# First Heat?



## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

Well, I was hoping Ellie would hold out until after our visit to our cabin, but this morning we have a few drops of blood. The breeder said 18 months and she was only off by a few days! I saw no other signs like additional swelling (she has looked sort of puffy for many months) or any clear fluid that I read about. She did seem very hungry the last few days, more behavioral issues than normal (including biting my husband :-\) and was snotty with two lab boys last night that she loved just the day before. 

We have never dealt with any of this before, so it is all new. I guess my questions are: do you think I missed the first part of the heat or are we still looking at 30 days from today? How many of you feel you really needed to use britches? I am certain she will tear them off and have been told that the fluid amount is very small. Can she be off leash at all right now? Can she be around neutered boys? Any other advice is appreciated.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

Good morning. Our Vizsla hasn't gone into heat yet so I can only tell you what I know from experience with our lab. Her first heat was barely there - very little blood and very little mood swings. She is nearing her fourth heat cycle now, and her moods are changing, she is quite cranky with our neutered male schnauzer, but still loveable towards me. Her last two cycles have been quite drippy. We haven't used the panties because you have to take them off every time they go outside. My great-aunt is home with our dogs during the day and this was too much for her - easier to clean up afterwards than deal with the mess that would create. We have allowed her around neutered males during her heat, but haven't let her off leash if we are at the lake or anywhere she is allowed to run free. You never know what she might find. I know it isn't much information, but I hope it helps!


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

Actually, that is helpful! Thank you.


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## mlg1900 (Jun 12, 2013)

Hi there,

Ginger had her first heat last month. The first few drops of blood I noticed actually were a bit brownish in color before it turned dark red. But after finding a spot on the sofa and another on the carpet, I decided pretty quickly that I wanted her to wear panties in the house. I have seen them for sale in Petsmart. But I looked up a pattern online and sewed a couple panties myself. I made them out of an old sheet. I then used some disposable pantyliners inside so that I could reuse the panties. Just like we women do!

I was actually quite suprised by how much she actually did bleed! Especially after I read some stories that some people don't even notice their dog go into heat. I probably had to change her pantyliners 3 to 5 times per day. 

At first, when I put panties on Ginger, She started going after it with her mouth. I had a few treats in my hand and maybe a chew bone for her and after she was done with the treats. She left the panties alone!

She bled for two full weeks that red blood. The third week it turned pinkish / straw colored. After about day 23 or 24, no more vaginal discharge. But I did take caution with her until the full 30 days. 

I did not notice any strange dogs coming around during her heat. I was careful and kept her on a leash mostly when outside simply because I have heard alot of people say she will "take off running" while in heat. But I don't think she seemed uncontrollable at all. I noticed she was very clingy with me and my husband. And would whine alot while in the house. I don't know if they get cramps like us women do or not. But that is kind of what it seemed like. She slept alot and barely ate anything. 

One interesting thing I noticed was that her vulva was slightly swollen when we first noticed the blood but nothing like what the vet said would "double" in size. Well after about 4 days into the bleeding....OMG! I came home from work one day and BLAM! Things were huge! All I kept thinking was...I hope it goes back to normal. HAHAHA! For the most part, it is back to normal size. Her nipples are larger and she still has that blue swollen area surrounding the nipple. So, I am watching her closely to make sure she doesn't have a false pregnancy. 

Hope this helps a little bit!


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

mlg1900,

Thanks for all of the info. We are at our cabin in a very rural area right now with the closest real pet shop probably 1-2 hours away. So far, the discharge is super minimal. We have hardwood floors and she does not get on furniture unless invited up on a blanket, so we are going to go "commando" for now ;D and see how it goes. I am hoping we can at least deal until we head home this coming weekend. 

She has been a sweet pea and sticking close to us. We generally keep her on leash a lot up here because we are adjacent to 1000s of acres of national forest land. I will have to decide when we get home if she can be off leash or not with supervision in our mostly fenced property. This is all new to me, so I appreciate everyone's experiences.


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## Carolina Blue (Sep 20, 2012)

Kiya is just finishing her first heat that started on Dec 13. I tried dog diapers and the washable dog panties, but she was no way going to allow me to touch her tail let alone slide it thru the panty tail hole. She was extremely swollen..cant say i blame her! I ended up putting sheets and towels everywhere! We did not have any male dogs hanging around but no way I was going to risk letting her off leash. She was vomiting for a few days in the beginning then had a few days of diarrhea. I don't think all dogs experience that from what i read. She was moody, biting my hands, shoes, leash ..felt like I was back in puppy stage. Then the cycle started and my wild girl turned into a lazy dog. I did not know what to with all the free time I had. 

Overall the experience was not as bad as I expected but glad we are back to normal now. 

Good luck!


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## Carolina Blue (Sep 20, 2012)

Mlg - I know what you mean! I was embarrassed to take her for a walk! She was swinging back there!


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

Carolina Blue--

Thanks for sharing. I can't see Ellie letting me put on panties and take them off every time she goes out. If I could get them on, I am sure she would be trying to get out of them right away. Suprisingly, she is letting me take a bit of tp and gently blot her lady bits when she gets up from her crate. She tends to have some body handling issues so I am happy she is letting me do this. 

I hope we don't have the tummy issues Kiya had. She had some nasty gas tonight but I think that is because she has eaten like a piggy today. 

Ellie is normally moody and can be difficult(she has some behavioral issues we are working through). She was actually pretty well behaved and extra sweet today. It was a nice break as she has been a total handful since we got to our cabin :.


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## Carolina Blue (Sep 20, 2012)

If you have some yogurt, give a tbsp or cottage cheese. That helped so much with the diarhea.


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

So far, tummy is okay, just gassy. She gets a big dollop of greek yogurt every morning and loves it. Our breeder wants them to have some plain greek yogurt every day for the probiotics.


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