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| Whiskey in her flowered diaper |
Whiskey has impeccable timing. The day that my partner left for Belgium, she started her heat. We’ve been noticing that she’s been slowly swelling for about 1.5 months before she started bleeding. The last 2 weeks her nipples had swollen up as well and she had been losing appetite for 2 weeks prior. Other changes were that she’s been getting more protective (barking at “strange” people and sounds) and there’s been more “discussions” about rules in the house. For instance, Whiskey “talks” to me to try to convince me to give her my dinner. Or she’ll “argue” with me that she doesn’t think it’s time to go into her crate. The latter could be just part of her growing up and nothing to do with her heat.
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| Lots of swelling |
Here are a couple links to information about the heat process:
Heat Cycle Explained (redbirddog)
Forum discussion
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| She’s got a little less energy |
I bought dog diapers on amazon when Whiskey was 6 months old. Her mother had her first heat at 6 months so I count myself lucky that she held on for 1.2 years. I bought a size medium, which is too large so I just ordered another size small. You really do need 2 so you can wash one while she wears the other. Currently, with the diaper and a load of sanitary pads, the bleeding is fully contained and not a huge issue. I’ve lined her crate with light coloured towels and change them daily so she doesn’t have to wear diapers in her crate. Thankfully Whiskey is tolerating the diaper because I know not all dogs will. The reason we are not spaying Whiskey yet is to let her full develop and also to avoid health issues later in life.
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| A meet and greet in the woods |
As soon as her heat started, she became more interested in other dogs, especially males but they are not yet going “crazy”. Her training is pretty poor (recall down to 50%) even without other dogs around but I haven’t felt an increase in velcro tendencies or much more overall moodiness. She much more often though, and is very very interested in smells around town.
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| Still hiking! Still smiling |
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| Meeting few hikers on the trails |
We take walks in quieter areas now with only female dog friends. She’s still ok with a couple dogs around, but to avoid problems I’m trying to go on less populated hikes so I can let her off leash. Once she starts “flagging” or lifting her tail, I’ll have to be much more cautious and keep her mainly on leash. I’m pretty happy a know quite a few “secret” hikes to do during this time.
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| Just girls these days. Hana already had her heat. |
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| Shorter hikes in the summer heat on Whiskey’s heat |
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| until next time! |
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