Is my puppy starting her cycle or could she have an infection?

Hi guys. My 9 month old puppy Bella is yet to have a period but she has started leaving brown watery drips around the house & what looks like blood spots in her bed. Her Vagina seems swollen. Would this be early signs of a period or should I take her to the vets? It's the swollen vagina & brown discharge that has me a little concerned. Her nipples have enlarged & as I say there are some signs of blood spots in her bed. She is eating well and acting normal. She is sleeping & staying in her bed more than usual though. Many thanks in advance.

Sounds very much like the start of her first season. If she's healthy enough in herself & is eating/drinking normally I wouldn't worry - just go out and buy some hygiene pants from the pet store!

Sounds very much like her first season.

As Caryll said hygiene pants where a god send when Moo had hers

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/hygiene-pants-for-bitches-on-heat-by-mikki-36680

Onlead walks for a month, and be very carefull with intact males, walking at quieter times can help. Xx

Thank you both. I thought it might be her period but as she is my first female dog I thought I'd check. I wont let her come in contact with male dogs & will restrict her to shorter walks at quieter times & in the garden. Thanks again. I was a little worried.

Deffinatly sounds like her first season. If you can, try to walk her where not too many other dogs will go. I know of some people with intact male dogs that will do a runner if they get the scent of an in season female. If LuLu is in season I normally drive her to a field not far from us that is usually empty, that way the scent trail will stop if any males do pick it up, and I won't have hundreds of dogs at my door every day!

I must admit, I've often heard of people who say that an intact male will do a runner if there's an in-season bitch around, but I've never experienced it! I've had un-spayed bitches and un-castrated dogs. Neither have been too much of a problem because they were reasonably well trained & under control.

Most males will be very interested in the scent of a bitch in season but they'll spend some time sniffing around, taking in the scent, before they'll actually do anything about it! But then, we're talking about responsible people who have their dogs under control.

Caryll wrote:
Most males will be very interested in the scent of a bitch in season but they'll spend some time sniffing around, taking in the scent, before they'll actually do anything about it! But then, we're talking about responsible people who have their dogs under control.

The people I have heard of it happening to are all people with not very well trained dogs! The only intact male dog I've ever owned has been Buster, so not anything I have had to deal with, yet. I still take LuLu out of the way though - I know a few of the dogs around here are just left to do what they want and not trained too well, I don't really want them on my doorstep.

I have several different options as there are alot of walkways & fields by me so I tend to take her around the lesser used routes now. Failing that I just let her run around the garden for a bit every couple of hours. Thanks guys.

Good luck. It's the 2nd half of the season that is the most crucial time to keep the dogs away! Up till then, they'll be interested, but she won't be. After that she'll turn into a right little tart!

Oh joy...lol!

Johnny268 wrote:Oh joy...lol!

It'll soon be over!

make sure you get them pants , unless your OH is good at cleaning floors

I have laminate flooring throughout but she will spend most of the time in the kitchen with a stairgate while in season. She seems happy enough as she mostly sleeps & I am letting her out regularly. Obviously if that changes I'll invest in some pants for her. Cheers.

Has anyone bought those hygeine pants before? I have a female nine and a half month old pup and I think I'll buy some in preparation for the inevitable! Not sure what size though. Medium?

There are several on here who've tried them & found them really good.

I'd wait till she comes into season before you buy them just in case she's a late starter, grows a bit before her 1st season, & the ones you buy are too small!