Most breeds come into their heat cycle from 6 months to a year. This usually happens a few times every year and can last between 2 and 4 weeks. At that point in time, your dog will portray some changes in moods and behavior. No worries, though, there is a lot that can be done to keep your pet clean, healthy, and safe. Just remember to keep the problems in view, and most of the time, everything will be just fine.
Table of Contents
Method 1: Happiness and Health for Your Dog
Step 1: Give the child diapers to make them feel clean and comfortable
Put on some doggy diapers to keep them clean and comfortable during heat. They clean themselves too much, and this can also bother your dogs. Diapers help stop this from happening and keep your house clean. Change the diaper every 2 to 3 hours, or when necessary. Gently wipe the area with some pet wipes to avoid irritation. Available online or at a pet shop, these doggie diapers must also be the right size, and don’t forget to follow guidelines given. Give a lot of treats and praise to the dog when you help it get used to wearing a diaper.
Reminder: You can get nappies either washable or disposable. Washable ones are better in the long run, environmentally friendly, and money-saving.
Step 2: Keep Dangerous-to-Clean Areas Safe
Close off rooms that are hard to clean, like ones with carpets or soft furniture. Dogs may have bloody discharge during their heat. Use gates or close doors to stop stains on these surfaces. Keep your dog in areas with easy-to-clean floors and few soft surfaces during this time.
Place a washable, waterproof lining on the dog’s bed; it will keep it clean, warm, and comfortable.
Accidents bring happiness to neither you nor your dog.
Step 3: Let’s Make Your Dog Happy and Busy
If you don’t, your dog just may feel bored. Sometimes dogs in heat feel like staying a bit longer at home. So take a bit of your time and play with your dog in an attempt to cheer them up. Allow them more time than usual for games, attention, and toys. Show them love with hugs and kisses but give them time to rest if they need to.
The female dog becomes very grumpy when it’s in heat. Introducing new toys and playing with them might help in getting the edge off so that she remains in one place.
Step 4: Encourage a Weekly Doggy Bath
If your female dog is bleeding and has a lot of discharge, give it a wash at least once a week. Dogs feel intimidated or disturbed in heat, so while washing, be sure to reward it with snacks and appreciation for good behavior. Wet them with warm water, use special soap made to wash dogs, then wipe away any blood or discharge from their back end. Make sure you rinse very well and then dry your dog very gently with a towel.
Your dog can get a cool hair dryer used on them to dry out. Ideally, don’t wash your dog more than once a week. It’s good to use a conditioner too so that their skin does not become sore.
Between baths, clean their private parts and back end with special pet wipes that don’t have alcohol. If there’s only a little blood and discharge, you can stick to your normal washing routine and just use wipes to keep them clean.
Step 5: Monitor Your Dog’s Health During Heat
Keep an eye out for less bleeding and swelling within 2 to 4 weeks. Watch your dog’s private parts and discharge during its heat cycle. Usually, a dog is in heat for 3-4 weeks, and they’ll have discharge for 7-10 days at the start and end of the cycle. Notice the discharge getting lighter until it stops. While less discharge and smaller private parts usually get better within 4 weeks, it might take up to 6 weeks for some dogs.
Your dog ovulates in the middle of the heat cycle, so they won’t have as much discharge, if any at all. Even if it seems like the heat cycle is over, keep your dog in a closed-off area in case they start discharging again.
Call the vet if bleeding or discharge don’t start to get better, or if you notice a bad smell or a different color than brown or red.
Step 6: Contact the Vet for Health Concerns
If your dog vomits or has diarrhea, or if a fever develops, you should contact the vet right away. Generally, the gastric troubles of a dog last for a very short time and there is little to be worried about.
But, make a vet appointment soon if your dog throws up, has diarrhea, a fever, feels tired, loses interest, or shows any other strange signs 4 to 8 weeks after its cycle ends.
These symptoms might mean pyometra, an infection in the uterus. It needs quick vet care and is often treated by taking out the uterus and other reproductive parts.
Pyometra usually happens 4 to 8 weeks after the heat cycle ends, but remember it can start at any time during the cycle.
If your dog seems to be in heat at a weird time, it could also be a sign of pyometra.
Method 2: Safeguarding Your Dog During Heat
Step 1: Secure your home
Close all your windows, doors, and gates in case the dog feels like roaming. Make sure that all the entry points to your home and yard are closed to prevent your dog from escaping. Dogs in heat often take strolls to lure prospective mates. Keeping your gates closed also helps to stop stray males from coming into your yard.
Step 2: Leash Your Dog
Never leave your dog unattended to in your fenced yard. Never walk your dog off-leash. Never leave your dog in your yard out of eyesight. A male dog that has not been neutered has the capacity to smell a female on heat from even 5 miles away. This would keep your dog away from other wandering dogs and help keep it safe from breeding.
