First season

As some of you may know from my introduction we have just been adopted by a six month old female staffy called Mollie We have had her with us for just short of two weeks and she is settling in a treat, so much so that it seems like she belongs here already. I've noticed in the last few days that she is showing signs of coming into season? Now I know most of it is common sense stuff like keep her on a lead and away from perspective suitors etc but has anyone any hints & tips for keeping her out of trouble? Our other two bitches where both spayed when we got them so this is all new to us. We bought her as a pet and have no interest in breeding and we will have her spayed as soon as the vet thinks it's safe.

I have never had bitches but I suppose just being responsible and careful

We used to have a border collie that wasn't speyed, we used to use a spray from the pet shop to disguise the smell to other dogs. I think it did help as we never got any problems with unwanted attention from male dogs.

I would certainly keep her confined to your own premises while she is dripping,after she stops it's up to you if you want to chance a spray,the most dangerous time is between the 10th and 15th day for being caught by an unwanted dog.
As for having her speyed,I would wait until after her 2nd season when she will be mature.

We got misty just before her second season. When she came into season I walked her at five am each morning and around ten pm at night and we just did street walks. No park time at all as I just didn't want to risk it. I know male dogs will do anything when they smell a female in season. To tire her out in the day we did a lot of training as mental stimulation does tire them out. We did a lot of play in the garden and in the house. She was fine with it, we had her spayed not long after so lucky we only had to go through it the once. 

Good luck x

From memory a long time ago we used a spray when my first Staff came into season and obviously didn't have a problem so I think the spray is fairly effective. To be sure of no accidents you really only have limited choices, you can use confinement or you can walk where there is less risk and perhaps more importantly keep her on the lead and walk, at least that way you can keep unsuited lusty fellas away.

Well our Mollie is now into the sixth day of her season and she is still bleeding quite heavily, we where wondering how long this stage lasts? I bought some knickers with replaceable pads from pets at home which help in the house. I've taken the advice from Mistys Mum above and confined her walks to early morning (5am) before work and late at night before we go to bed. Mollie seems to be getting quite stressed with her season and has started turning around quickly as though she has been stung by a wasp or something? she's also started chasing her tail which is something she's not done to date. Hopefully we have only a couple of weeks left until things return to normal.

A season only lasts for about 3 weeks and the bleeding lessens as the time passes. A little odd that she's feeling discomfort from that end though which is obvious from the tail chasing and snapping back. It's been a long time since I've had a dog in season so can't really remember if this ever happened with my old girl.

If it's something that you think is really bothering her then a call to the vets should ease your mind. Hopefully someone with more recent experience can advice about the tail chasing and snapping.

Thanks Ian, she's due back at the vets on Friday for her second set of inoculations (the previous owner never bothered so we had to start from scratch) so if she seems to be coping I'll leave it until then otherwise I'll ring the vet.

Misty does the snapping on her back end sometimes. It's more towards the back top of her legs then she has a nibble and its fine. Like you say it's exactly like she has been stung or hit by something. To be honest we have never mentioned this to the vet but now maybe I'm wondering if we should? Will be interesting to see what others say on this.

With the tail chasing I'd discourage this as it can turn into an ocd behaviour. Again Misty has done this in the past but we normally get her attention and either play a game with a toy instead or run into another room or something to make her chase us and stop her doing it. She definitely does the tail chasing a lot less then when we first had her.

I always feel so sorry for them when they are in season. Misty was very good but very quiet although we had her less then a week before she started so I think as well she was just getting into a routine of walks and meeting dogs when all that changed.

Sounds like you are doing so well with Mollie and you will only have a few weeks left ( a month felt like an eternity when we went through it).

Well Mollies season is now on day 11 with no sign of the bleeding stopping, it's costing us a fortune in pantie liners  We took her to the vets for her final inoculation tonight and she was declared fit and healthy, she had also put weight on and has gone from 9.9 kilos to 12.1 in just three weeks! I'm looking forward to her season finishing which also coincides with her inoculations allowing her to mix with other dogs so we can finally get out on the park and socialise with other dogs and play catch. We are still getting to know one another and I've found out she doesn't like going for walks in the rain, weird or what? We love her to bits and she is a real character

So glad to hear all is going well with her. Seasons are horrible things I always felt so sorry for Misty even though she probably wasn't half as bothered by it as I was for her! I remember feeling horrible making her go for boring street walks and waking her up early so we can go out. Mollie sounds a little sweetheart.

PaulD wrote:I've found out she doesn't like going for walks in the rain, weird or what? We love her to bits and she is a real character

No this isn't weird at all - as Ive found out Staffies are particularly sensitive to the rain. Misty hates it- if its raining heavily then she refuses to go outside even if she needs the loo. She has got better with drizzle but she still hates it.