[jmwolff]

We got our two new dogs in August. Both were ~1.5 years old, one male on female, neither was fixed.

When we got them, the female (Pencil) was going through a false pregnancy. So now it is October, and she appears to be bleeding from her vaginal area. Is she in heat again already?

We literally had made the appointment to have them both fixed for Monday, not expecting her to go into heat for another few months.

So my questions are..is she likely in heat? And how do I deal with this "logistically" from the mess perspective and the being around her male BFF Bopper until Monday.

Thanks!
Julie

 

[SophieB]

It sounds like Pencil is in season as you thought... and I'm not sure how soon she can be spayed, but your vet will advise you. Ages ago when we rescued a male Basset having already had two females, one had been spayed but not the other, and when Aggie came into season we kept Fred away by putting some of my OH's old Y fronts on her and cut a hole for her tail to poke through.

I sewed on some ribbon so I could tie them tightly enough so as not to fall off and just washed them every now and again and put her on a fresh pair and even though Fred was interested, he couldn't do anything and I tried to keep them separate as much as I could for most of the time. It used to give my neighbours a laugh seeing a Basset wearing Y-fronts running around the garden...!

If you do what I did, you just have to make sure that you take them off when she wants to relieve herself and just keep Bopper away as much as you can.

 

[bubbad]

Be sure she is never alone period! It only takes a second. Keep him totally away from her, in fact ,if you can find somewhere else for him to go till Monday it will be easier. Not knowing exactly how far into her heat she is,is the problem. The males will not be interested at first but in about a week and a half from the time she started the boy(s) will go nuts. She may not be ready to accept a male but that won't keep them from trying. As for cleaning up the mess,keep a mop handy and don't allow her on anything cloth. Some Vets still will not spay a bitch while in heat,hopefully yours will.

 

[Soundtrack]

First of all, if she is in heat keep them separate at all times for the next three weeks. Most breeders who keep their dogs in the house use the "two door" rule - always have two closed doors between them (just in case one door fails). This can be a room door or a crate/kennel door. Never put her out unsupervised no matter how secure you think your yard is.

Since it seems to be awfully soon after her last heat, I would be concerned that the bleeding might be a symptom of pyometra - especially since she had a false pregnancy. This is a uterine infection which can become deadly very quickly. I would strongly recommend having her checked out ASAP to rule this out, because if she does have pyo she could be dead by Monday.

 

[MollyMcFrecklesMom]

They make a sort of doggie diaper that is used for incontinence, as well as female in heat. Pet stores should sell them, though I'm not sure how much they cost. That may be an option for avoiding messes.

 

[SophieB]

Be sure she is never alone period! It only takes a second. Keep him totally away from her, in fact ,if you can find somewhere else for him to go till Monday it will be easier. Not knowing exactly how far into her heat she is,is the problem. The males will not be interested at first but in about a week and a half from the time she started the boy(s) will go nuts. She may not be ready to accept a male but that won't keep them from trying. As for cleaning up the mess,keep a mop handy and don't allow her on anything cloth. Some Vets still will not spay a bitch while in heat,hopefully yours will.

Our vet won't spay a bitch in season or when they are about to come into season but I'm not sure how soon afterwards they will do it and I forget the reason why my friend was told but can find out later!

 

[Soundtrack]

Our vet won't spay a bitch in season or when they are about to come into season but I'm not sure how soon afterwards they will do it and I forget the reason why my friend was told but can find out later!

It's because the organs are engorged, the blood vessels are swollen. There is a higher chance of a bleed-out and other complications. If the owner is confident in their ability to keep the bitch from being bred, it is best to wait until all swelling has subsided. OTOH, if the bitch is accidentally bred then you have the additional complication of spaying while pregnant, an even riskier proposition.

 

[jmwolff]

OMG soundtrack you are freaking me out! I am calling the Vet right now!

 

[Soundtrack]

I apologize for the freak out, hopefully it is just early heat or other issue, but when my SallyAnne had pyo the first symptom was vaginal bleeding that resembled being in heat.

The good news is that once a pyo dog is spayed recovery is rapid.

 

[LuciaB]

We got Cannoli when she was 6 months old and made the appointment to get her spayed right away. Unfortunately she went into heat before the appointment came! My vet charges an extra fee if they are in heat, but it was worth it to us to get it done. FYI he did caution us to keep close tabs on her for the next couple of weeks as even after the surgery she'll still attract the boys since she was already in heat when she was spayed.

