[Varda's Mom]

Well, Varda looks like she has started her first heat today. She'll be 8 months old in two days. I was hoping she'd be a late bloomer--this seems really early! What age did your dogs come into heat?

Anyways, I've found a few drops of blood where she's been sitting here and there throughout the day, she's been licking herself a bit more, and she's off in her appetite. The bleeding isn't bad today and I'm lucky to have hardwood floors so it's easy to wipe up, but I imagine it will get heavier (right?). So, I'm trying to figure out for sure how I want to handle the bleeding, i.e., using diapers or not....

My preference would be to leave everything "natural" and not worry about trying to put/keep diapers on her or have to swap them on and off as we go outside. In particular, since she spends so much of my workday daytimes crated and unsupervised, I don't think I could leave her in something consumable like diapers unattended.

Do you have success stories at managing heats "naturally" and without resorting to diapers, etc.?

When does the bleeding get the worst? How long has the bleeding stage lasted for your shepherds (I know it's usually said to be 7-10 days, but I'm looking for real-life anecdotes instead of data sets)?

My hope was to spay her at 2 years old and 2 heat cycles to reduce risk of hip problems and to allow full skeletal growth. But if she has her first heat now, she'll probably have her second this fall but only be 14-15 months old...then her third heat will likely arrive several months before she's 2 years old. Any thoughts on whether it is more important to wait to the 2-year mark, or to get the spay done before she has more than 2 heats/an increased risk of cancers?

I knew I'd have to go through this at least twice when I chose a female...but I can see why people choose males and don't have to deal with this!

 

[NadDog24]

Nadja went into heat for the first time at 9 months. She never wears a diaper because I know her and she’s try to eat it. Her bleeding phase usually lasts about 7 days or so. I manage it by keeping a mop handy and just spot mopping whenever necessary. Personally, I don’t find her heat cycles very difficult or inconvenient, I just make sure to keep any males away and make sure she’s not outside unattended.

 

[Fodder]

i moved your thread to Basic Care, several recent heat topics to browse there.

 

[Varda's Mom]

I know it's only been two days, but so far this is way easier than I feared it would be. Never having had a dog go into heat, I guess I had visions of her leaving large patches of blood all over the place and getting it all over her fur. But other than a few drops of blood on the floor several times throughout the day, it's quite manageable so far thankfully!

 

[Bknmaizey]

here’s my experience and some comments others shared on the thread which were helpful to me.

Looking for advice on first heat

So… long story short, we were scheduled for a spay on Thursday but it looks like our pup has different plans. As of tonight, pretty sure that she’s started the heat cycle. Visiting the vet in the morning to confirm and, if so, postpone the spay. I definitely did not expect to have to get...

www.germanshepherds.com

 

[xthine]

Hi OP!
Josie had an Ovary Sparing Spay (at age 2 1/2) so she still bleeds, but not as much as she did pre spay. Back then I did have to use washable diapers although with each cycle she became better about keeping herself clean. Bleeding starts clearing up after about a week.
I used to add chlorophyll to her water to help mask the heat scent, or I’d spray her with Wondercide flea and tick
in the summer. We typically go about our normal activities even when she’s in heat, daily walks and hikes.

 

[wolfy dog]

The heat episodes are only a problem if you have an intact male in the same household. During Deja's intact years, I just rolled up the rugs when she was bleeding and mopped after her or she herself licked it up. Bo entered our lives as a pup just before she was spayed because of a mammary tumor. In hindsight a blessing as he is a pretty macho dog. I also was getting worried about pyo when she got older. So it all worked out. Next female will be spayed earlier in life.

 

[middleofnowhere]

Well, my two were only spayed when medically necessary - at 4 yo because of repeated false pregnancies, - at 8 yo because of pyo. We used bitch britches here. Both dogs loved their "panties" -- "Panties" were special. Need handlers and dogs with the right attitude for this. But really, just call "Panties" in an upbeat voice & they'd come happily for their "indoor" outfit.

 

[Wunderwhy6]

We have carpet and hardwood here. Kai wears her britches when out and about in the house. In her crate or outside I don’t put anything on her. Her second and third heats were noticeably heavier. However, on her third heat Kai became indifferent to cleaning up anything but herself. Consequently all cleanup was left to me and our outdoor walkway occasionally looked pretty suspect- hurray for power washers!

Kai isn’t a big fan of putting on or taking off britches but she’ll tolerate them while they are on. However, I would not leave her in her crate with them on. Overall it’s not a terrible process so long as the cleaning isn’t an issue for you. Just be aware her next few heats may or may not be a bit different than this first. I’m glad your first experience doesn’t seem to be too bad 🙂