Vet?

[sweet_ceana]

Ceana has been showing signs of going into heat since feb 11th, the 18th she started bleeding and ended that about a week and a half later. Now all of her energy is back and she is acting normal, but her "stuff" hasn't completely retreated? Do I need to freak out and take her to the vet, or can this be normal and just a little long? Or I am embaressed to ask, was the always a little "stuff' out and I just never looked and so I am just paranoid? It definetly does not look the same as in the thick of things. I am posting this here hoping more peole will see it. Her behavior and energy is the same as always, she eats just fine. Someone tell me if I am over reacting because I my worrying is escalating by the date.

 

Oh and to clear the air, we are not going to breed her. ( She has hated being away from friends) We are just waiting until 14 months to spay. Someone at work said that her dog had "stuff" permently outside after her first heat. Is this normal? We just found a dog park with an obstacle course near by so if anyone knows anything I would greatly appreciate it. We really would like to try the obstacle course. I am going to cross reference this in health as well. I am just looking for a quick responce.

[ljrphoto]

I'm not a vet or an expert on breeding of any kind (I like to spay before 6 months/first heat based on what I've read about cancer risks and my lack of interest in breeding anything). But, I do have a dog who obviously had a litter of puppies before she showed up at the shelter I got her from and was unfortunately pregnant at the time of her spay and her vulva is MUCH more pronounced that my female that was spayed before her first heat. If it was her first heat I would *think* the hormones would have affected her reproductive systems and made them more pronounced and mature. Hopefully someone with more expertise than I have will comment for you too to support or correct what I've said here.

 

Basically, I don't think you need to worry about Ceana's new appearance though.

[trailrider]

Sometimes they come back into heat - a split heat. When the "bleeding" stopped, that was when she was ready to breed. I had a young female(years ago) come into heat in February when she was 6 months old. Then she ""surprised"" me with puppies in June. There was no sign of the second heat, and her brother was neutered about that time. He bred her before he was neutered without any information to me. Not all of these dogs read the books and follow our rules of expectation. Pregnant bitches remain enlarged or swollen appearing, and then they can go through false pregnancy and have the hormone changes. Good luck.

[AK dog doc]

Not sure what you mean by "stuff".

 

It is perfectly normal for the vulva of a bitch who has gone through even one heat cycle to remain larger than it was PRIOR to the first heat cycle; it should be smaller than when she was IN heat, but it will usually be permanently changed in size, compared to her pre-adolescent dimensions.

 

If there is anything visible that is not vulva, that could mean she has vaginal hyperplasia, in which case she should be seen. If you are not sure if it's vulva or if it might be vaginal hyperplasia, seek medical advice. (I suspect that your friend's dog had vaginal hyperplasia, but I'm not sure in the absence of a PE.)

 

Oh, and heat cycles AVERAGE 21 days, but they can be longer or shorter. The presence or absence of blood does NOT necessarily indicate when the bitch is fertile. They can be quite sneaky that way.

 

For the record, ALL normal dogs that go into heat (unless they become pregnant or are spayed post-estrus) will do a false pregnancy. ALL of them. Some are symptomatic and some are not, but 100% of them are doing a false pregnancy (assuming they are, as stated, normal.)