar 13, 2012)

I don't think the mounting had anything to do with the dogs being "horny." Mounting is a dominance thing as much as it's a mating thing. I think the "horny" dogs you're talking about are just trying to out rank the other dogs they meet and establish a pack order between them.

My bitch is 2 1/2 years old. She's never been mounted. Makes generally know when a bitch is ready to breed and don't need waste time mounting for no reason. A bitch is not able to take the entire cycle. 

Every dog is different. Mine didn't come into season until she was 11 months old. It's usually 6 months to a year.

I'm a big advocate for the health benefits of keeping a dog intact. But it's an age old argument with solid evidence on both sides.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Dogs do not bring the female into season. They smell her season before the owners see any bleeding because she either isn't bleeding much or she is cleaning herself good. And then, yes, before it is time for all out mating, the dogs generally will engage in grooming the female and paying close attention to her. Unless she is ready, if they do try to actually mount her, she will generally not take kindly to the overature. But if she _is _ready (within the window of ovulation), then she will be just as anxious to be bred as the dogs are to breed her. So CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!

Pros to spaying your bitch early include removing the possibility of mammary tumors, and eliminating the possibility of Pyometra. Also, it eliminates the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy.

Cons include increasing the risk of hemangiosarcoma and osteosarcoma, possible urinary incontinence, as well as risk of surgery and anesthesia for an elective surgery. 

It is a choice, if you do not think that you can keep her intact without preventing a pregnancy, by all means, spay her.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

> Most said, it can reduce the chance of cancer, but she will probably gain alot of weight,


Myth. My Sheltie mix (spayed at 5-6mos) is 10yrs. old and never in her life weighed a pound over 40lb. She hovers around 38-39 and is ideal in her weight. That's just one of our dogs - the rest are smaller/Dachshunds and are all the same weight because we control their intake. 
It's fairly simple. Barring a medical issue like thyroid (and some others), if they look chubby, cut their food back some. If they look thin, up it a bit.

Just like humans - if they intake more calories than they burn in a day, they will gain. The solution - up their expenditure of calories - exercise - or reduce the intake of calories - diet them and/or switch food to one with a bit of extra fiber.


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