# In Heat



## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

Hi guys!

Well Holly's on day #11 of her first heat cycle. So far so good! She's been SUPER cuddly and not nearly as high strung as normal. She's been very laid back!

Was just wondering if anyone else with un-spayed females have noticed a change in their dog after the cycle? Will she continue to be more laid back than normal? or will she go back to her crazy self?? This was our first time dealing with a dog in heat, so we are unsure what to expect of her behavior afterwards??


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

She'll probably want to start going out to bars on Saturday night. 

p.s. I don't mean to be flippant about it. I just don't know. I have had two females in my life, and they were both spayed. Lovely girls, too. Perhaps Holly is more laid back right now because she has cramps?! Maybe your Vet knows the answer to this...


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## DixiesMom (Feb 5, 2009)

Once your girl comes out of season, she will get back to her normal. 

Just a word or warning, NOW is the time to really watch her. She should NEVER be unattended.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/12/female-vizsla-heat-cycle-explained.html

The most viewed post in redbirddog is about the Vizsla female heat cycle. 

Chloe was spayed at 6 months old so never had to deal with a cycle. Looking back for health reasons, we would have waited. There are many benefits to waiting.

Good luck with Dixie.

redbirddog


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## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

Thanks guys! Dixiesmom: we have been super careful with her! She definitely is never out of our sight! Would not want anything to happen to her! We live up north and have lots of wildlife...we've even been warned about coyotes and wolves catching the scent! Yikes!


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Pumpkin (12m) went into heat last week. We are on day 4/5 of bleeding. She is very swollen and seems to be a little out of it. Still sweet and energetic when outside, but there is an edge/intensity that has disappeared. She seems to tire a little more easily, and she has tolerated spending most of her time in the kitchen (when indoors) much better than I thought! Hardwood floors are easy clean, and even though all of of our floors are wood, she can't be on the rugs right now. Forget the "diapers" or boys underwear with a pad. A waste of $ for us. Shredded in about 1 minute :


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## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

Kellygh: sounds the same with Holly, shes acting very similar, very swollen as well. We do make her wear the little boy undies tho, but we just keep an eye on her. (Shes allowed on our couches & one of our couches is a cream colored suede so didn't want her dripping on it) Holly has pulled on them a couple of times and twice has got the pad off, but once she starts doing that I just take the undies off and put her in her crate to clean herself. She looks so cute! lol. Other than that its not all that bad. Like i said this is our first time dealing with a female in heat so we were unsure of what to expect? Will you eventually spay Pumpkin or are you thinking of eventually having a litter?


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

kashagLake: I would be insistent on undies if Pumpkin seemed to be upset about being in the kitchen a lot. Under normal circumstances, she would be whining or bouncing off the walls; however, she, surprisingly, seems to be content ??? I am attributing that to her being in heat & different. A couple of days before she went into heat, she was doing bizarre things like going under our bed to lay down. She is still getting plenty of exercise, but while out, she is not "hunting" quite as intensely. She comes home and naps. I think she's just OK having some quiet time while being bathed in hormones ;D ha! This works for me, because I can not supervise the undies nonstop. With 3 young kids, it requires too much supervision. The 1st pair she pretty much ate, just now seeing the remnants in the yard , in the 1m it took for me to place my daughter's reading log in her bookbag down the hall. This is my 1st experience with a heat cycle too. Not too bad really. It's not like she is gushing blood. Some droplets on her beds and floor. Yesterday was the heaviest of bleeding to date, but that is just bigger or more frequent droplets. Easy wipe clean & more frequent bed washes. I would love to have a litter of Vs, but we will not breed Pumpkin. While we will be pursuing hunt title(s), I have not invested any time in conformation shows; in addition, we signed a contract on limited registration. If hips, eyes, etc. came back good, and we had some hunt titles, A might consider allowing us to breed Pumpkin/amending AKC registration, but I am not knowledgeable enough I don't think. How about y'all? How old is Holly? We will spay Pumpkin, probably, in December. It will be before her 2nd heat. I'm afraid of cutting it too close, because I don't know if she will follow the every 6m scenario. I also don't want her to miss too many birds during the season due to spaying. Pumpkin wouldn't want to miss birds either


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## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

Yes..lots of naps lately! They must kinda of feel like crap, I guess its the same as humans! lol. Wow, your are busy! 3 kids! That's great! We don't have any children yet so its a bit easier for us to keep an eye on her. lol. How is Pumpkin with the kids? I'm sure they all have a ball together!  
Holly is 10months. We have been thinking more about the possibility of breeding her, we'd like to keep a pup too. But we'll have to talk more with our breeder and see whats best for her. If we do breed her she'll definitely be around 2yr or so. So still lots of hunting time left for her. Holly loves to hunt as well! She has earned her junior title and is working towards another. If our breeder/trainer thinks shes ready she'll be going to Pelee Island this year in October for the fall hunt with my bf & our friends German long haired pointer. (She can't partake in the morning hunt tho! Supposedly its complete chaos, and not suitable for a pup that will only be a yr old at that time)


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## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

*** wirehaired pointer***


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

How is Holly? We were suppose to go to the beach this weekend, one of us will take the kids, but one of us may stay behind w/ P in heat. Anyway, P is great with the kids! Fabulous with lil' ones, even though she knocks them over with love (literally & figuratively). She would make a great momma! From that perspective, I am a little sad we won't be breeding her. Hope Holly is well


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## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

Holly's doing well! How is Pumpkin doing? We're on day 15 now..things have started to slow down. Still bleeding, just not as much now. Swelling has gone down quite a bit in the rear end, her teats are still quite noticeably though. She'll be done by the 8th, overall not as bad as I thought this whole experience would be! 
She went for a short hunt earlier this week and got her first ringneck pheasant, she was over the moon! but did notice she got tired much earlier than normal. Had to call ahead and make sure there weren't going to be any loose males at the game farm. They were very understanding and accommodating, they must have to deal with that from time to time. 

Now I've just been reading about phantom pregnancies after the cycle, do you or anyone have advice on this? Have read previous posts, but does it happen to every dog? Or just in some cases? I also read online last night that its a hormonal imbalance and once they've had one that sometimes the vet recommends getting them spayed after they've come out of it. Does anyone know if this is true? There are so many different opinions! ???


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

I need to read more about phantom pregnancies, because I had heard they are not uncommon. I have been told that you just have to ride it out until hormones have returned to normal. That includes allowing your dog to nest etc. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will not be a big issue for us. If it is or if it is prolonged, then I will have Pumpkin evaluated to make sure she doesn't get pyrometra (sp?). I'm not sure how common it is in dogs who have not been bred, but I know it can be dangerous. I read somewhere that dogs who experience a phantom pregnancy are more prone to them in the future with an increase in intensity?? If P has a phantom pregnancy, we will have her spayed as soon as it disappears; otherwise, we will defintely spay before her 2nd heat.


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