1st season

Well Ruby got out of bed this morning and shes come into heat, bless her shes so out of sorts and has slept much of today but has a big appetite. I feel so sorry for her, looking forward to having her spayed next year so she doesnt have to go through this again

Ah, poor girl. She'll be right as rain in 21 days!

oooooo I remember this from many years ago when I had a lady dog when I was a teenager, I'm sure she will be fine ><

Be over before you know it, maybe think about getting some hygiene pants

shes a bit brighter this morning, not too much blood really a lot less than i was expecting. we took her for a walk last night and they made her perk up a bit. cant wait for the next 3 weeks to be done with

o yey!...I think taking them to the dog house must of spurred it on as sky was there a few days before she started! I think it was being around the males whioch could of set it off

Are you getting Ruby some pants? I use sanitary towels instead of buying seperate disposable pads.

Also are you still walking Ruby, Sky hasnt been out for about a week now and its driving us both mad but lots of dogs walk past our house ( on leads )as the west common is very near. Id love to take her out but a bit nervous to.

i hadnt thought about whether her being around so many other hounds could set her off, it could have been though. shes getting walked at around 6am by my husband and again at about 9pm, i wont take her on my own as i dont want to have some stray start something and i cant fend him off, lol il leave that up to him as hes a lot bigger than i am. once she stops bleeding though i may keep her on garden rest only, dont even want to risk it. we are saving up to have her spayed hopefully before her next season. shes not a happy puppy right now shes spending the majority of her time sleeping in her crate so shes not really making much mess apart from in her bed which i will wash once shes done. if she was out and about more id be sticking an old pair of the kids knickers on her with a sanitary towel

I used to give my bitches lead walks for the first 10 days at less busy times & then house arrest after that!

Ah, yes, we just finished the first one too. Like your approach to hygiene pants Cal was only in a bad mood for the first week by the way. Second week still a little messy but otherwise better, and third week back to herself.

this week is passing sooooo slowly. ruby has a whole wierd stink about her now, its awful, i think il wash her blankies in the morning but it seems its actually her smelling, she smells almost metalic, if that makes sense. im on a mission to raise the £160 the vet has told us it will cost to have her spayed, and il wait until january so shes mid way between seasons, and she will be nearly a year old. i was going to leave her for a couple of seasons but totally underestimated the gross factor

Taz's 2nd season was so much better than her 1st - moodier than normal - but more than manageable - I wouldn't give her an unnecessary operation, especially before she has fully matured.

ive been reading lots though, and it appears that mammery tumours are less likely in a bitch spayed before shes had anymore seasons, apparently it reduces the chances of it. we had a rescue lurcher some years back and she was 4 when we got her, she hadnt been spayed and she had to have a full mammery strip done as she was riddled with tumours i was planning on waiting until ruby had had 2 seasons so she would be what, 14-16 months old or thereabouts but shes so down at the moment it seems awful letting her go through it. she actually went to bite me earlier when i fussed her, shes never ever done this before, so she must be feeling super rough ive always had all other bitches spayed at 6 months so this is the longest ive had a bitch until getting her done.

I understand , there are several opinions and lots of different research about spaying - I decided against it - personal choice from informed re-search I guess

I tend to believe the chemicals we use for worming and flea treatment do more harm than a non-spayed b!tch - and don't like the idea of urinary infections after spaying.

- Taz was bitey on her first one - but not the second - hopefully we can continue with the positive experience of the 2nd

I wish i walked sky before now, Shes been in for 2 weeks and still bleeding which is slwoing down slightly, obviosuly the next week is most critical..whoops! She also wants to be in the garden a lot more than usual at the moment, i will be keeping a close eye on her!

Sky cries alot for no reason especially seeing other dogs on tv.

We also got told it was £210 to get her spayed anytime after january.

we were quoted £160 ish by gordon locherie in morton. we used to go to vets in lincoln but they are so overpriced we went to him

Our vet told us to get Queenie booked in at 6 months to be spayed. We are lucky that our vet has quoted £87.50 (its Pet Vaccination Clinic if you have one near) so its not going to be too difficult although I am worried about the operation. Apparently the vet said its a common misconception that its healthier if you let the dog have 1 season before being spayed. I haven't read into it but Queenie is 6 months next week and I was planning to get her booked in asap.

Queenie<3 wrote:Our vet told us to get Queenie booked in at 6 months to be spayed. We are lucky that our vet has quoted £87.50 (its Pet Vaccination Clinic if you have one near) so its not going to be too difficult although I am worried about the operation. Apparently the vet said its a common misconception that its healthier if you let the dog have 1 season before being spayed. I haven't read into it but Queenie is 6 months next week and I was planning to get her booked in asap.

