# Shasta is in heat...



## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

OMG! How do you deal with the smell?


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## DCluver33 (May 27, 2010)

open windows? spray air freshener? I dunno lol I've never had a dog in heat


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Yet another good reason not to have an intact bitch.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Thank you, Elaine, that was extremely helpful.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I'm guessing this is her first heat? Are you waiting until she is older to spay?

I like the idea of waiting until dogs are 1-2 years old before spaying/neutering but I am getting a female GSD next year and I dont know if I can handle going through a heat cycle :wild:.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

paulag1955 said:


> Thank you, Elaine, that was extremely helpful.


:rofl:


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

paulag1955 said:


> thank you, elaine, that was extremely helpful.


lol!


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

LaRen616 said:


> I'm guessing this is her first heat? Are you waiting until she is older to spay?
> 
> I like the idea of waiting until dogs are 1-2 years old before spaying/neutering but I am getting a female GSD next year and I dont know if I can handle going through a heat cycle :wild:.


No, actually, we intended to have her spayed before her first heat cycle but she was on and off antibiotics so many times the timing didn't work out. It hasn't been that bad but today, suddenly, the smell is overpowering.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

paulag1955 said:


> No, actually, we intended to have her spayed before her first heat cycle but she was on and off antibiotics so many times the timing didn't work out. It hasn't been that bad but today, suddenly, the smell is overpowering.


Oh. 

Do you mind if I ask you some questions?

I have never had to deal with a female in heat but since I want to have a female next year, I would like to know how your girl is acting? Is there alot of blood? Exactly how bad is the smell?  hahaha


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

when shelby was in heat she wore diapers, was sprayed constantly with a doggie freshener (which BTW didnt help much but i can only imagine the smell had we NOT been using it!) and she chose to spend the majority of her month in her crate with the door open sleeping and avoiding everyone. Dont blame her. I like to avoid everyone when i'm on my period too but good god she smelled horrible. In all honesty if i could have allowed her to stay outside and known nothing would happen and no males would be able to access her, she would have lived out there for the month. You could try a bath but i dont know how much good that would do.


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

We didn't have any smell with Nikki's first heat. Do you think there may be a possibility of an infection?


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

LaRen616 said:


> Oh.
> 
> Do you mind if I ask you some questions?
> 
> I have never had to deal with a female in heat but since I want to have a female next year, I would like to know how your girl is acting? Is there alot of blood? Exactly how bad is the smell?  hahaha


I can help u there as my little Karma ( not so little anymore ) went into heat for the very first time a week ago.

We are at week 2 now.

There is NO smell. ??????????????????????????????????????

Mild blood spotting on the tiles only. Blood is very watery.

She seems very lethargic and sleeps alot and whilst I was told she would be goofy and to forget training until she stopped her cycle.....yesterday her focus was perfect and I taught her a near perfect HEEL ( as per TAB29 youtube video where he uses the chair ) in about 3 minutes ! 

She is as affectionate as ever but my housekeeper has said during the day she is very relaxed and not as hyper. I have not been taking her to work but have had her under house arrest where she is safe from ...er....men.

Last night there was a lot of low level whining going on right outside my window like " please daddy letme into the bedroom ".

Other than that - she is business as usual !


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

and for the first time in my life I am not spaying my beautiful dog because I WANT HER PUPPIES !! Well.....I want one of them and my mates all want the rest !


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

There is no smell with Zoe's heats either could she have a yeast infection? The real blood is short lived and never too heavy especially when using the diaper pad things- we change them 2-3 times a day. I'm glad she finally went since I know you were antsy for it to begin and be over with,lol See it's not that bad though sorry about the smell thats odd?


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

LaRen616 said:


> Oh.
> 
> Do you mind if I ask you some questions?
> 
> I have never had to deal with a female in heat but since I want to have a female next year, I would like to know how your girl is acting? Is there alot of blood? Exactly how bad is the smell?  hahaha


She is acting fairly normal other than wanting to go outside to pee all the freaking time and there is a lot of extra whining. There is definitely enough blood that she needs the panties with a pad inserted and she is on her 10th day of bleeding. 

Before today, there was no smell other than what you might expect if she needed to be freshened up and the pad changed but when we got up today, there was quite a strong smell. I can't describe it for you other than to day it was not pleasant. I gave her a bath and that helped considerably.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

With most of my dogs there is no smell, certainly not overpowering. I always thought people were nuts. Figments of their imagination. The idea of bleeding makes them smell something foul. 

But then came Joy. Joy has a powerful odor when she is in heat. Last time, and this time. I figure I can just wait it out. Once she is out of heat, she will get groomed.


