*sigh* it's here.

[redheadsnotwarheads]

EV has come into heat. I thought we had another month or two as my breeder's girls usually come in at 12-13 months and EV is only 11months. We noticed severe swelling last week, along with some general grumpiness...and today we have drips.

My baby is growing up...and it also means her spay/pexy will interrupt her summer fun. Boo.

I have some adjustable Depends diapers to try but if they don't work out we are going to grab some of the denim diapers and maxi pads. Any other advice?

Thanks! (and wish me luck...lol)

[lwrees72]

Hydrogen peroxide to remove any blood stains. I prefer denim diapers and pads. Buy two to three diapers so you always have a fresh one. Then sew a button on each flay or use diaper pins. The bitches quickly figure out how to roll on the carpet until they undo the velcro.

[Meatos]

I used men's undies and regular women's pads with wings.

The spay and pexy doesn't need to interrupt summer fun...I waited 4.5mos after Scarlett's first heat to spay her. I bet you could spay in September with no problems. It's just management until then. Of course if you don't want to worry about it, that's totally okay too!

[redheadsnotwarheads]

We know to be cautious while shes in heat. She's been a little grumpy lately, but nothing too crazy. Aside from no dogpark for a while and obviously keeping her away from un-neutered males...is there anything else we need to be wary of?

She lives with a neutered male lab at the moment and they get along well enough but]are usually separated because they play too rough inside...can we still take her on walks through the park and stuff?

[Shamu]

can we still take her on walks through the park and stuff?

Why not? Just keep her on-leash, and keep her away from other dogs. (because she is in heat, she might react differently to females too, not only males)

[angeldane]

I wouldn't walk her in parks where you know people walk dogs off leash, you want to aviod an accidental breeding just because you are responsible and keep your dog on a leash doesn't mean everyone else will. You wouldn't be able to keep an unleashed male dog from getting to her. I would walk her in areas where there aren't a lot of other dogs, like in town and away from yards where you know a dog can get out.

[Meatos]

I would avoid public areas. One thing I did was set up play dates with Scarlett's BFF, who is also a female. Scarlett was such a bitch during her heat, but she wasn't bitchy to her BFF so it worked out great.

I also used that time to teach her some obedience tricks and we walked every morning, really early. Because it was her first heat, there were no dogs howling to get at her, which was handy. It was a lot easier than I expected, for sure.

You'll find that EV will be more tired during the heat, and that works to your advantage.