You might want to have a read through this...
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t12763-long-term-health-risks-and-benefits-associated-with-spay-neuter-in-dogs

Early spaying will delay the closure of the growth plates & result in a leggier, lighter-weight dog. Also, the vulva may not grow to full size & this could cause prblems in later life.

this season seems to be lasting forever, shes not happy at the lack of walkies, and now next doors entire male collie dog is going nuts everytime he smells her in the garden, im pleased we have a 6ft fence up between us but even with it there shes not out at all unsupervised. i know for a fact she can jump 5ft from standing just to grab a toy, so if shes got a real reason to go over a fence im sure she would attempt it.

Tel me about it lasting forever! Sky is still bleeding two weeks on! both very fed up now!

2 weeks oh my god i hope not, its only been a week so far and shes already driving me up the wall. fingers crossed they both stop very soon...

Hi Kelly! . Remember us from the puppy party at the Doghouse?
After our puppy party, I took Dottie to the vets to have her kennel cough vac. I asked the vet why she looked pink and after skin scrapings, he told us she had puppy mange She has been on treatment for three months and has never got any worse than slightly pink and looks fine (even won a rosette at Bullbreeds awareness funraising!). I felt really guilty, although I know that Ruby couldn't catch it.
Any way, she was not even five months old and came on heat It only lasted about three days, so I assume it was a phantom thing, even though she had the full works and Milo was humping every bit of her body (he is neutered!)
Now I would really like to get her spayed asap, she is 7 months now and our vet recommends 6 months. I have to go next week, so will discuss it with the vets then.
The point is that there are so many conflicting opinions about when to spay and I guess that the choice should be down to the owner, but when your vet recommends one thing and others recommend another, it is incredibly confusing. You just want what is best for your pet.
I really want to take Dottie to the doghouse for daycare, but when the vet told me about her mange, he said that the daycare probably wouldn't want her there :/ feel a bit of a pariah...
Sorry to go off topic xxx

hey, sorry to hear about dotties puppy mange, bless her i thought she was just pink as her fur is white and you could see through to her skin. so is she all sorted now? maybe give amy a ring at daycare and speak to her about it, the worst she can say is no, ruby adores daycare and although we can only afford for her to go once a month she gets all excited as soon as she gets into the road as she knows where shes going lol.

i would say to get dottie neutered, ruby is the only dog we have had that hasnt been neutered earlier. shes still bleeding now, though its pinker rather than red so the end is in sight but shes so depressed and awful to see. our vet recommends 3 months after they have been in season to spay if you decide to let them go through a season, otherwise we would have her done as soon as shes done with it. plus 3 months gives us time to save up. i want her done earlier rather than later anyway to reduce the risks of mammery tumours/pyrometra/phantom pregnancies. she will only have this one season and be done.

roo wont be back in daycare now until november, im leaving it 4 weeks from the start of her season to make sure shes not going to be a little tart in there her daddy was only 10 months old so im not risking anything where it comes to her possibly having pups.

do you have any updated pics of dottie now, bet shes changed loads hasnt she

Oh poor Ruby, hopefully she is nearly over it. I know, Dottie's mum was only really a baby when she had her pups.

We found out that all the pups had got mange, not the fault of the owner, just one of those things and some pups have come off much worse than Dottie. I put that down to Dottie being on a wheat free diet, which can feed the mites. Also a sulphur bath (stinky) and skin so soft spray by Avon-fantastic for all sorts of things as I used to use it on my horses.

She is not pink on her head anymore, just her feet are a little pink. Back to the vets again for another check up!

If the vets can spay her asap, I will get her in as my neighbours have two stud terriers running about all over the place. Although the garden is fenced, when a dog is determined, he is determined!

I think I will pop in and see Amy, see what she says. It would be lovely for Ruby and Dottie to meet again, although she sounds like she is killing Milo when they play,lol!

Here are a couple of recent pics (if they upload properly) xx

The dog house are no longer accepting staffordshire bull terriers except for the ones they already know i.e sky,ruby and dottie.

Well i didnt expect that!

Oh that's a shame. Maybe they won't accept Dots because she only went once to a puppy party I wonder why?

Its on their webpage under health and safety. Its about how strong they are and they could cause more damage than other dogs. Shame really as it also says on their webapge ' accepts all dogs, breeds, sizes etc' Although sky should still be able to attend im a bit dissapointed in their decision, they have rottys..

oh no, thats a terrible shame like you say they have rottweilers and german shepherds in there. i hope dottie will still be accepted there, i feel it makes a huge difference to the way they are with other dogs if they can go and play in a pack like they do.

just had a nosey at their website, i read it as they cant assess adult dogs and they will only assess young pups to see if they can fit in, not sure if thats how its meant though. it is a shame but i can see where they are coming from, ruby is a total thug and the cute little fluff balls can easily be flattened.

btw, dottie is a beautiful girl, shes grown up and changed lots hasnt she. love the last piccy of her

its been 3 days for zena she was booked in to be spayed and had her post op examination but she came into season so had to cancel got to wait 3 mnths now ,shes not happy with our new pup at the moment so giving her a break when we think pups getting her down