Step 3: Pick Safe Places to Walk
Walk your dog in areas that other dogs usually don’t frequent. Since intact males will be seeking your dog, be extremely careful when walking and when going out for potty. Avoid areas where you have already taken your dog, during heat. You may want to allow your dog to potty outside only in your enclosed yard, if you have one. It is also advised to keep away from dog parks or other public places where an unneutered male dog may come into contact, even on a leash with its owner.
Tip: When a female is in heat, she might be nervous, anxious, or a little crabby towards other animals.
Step 4: Arrange for Dog Care
Ask a friend or relative to take care of your male dog. Keep your entire male away from your female dog in heat. Do this even when they both belong to your family. If you don’t have anybody in mind to look after your male for 2 to 4 weeks, consider boarding him. If you can’t put him in boarding, at least try to separate your dogs until your female is no longer in heat.
This may sound like a big deal, but she needs to be tended to during the period when she is in heat. Risk of unwanted pregnancy and fighting with other dogs, both male and female, is also much more dangerous while in heat.
Method 3: Addressing the Behavioral Challenges
Step 1: Make the Environment Calm
Create a peaceful environment for your dog so he does not worry. It is somehow normal for some dogs in heat, but this can be taken care of by creating a peaceful environment. Keep them away from noisy environments, little children, and other pets. Give them extra hugs and speak softly to them. Spend more time brushing them gently, scratching around their ears, and giving them new toys or a cozy bed.
Step 2: Attend to Accidents Immediately
Clean up any messes as fast as you can because dogs are less likely to mark any areas that do not have a smell. Male dogs are more likely to mark, but even female dogs can start marking when they are in heat. The best way to get them out of this is to just take care of spots as fast as you can using a special cleaner. Dogs will mark a spot that already has an odor so cleaning up the spot will help prevent inside marking. If the dog starts marking, say, “No!” or “Stop!” and take her outside immediately for a bathroom break.
Tip: Never punish your dog for accidents which occurred a while ago; they don’t know what they did.
Step 3: Have Your Dog Stop Jumping
If your dog attempts to jump on you or another animal, don’t let it. Sometimes even girl dogs do this, not only boy dogs. Say “No!” at once and gently move the dog away from whatever it is jumping on.
Use something like a treat or a toy to get the dog’s attention and then tell him to sit. When he does, give him the reward, then practice another trick with him: to lie down or to shake hands.
Immediate action would help you teach the dog not to jump on things.
Step 4: Discourage Your Dog from Making a Nest
Sometimes when a female dog has failed to conceive, she begins to act motherly after she has gone into heat. They can even develop milk and start nursing toys or socks. If this is what your dog is doing, you need to correct it right away.
Take away what it has collected and do something fun together. Give your dog lots of time to play with his toys that deliver treats and time in the yard without a leash if it’s safe, and the heat cycle of your dog is done.
If your dog is lactating, ask the veterinarian about medication for stopping milk production. If your dog keeps preparing the nest, talk to the veterinarian or a pet behaviorist.
Conclusion
Your dog will need your care and patience when it is in heat. Diapers will help keep it clean, and it should be kept away from other dogs and safe when walking. Anything that seems wrong, such as excessive bleeding or unusual behavior, should make you take it to the vet immediately. Only love and tenderness can make this period less comfortless for your dog.
Bear in mind that the way one dog does it is not the right way for another dog. Watch for the needs and behavior of your dog when it is in its heat cycle. Assure them of much comfort and security by providing a safe environment that fits your dog’s likes while going through this natural process.
FAQs
How long does a dog’s heat period last?
The normal heat cycle in a dog lasts for about 2 to 4 weeks and comes once or twice every year. During this period, the signs will be characterized by behavioral changes, physical changes, and swelling of the vulva with a discharge.
Can I safely spay my female dog when she is in heat?
Generally, the first heat is the spaying point for a female dog. If she is already in heat, it is best to wait until the heat is over. Complications generally run higher and the procedure may be riskier.
Can my dog become pregnant if she goes into heat?
Yes, when the female dog is in heat, she can get impregnated if she mates. Any intact male of any species should be kept away from her to avoid accidental and unwanted pregnancies.
How do I make sure she’s really in heat?
Vulva swelling, bloody discharge—all this is an indication that a bitch is in heat, and probably behavioral changes such as restlessness and being abnormally clingy. Most likely, they will attract male dogs and will even have mating behaviors.
Is there anything I should be looking out for regarding complications in my dog’s estrus cycle?
In most cases, the heat cycle in female dogs goes without complications, but one needs to be watchful of an extremely serious infection in the uterus called pyometra. The animal will seem very tired, have no appetite, drink a lot of water, and, at times, there will be bouts of vomiting. In case of suspected pyometra, call the veterinarian.
