How often does a female go in heat?

[beeniesmom]

I know it's supposed to be twice a year.

Beenie hasn't gone into heat yet.

She was supposed to in July (I think).

Is it possible that she's not going into heat because of Frankie's presence in the house?

Maybe she's stressed?

And no, she is not pregnant. She's with me all the time and Frankie is too young to do anything yet.
He'll get neutered at 5 1/2 months (when the vet said it's ok).
She's getting spayed a month after she has her heat.... when it comes....

[Lexi_Lover]

Every dog's cycle is different. It can take a little while, I know. But I don't have any advice, especially not about that Frankie is in the house, I don't think it should make a difference...

[Uabassoon]

She's getting spayed a month after she has her heat.... when it comes...

Why are you waiting until after her first heat? I was always under the impression that you should do it before the first heat to decrease the chance of getting certain cancers.

[Flatcoatluver]

Originally posted by Uabassoon
Why are you waiting until after her first heat? I was always under the impression that you should do it before the first heat to decrease the chance of getting certain cancers.

thats what we were always doing, spaying is like the best thing in the world for the dog

[Scooby4]

There are 2 schools of thought on when to "spay" a dog. It is now recommended by 6 months regardless of heat or not. There are valid reasons for this. A vet can tell you the pro's and con's because there are some.
However, I am of the school of thought to wait until AFTER the first heat or first litter. The reason being is the maturity factor and propensity to have weight issues. I've had better results with my animals after their first heat or with my male dog's after a year.
My cat is a prime example. I did decide to NOT wait and got her fixed at about 3 months. It turned out to have been a BIG mistake! I wish soo much I had waited. She has "fallen breast" and they almost drag the ground. People have commented she is a "fat" cat but she is REALLY skinny. It is just her skin is extremely droopy! If you pick her up you can tell immediately she isn't fat. I've also noticed behavioral differences in her. She just never seemed to have "matured" or has that "older" cat mystique. She breaks out in pimples!!! They cover her ears once a year!
It is up to the vet and the individual person on which they chose to do. I believe the trend of spaying or nuetering early is because of alot of animal activist out there trying to get their message across. I agree 100% that animals should be spayed/nuetered but I don't agree with the time line in doing so. I feel the current shorter timeline is out there more as a "preventative" measure. Most people were delaying fixing their pets and by 6 months it was "too late". Having the earlier timeline may help assure the process gets done now rather than later.
Either way you feel... Get the animal fixed!!! It will save a life!

[beeniesmom]

Originally posted by Uabassoon
Why are you waiting until after her first heat? I was always under the impression that you should do it before the first heat to decrease the chance of getting certain cancers.

This won't be Beenies first heat. It will be her 4th (she will be 2 yrs old in Nov.) Initially I had thought about breeding her. That's why we never spayed her when she was a puppy. I have changed my mind about breeding her since being on PT. That is why we decided on getting a friend for Beenie (Frankie) instead of breeding her.

My vet says that it is better for Beenie to get spayed a month after her heat because she is less likely to have great blood loss. It is not reccomended to do it during or immediately after her heat. As for Frankie, since we are not planning on breeding him either, he will get neutered when the vet said it was ok (at 5 1/2 months)..... which is coming up pretty soon. He will be 4 months old Sept. 7th.

I am hoping to get them both done at the same time so they'll both be out of commission and won't bug eachother (hopefully).

[Lexi_Lover]

LOL, Beenie will be in vets for a day or so more then Frankie and won't be as active, so maybe even getting her done before Frankie would be good!

[beeniesmom]

Originally posted by Lexi_Lover
LOL, Beenie will be in vets for a day or so more then Frankie and won't be as active, so maybe even getting her done before Frankie would be good!

That is actually a great idea. I will do that if possible (depends on vet scheduling) Over here they are booked 3 weeks in advance for spaying and neutering.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by beeniesmom

My vet says that it is better for Beenie to get spayed a month after her heat because she is less likely to have great blood loss. It is not reccomended to do it during or immediately after her heat.

Wise vet! However, if you don't think she is coming into heat for a few weeks, you could do it before. It is NOT good to do it during or after because everything in the Uterine area is engourged with blood. A dogs heat cycle is 21 days so even if you don't see evidence of the dog being in heat, they still may be. It is more difficult for the vet to perform the surgery when there is extra blood to deal with and it is more risky for the pet. Some vets will do the operation anyway though. I question why risk it?

[lv4dogs]

I don't think that Frankie being a new addition would be the cause of her going into heat late, but if she was really stressed out it may play a small role.

When was her last heat? Not every cycle for a dog is exact, she can be in heat, go in heat 5 months later, the next time it may be 7 months, then 6 months etc... It is generally about 5.5-7 months apart, but can vary slightly.

Is there any early signs that she has displayed before? Often times a few weeks before the cycle starts some dogs will show certain signs, like mounting objects, becoming more aggressive etc... If so is she showing any of those signs now?

Your vet sure seems knowledgable! I'd wait it out a bit longer, if she hasn't gone into heat within 7.5 months of her last cycle then I'd get her in with the vet for an exam.

[beeniesmom]

I think she will come into heat soon. She has been displaying signs. It's been about 6 months since her last one. I didn't know it could vary so much. Thank you all for the info. I am less worried now. If she doesn't go into heat however in the next few weeks, I will ask the vet.
Actually, next week I have an appointment for Frankie's booster and first rabies, I will ask her then.

[dragondawg]

the only thing the spaying is doing is getting rid of the mess and the possibly of the unwanted accident of puppies.

The rule again is:

Spay before first heat - almost a zero percent chance of mammary cancer.

Spay after the first heat, and before the second- the chances are 7% relative to those spayed before the first heat for mammary cancer.

Spay after the 2nd heat or pregnancy - it's a 1 in 4 or 25% chance of mammary cancer later in life. The chances do not seem to get any worse (which are bad enough) after the second heat or pregnancy or subsequent heats.

If you Spay a female too early there is a greater chance of incontenance. The Vets were recommending any time after 3 months which I believed was too soon due to the possible problem of incontenance. Since my females have been larger breeds I waited till 9 months on my previous dog (if a month longer she probably would have gone into heat), and 6 months on my current one. Note smaller breeds are likely to be in their first heat at 7 months due to a faster maturity, thus an earlier Spaying date may be appropriate.

The male I had neutered at 6 months.

Over all it's a fallacy to think a spayed or neutered dog is going to get fat and lazy. For example a one time massive elevation of estrogen per the first heat isn't going to affect the metabolism 5 years down the road. But it just might affect the mammary tissue to the tune of 7% towards getting cancer. That's the choice for the female dog owner. How about the male dog? Again there is no evidence of decreased energy at least for my little guy. All I have to do is make a motion and my little male is ready to go- he's perpectual motion at times. He's also very trim and muscular for his size. What I did worry about was the question: Would the lack of testesterone somehow decrease his final height? Upon researching it, much to my surprise I found that neutering a male before 6 months may actually yield a larger dog at least in height. Exact opposite of what I believed going in.

In summary:

Males - there's no reason to wait to neuter past 6 months.

Females - before the first heat, else you have elevated the risk of mammary cancer. Large dogs 6-7 months. Smaller dogs 5 months.

Both - keep the diet sensible and you will have healthy trim active puppy dogs.