 

[SophieB]

I apologize for the freak out, hopefully it is just early heat or other issue, but when my SallyAnne had pyo the first symptom was vaginal bleeding that resembled being in heat.

The good news is that once a pyo dog is spayed recovery is rapid.

I doubt it very much that such a young dog would have Pyometra... and in any case, in my experience of it, the discharge isn't fresh blood like in a season, it's more like blood mixed with mucous that looks 'thick' and a 'dull' pinky colour and smelly and an emergency vet visit is needed for an operation/hysterectomy.

I had experience of it many years ago in my 12-year old unspayed bitch and I was recommended by the vet at the time, to always have bitches not intended for breeding to be spayed, to avoid Pyometra in older age so ever since then, I have heeded vets' advice and had no problems.

 

[SophieB]

We got Cannoli when she was 6 months old and made the appointment to get her spayed right away. Unfortunately she went into heat before the appointment came! My vet charges an extra fee if they are in heat, but it was worth it to us to get it done. FYI he did caution us to keep close tabs on her for the next couple of weeks as even after the surgery she'll still attract the boys since she was already in heat when she was spayed.

Just checked with my friend who was to get her bitch spayed, but after her vet discovered that her season was iminent, he refused and said it's dangerous and he wouldn't do it for three months after her season (mid way between seasons) saying (briefly) that it is dangerous to spay when the cervix is opening, open or closing afterwards especially when the reproductive organs are swollen and gorged with blood, and to operate at this time could easily cause excessive blood loss!

Better to be safe than sorry I think!

 

[Soundtrack]

I doubt it very much that such a young dog would have Pyometra... and in any case, in my experience of it, the discharge isn't fresh blood like in a season, it's more like blood mixed with mucous that looks 'thick' and a 'dull' pinky colour and smelly and an emergency vet visit is needed for an operation/hysterectomy.

Pyometra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This can happen at any age, whether she has bred or not, and whether it is her 1st or 10th heat (although it becomes more common as the dog gets older).

FWIW, I would not have expected a puppy following her first season to develop a severe case of Mastitis, but Vina did.

SallyAnn was only four when she got pyo.

Better to be safe than sorry I think!

My thoughts exactly!

 

[jmwolff]

well we have an appointment for 6pm tonight...so we will see what the vet has to say. The thing that is mildly concerning to me, is last time the Vet asmitted he didn't know much about false pregancy because he almost only deals with spayed dogs...I hope is familiar with pyo

 

[Soundtrack]

Hopefully all is well and we worry for nothing. But I personally would rather bring my dog to the vet for a false alarm than miss something and have it get worse.

From what I can tell it's pretty easy to diagnose. Both times I brought a girl in with pyo, I had no idea what the problem was (they had different symptoms, as one was closed and one was open) but both times the vet picked it up right away (different vets).

 

[jmwolff]

So we are back...his initial thoughts were that it was "heat" time...but just to make sure he ran her white counts, and they came back normal, as was her temperature. So we are saying she is going into heat, but we will watch for a change in her behavior/temperment/drinking/discharge over the next two days.

He said that because she is young and lean that he would be ok with her getting spayed monday, but it does increase the risk to her slightly. So he didn't counsel me for or against moving forward with the spay.

I am torn as to what to do now monday, because if it is early pyo, the spay would take care of that...but if it's not I can just wait a month and have it done then (since Bopper will be nuetered either way on Monday). On the other hand...I am not 100% sure he hasn't "gotten to her" already.

What this is telling me is only to get Male dogs!

 

[jmwolff]

and Bopper is so not pleased at being seperated from his girlfriend either!

 

[vonny01]

Hi
Even if you have Bopper Neutered on Monday he will not become sterile immediately it can take several months to be sure.

 

[SophieB]

Personally as a lifelong Basset owner, I wouldn't let my bitch be spayed until well after the season has finished as I would never risk the life of a dog of mine from possible excessive bleeding.

Also, you say your vet doesn't know much about phantom pregnancies...! This lessens my confidence in your vet, surely vets know about that! A couple of breeder friends of mine reckon that some vets don't know enough about Basset Hounds....

I am sure that if your dog had Pyometra, she would show definite signs of being generally unwell and would have a temperature....

I know she's your dog, but if it were mine, I would take every precaution to keep the male away as much as possible and put nappies on her, or do as I did, put my OH's old Y-fronts that worked fine for us and gave our neighbours a good laugh.

 

[jmwolff]

I am keeping them apart...seperate sleeping areas and taking turns being up here with in the crate. One out one in. Also trying to keep the tighty whiteys on her when she is out.