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## spiritsmom (Mar 1, 2003)

Oh yuck! I've not been around very many bitches in heat but I don't recall any of them having such a strong odor. I sure hope Nyxie doesn't get all stinky when she goes into heat. I can only imagine what Shasta smells like - poor you!


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## Hunther's Dad (Mar 13, 2010)

Google for a product called Zero Odor. It helps, but you'll need the one gallon size.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

You know, that horrible odor hasn't returned since I bathed Shasta. I don't know anything about yeast infections...I guess I don't need to worry about it if the smell doesn't come back...right?


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

Maybe your nose was too close to your .......oh......never mind ! ;-)


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

kidkhmer said:


> Maybe your nose was too close to your .......oh......never mind ! ;-)


Oh, trust me...you didn't have to be close to anything to smell it...It assaulted you as soon as you were within 10 feet of her!


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## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

As a novice dog owner, I foolishly and negligently allowed a bitch to go into heat. I thought it was similar to a period and would last a week or so...it was awful, blood, odor..males running into our yard from the park down the street and it lasted forever.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

We haven't seen ANY male dogs. I'm assuming all the neighborhood dogs are neutered. (Still being very, very careful, though!) I'm more worried about coyotes, but haven't seen any of them either.

BTW, there seem to be quite a few of us on the forum from Western Washington.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Shasta's been bleeding for two weeks now. That seems a bit on the long side; is it a cause for concern?


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## MrsWoodcock (Oct 21, 2010)

paulag1955 said:


> Shasta's been bleeding for two weeks now. That seems a bit on the long side; is it a cause for concern?


ive never had to deal with a female on her period or anything but as far as i know it lasts... somewhere around 20 days? every 6 months??? correct me if im wrong people


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

The usual heat lasts about 21 days... It is basically a week to come into full heat, about a week to ten days where they will/might accept a male and almost a week to go out.
Most bitches will accept males anywhere from day 10 to day 18 of heat, but have known some to accept male on day 7 and as far as day 21. 
The basic is about 3 weeks every 6-7 months. Some girls will have very irregular heat and come in every 3-4 months. UGh


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

I have heard some females have a really strong smell.

Laren, since you're asking about it - I've had 3 girls that went through heat cycles with me (we don't breed of course, but prefer to wait when possible to spay until adulthood). None of them had a smell of any kind. The amount of blood varies from female to female, and day to day, but all of ours wore the washable jean material diapers and we used female feminine pads in them (not the fancy dog ones). Changed the pads in AM, afternoon, and before bed. Sometimes more if necessary. They never soaked through or had an excessive amount, but for hygine purposes if I took it off for them to go potty in between normal changes, I would usually put a clean one in there. They all accepted the diaper with no problems, didn't bother them a bit. Sometimes I took it off at night and crated on a washable towel or light blanket so their "parts" could breath a little and air out. I always had two diapers so I could wash and air dry them. I think both were supposed to be air dryed, can't remember if I ever tossed it in the dryer. I still have my original diapers from years ago because I took good care of them, but haven't had an intact female for awhile. They wash and clean up really well.

It really wasn't a hassle with any of them. In 3 wks it's over for another 5 - 6 months.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Yeah, I'm not sure what caused the smell, but a bath took care of it. 

What I'm specifically asking about now is...does the bleeding last the entire time they're in heat?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

It seems like Jenna comes in and ovulates very quickly, by day six. I have heard of bitches that only got pregnant when bred prior to any bleeding. That sounded really weird. But yes, it is perfectly normal for them to be in heat for three weeks or even a little longer. At no point during the heat can you feel confident that she cannot get pregnant. Even if you breed her, you must keep other dogs away from her, because she can have a litter with two sires. 

So just saying, keep her safe, and because some ovulate early and some ovulate late, make sure she is out of commission for the whole three weeks.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

selzer said:


> So just saying, keep her safe, and because some ovulate early and some ovulate late, make sure she is out of commission for the whole three weeks.


Oh, no worries there, I won't let my guard down at all. Although as far as I can tell, there are zero intact males for miles around. But I still won't let my guard down!

I'm just wondering if it's normal for the bleeding to go over two weeks. Or if it lasts the entire time? I just need to know if I need to be concerned about the bleeding going on for (what seems like to me) such a long time.


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## mroutdoorsman (Oct 4, 2010)

Hmmm very interesting thread. Ze'eva is just about 8 months and has yet to be in heat. Maybe her cycles will be more spread apart which I won't complain about unless it is some cause for concern!


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Yes, it is normal for bleeding for the entire three weeks. Usually the blood will become a lighter pink color. 

