# Heat cycle question



## my5wee-ones (Apr 1, 2015)

Hi all - first and foremost I want to say I am so grateful for this forum - It provides a wealth of information and I don't know what I would do with out it. I have spent a long time perusing the heat cycle threads, and I think we vaguely know what to expect in terms of length, etc. My question is exactly how vigilant do we have to be at what point? Our 11 month old started bleeding (pls forgive my ignorance, I am not sure what to call each stage of the cycle) 5 days ago. Because we are trying to keep her under our watchful eye, since then she has not been on a real hike or long walk since. We have been trying to exercise her in the fenced area of our yard, which is not enough. We brought her to our pond yesterday, but then got nervous when she ran into the woods. She is starting to get a little punchy and depressed and I don't blame her. My questions are: at this stage - is it okay to take her for an off-leash walk on our own property? we have 142 acres, but some of our neighbors do have male dogs and we are not sure exactly how far her 'scent' will carry. Also, is she likely to run off, or are we just worried about males finding her? we have been putting a doggy diaper on her in the house but taking it off when she goes outside. Is it okay to take her to the park, or is that not considered courteous to other pet owners - will it make their dogs go crazy? Any help would be HUGELY appreciated. We are not sure if we are being over or under cautious and we are only 5 days in - it is starting to wear on all of us a little... thank you.


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## Anida (Jun 10, 2016)

So not looking forward to this with our Kaylee either. She is 8mths and nothing yet.

If there are any intact males around and they get her scent it will drive them crazy. There will be shaking, whining, howling etc. (at least this is how our intact beagle acts when our female beagle has gone into heat). 

I personally wouldn't let her off leash because it's hard (at least for me) to know when they're "ready". My female beagle wouldn't let our male near her until she was ready. Also, even with a fenced yard I wouldn't leave her out by herself in case a neighbor dog decides to jump the fence. They can be crazy motivated when those hormones get going 

I feel for you and imagine I'll be in the same boat within in the next few months.


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## my5wee-ones (Apr 1, 2015)

Oh... no  I guess I was really hoping you would say, "oh, you're being WAY over-cautious." i was sort of afraid that would be the answer tho... Thank you so much for replying. I guess I will just keep doing what we are doing... (but that is a good point about the fenced in yard, I wasn't even thinking another dog could jump into it - oi vey. )


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## nymeria (Jan 18, 2016)

Is there any reason you can't take her on a long hike or walk, on-leash? You could use a long line if you wanted to give her more freedom but still have her within your control. It's not as good as an off-leash walk, sure, but it's better than yard-only exercise. 

You might also try increasing her training and getting puzzle toys - I like Nina Ottoson's. I know that mental work tires my V out. It also tires her out when we go to the local outdoor mall or harbor (I live on the West Coast, near the ocean) to walk around, because she has to maintain control over her impulses even though there are lots of interesting people and dogs around. We do a lot of sits and sit/stays with distraction in those areas, practice walking well on lead, and practice the other commands she knows. She seems to love it. Her tail wags the whole time and she is now fantastic in a crowd. It helps that everyone loves her and she gets lots of attention whenever we're out, to balance the training.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Individual cycles will vary, but generally you're looking at 21 days start to finish with the standing heat/estrus/danger zone  happening midway. At this point their discharge usually gets lighter in color, straw-colored or pinkish and more smelly. 

I will sometimes allow Scout off leash during her heat cycle, but not during the standing phase and only when in a big open area where I can see far off and only because her recall is excellent and she doesn't act any differently during her cycle. That's a big ol' run on sentence, but you can see that I have a lot of qualifications and it's not something I would say is good advice per se. For the first heat, see how she does and notice if her personality and obedience changes significantly. If it doesn't, you could maybe consider circumstances where you would allow her off leash in future cycles. Otherwise, increase training and mental exercise activities as well as lavish her with affection. The puzzle toys are a great suggestion and you can also search youtube for nosework games.


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## my5wee-ones (Apr 1, 2015)

Thank you, Nymeria and Einspanner for your insights - I really do like the puzzle toy idea - I had not thought of that. I probably wasn't clear in the original post, but we are taking her on some on-leash walks on our property. the problem is that she is not getting to really run like she normally does (honestly, we are not that in shape) usually we walk and she runs circles around us, chases birds, comes back, etc. 

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is just so new to us and we are really trying to understand how much to limit ourselves/her: I understand that there is the 'most fertile' phase and maybe I would avoid the park at that time (if i can figure out when it is by the discharge), but can you take them to the park/public places ON leash during the other phases of the cycle? 

Einspanner - unfortunately, we haven't 100% mastered recall yet. She is getting there, but not to the point we fully trust it yet.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

my5wee-ones said:


> but can you take them to the park/public places ON leash during the other phases of the cycle?


Sure! And even if she's on-leash, getting out and about adds some stimulation. If she starts attracting attention you may just need to move on, especially if there are multiple male dogs which may get into a fight. If a male comes too close for comfort, she'll probably correct him herself though.


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## Pecan_and_BB (Jun 15, 2015)

If you still feel she needs to run, you can always look to bikejore. It doesn't require you to be in the best of shape as she will do most of the pulling.

I used Pecan's first heat cycle this past spring as the best opportunity to train her for this and get her running at the same time. The stimulation of new commands and the teamwork aspect got her pretty tired with the combination of pulling/running. A couple of things to note:

1 - Get a proper harness designed for sled/bikejore type activities, and even better if you can find one specifically designed for pointing breeds (have padded double chest lines to go either side of their narrow chest plate).

2 - Get a proper bicycle attachment designed for the activity. Most have elasticity built in so that if your dog pulls too hard or if you have to brake quickly, there are no jarring forces between your dog and the bike.

3 - Start out off of the bike to train for the go, stop, right and left commands. I did this with her in the harness, attached to the lead.

4 - At her age, once she can run with the bike and you are comfortable with her pulling, don't go for more than 5-10 minutes at a time without a break, especially if she is the one dictating pace (pulling you with tension the entire time). It's precautionary for the growth plates.

Attached is a picture of Pecan and I out this spring at the end of her heat cycle once she had the hang of it. If I am somewhere where I cannot get her off leash now, this is our preferred method of exercise for her.

If you think this is something you wish to pursue and have any questions, feel free to ask.


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## my5wee-ones (Apr 1, 2015)

AWESOME! Thank you! Pecan_and_BB- I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bike harness idea - we do enjoy biking and I am not sure why I never thought of that before. I am so excited for a new activity we can do with her. I am going to look into this right now. Thank you! 

Additionally, Einspanner - that is so helpful - thank you! That is really what I was wondering. Our daughter, unlike my husband and I, is an avid runner and I haven't been letting her take Willow (the dog) with her this past week bc I wasn't sure it was ok to take her to public places (this is what I mean we have been getting really punchy - I have been keeping her under lock and key. I am SO relieved to hear we can lighten up a little and take her out with us. She will be thrilled, lol. We will definitely be going somewhere this eve (I don't even care where)


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