help! puppy on heat

Maisie

Our 7 month old shih tzu has just come on heat. We had planned on having her spayed straight after Christmas as we just didin't want to see the poor little baby have to have her op at Christmas. Can I contact the vet and have it done immediately or do we have to wait? . She is indoors apart from walks so I don;t think there should be a problem with male visitors. Although we have two large female dogs they were spayed before their first heat so I have no experience of this. The american web sites I have read this afternoon talk of soothing music and brushing her to de stress her!!!!! Apart from a few spots of blood there was nothing obvious to me but just wondered if there is something I should be doing.

Starlights

Hiya Maisie
You will have to wait awhile after she comes out of season before getting her spayed.
Keep her away from other dogs, try not to take her out for walks, just letting her out in the garden to go toilet and make sure she isnt left unattended in the garden, as visitors will try anything to get into the garden to get to her.

seamus

You will have to wait 3-4 weeks after heat has ended before you can get her spayed. Heat will last 3-4 weeks, but may be shorter or slightly longer.

Just keep her locked indoors and maybe carry a stick with you to fend off any unwelcome visitors while you're out walking. If any dog is particularly persistent, pick her up and leave. It may be easiest to not walk her in public while in heat. Don't let her off the lead in public under any circumstances. I've heard so many stories of dogs ending up pregnant after an encounter while the owner was within eyeshot.

We got our staffie 5 weeks ago and she was spotting at the time and other than the irritating blood, there wasn't much else. You can get baby's nappy mats to put in her bed, that'll catch the blood.

She will smell during it, so you may want to bathe her once a week.

Don't underestimate the resolve of male dogs in trying to get to her. If you let her out in the back garden, don't leave her unsupervised.

Afterwards, keep an eye out for any sign of uterine infection - pyometra. Our girl finished up around 3 days before New Year's and then last week I noticed she was oozing yellow sticky stuff from her vagina. The next day she was very lethargic and off her food (and still oozing), so we took her up to our vet, who said it was fairly normal, but moved forward our appointment to have her spayed.
She was spayed today, and it turned out it was pyometra, but the vet didn't want to confirm it and worry us unnecessarily...

We were lucky though because it was oozing. There's another form of pyometra where there's no oozing or any visible sign of infection, but the dog does get very lethargic and off their food. So just keep a close eye on her for 3-4 weeks after heat has ended and maybe book your vet's appointment as soon as she's finished (for 3-4 weeks later).

cucoigcrice

Hi, Depending on the vet they may operate during her season however they is an increased risk as there is an increase of blood supply to the uterus thefore internal bleeding could prove a problem. Personally i would leave it 10weeks before getting her neutered as that is recommended by a few vets. hope that helps

Maisie

Thanks a million for the replies. One of the other dogs will be going to the vet during the week so I will get her booked in to be spayed for whenever he suggests. We walk them off the beaten track but I will certainly keep her on a lead just in case. I can't believe we have 2 other females and this was never an issue and they weren't spayed till about 9 months. From what I have read today its earlier in the little ones.