Joy came in the first time at just under one year. Her second heat was at 18 months. 

Dolly is in heat now for the first time. And she will be a year old on March 7.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Thanks! That is exactly the information I was looking for.

When Shasta went into heat, she was about 9-1/2 months old. I wasn't surprised she was on the early side. She was finished teething before she was 5 months old.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

When Shelby was in heat i just kept wishing it would hurry up and be over with. Shasta will probably be getting fixed end of this year, early next. Just not looking forward to the heat cycles.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

This Shasta will be spayed "quite soon" after she's through this cycle. I'm not doing this again!


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

paulag1955 said:


> Thanks! That is exactly the information I was looking for.
> 
> When Shasta went into heat, she was about 9-1/2 months old. I wasn't surprised she was on the early side. She was finished teething before she was 5 months old.


9 1/2 mo isn't on the early side, it's the late side. All my females went into heat around 6 mo old.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

My BFF has two female shepherds that we visit all the time. One of her females came into her first heat, so we had to wait till she was out to bring Hondo over. The female finally went out - showed no bleeding, and the other female totally ignored her. I brought Hondo over, he showed no abnormal interest in her - they played for over 45 minutes in the back yard. My BFF and I went into the house for a drink, I glanced outside and Hondo had mounted her. My BFF and I flew screaming out of the house as if they were on fire!

Luckily, since my boy is unexperianced, he wasn't exactly where he needed to be - so no "oops" litter - but the point was the bitch was standing for him. So even if you think your female is no longer in heat - you still have to be cautious for a while afterwards.


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## Davey Benson (Nov 10, 2010)

I'm supprised to be reading about so many unaltered dogs on here. I wonder what the percentage of altered to unaltered dogs are on this forum.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

I have not yet noticed a smell


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## DunRingill (Dec 28, 2007)

Just went thru this with my youngster....her breeder said all her bitches come in for the first time at around 9 months, well at 9 months and 2 days Bunny came in season. This isn't my first time dealing with this, she's my 4th GSD bitch. The good news was, she left her diaper alone and "only" bled for about 16 days. The bad news was, OMG she was a STINKY PUPPY! None of my others were this bad, not even the one related to her. 

and if I ever want to breed her, I don't think it would be difficult....she was throwing herself at anyone and everyone! the little hussy.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Davey Benson said:


> I'm supprised to be reading about so many unaltered dogs on here. I wonder what the percentage of altered to unaltered dogs are on this forum.


I think that the majority of dogs, and especially bitches on the site are altered. One thing you will find is that many of the people are not speutering their dogs as early as veterinarians are pushing them to, which, in my opinion, is a good thing. Especially with dogs, I think a higher percentage of people are waiting for them to reach maturity. 

And even with bitches, some of us are simply not altering them at all. 

There has been such a push for people to spay/neuter everything on four feet, and they have married terms and phrases like responsible dog ownership with spay/neuter, that it seems like people are doing it for all the wrong reasons. 

I am glad that many people now recognize that there is an agenda for vets and for shelters to skew the benefits to spay/neuter in favor of doing the operation younger and younger. 

I would still say that most of the dogs on the site are speutered, and most of the puppies will be by age two. 

While dog and bitch must be intact to reproduce, a dog or bitch being intact does not mean that they will reproduce. If people can contain their dogs properly, there is no reason their intact animal should ever reproduce if they are not aiming for that. And people who cannot contain their dogs properly, should not own dogs.

However, anyone wishing to alter their dog or bitch for convenience or their view of the pros over the cons of health benefits, they should do so, and no one should give them a hard time for the decision. At the same time, those who choose to keep theirs intact should also not be given a hard time about their decision.


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## JanaeUlva (Feb 5, 2011)

Minka came into heat at 8 months. I had the doggy diapers and washed one pair while the other was being worn. I washed the diaper as soon as it came off. She got a clean pair on after the morning exercise. Then when i got home and exercised her again, she got a fresh panty for the rest of the night. She was not smelly and only when I took off the used diaper did I smell anything. Stinky but not horribly so. She didn't wear them outside or while in her enclosed kennel. And yes, the constant washing was a pain-n-the-a**.


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## DunRingill (Dec 28, 2007)

selzer said:


> There has been such a push for people to spay/neuter everything on four feet, and they have married terms and phrases like responsible dog ownership with spay/neuter, that it seems like people are doing it for all the wrong reasons.
> 
> I am glad that many people now recognize that there is an agenda for vets and for shelters to skew the benefits to spay/neuter in favor of doing the operation younger and younger.
> 
> ...


:toasting: YAYYYYYY!! Such a relief to know I'm not the only one who thinks this way!!!


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