Advice please ! Canine menstruation

[Vivienne]

Our puppy is seven & a half months old and our dog walker has said the male dogs have started to take a little more interest in her.  There are no obvious signs she has started the cycle, but I am just looking for any advice on how we cope with this phase of her life.  I have nightmares that we will be besieged with male dogs on the three walks a day she currently has.  Our dog walker says we need to go out at times when there are fewer other dogs out there but do you have to sneak out at midnight ?!  And should we take a stick to fend them off ?  Also how long will it last ?  We will look to get her neutered but our vet will not carry this out until after her first cycle.

 

Can you tell I'm a little nervous about all this ?  :o)

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Thanks F. You're right. no sense worrying about it now! What's done is done.

[Moe]

At 7 weeks my puppy had to have surgery to fix a Inguinal Hernia. This was done by the breeders vet.  I didn't know much about it so I asked my vet if there would be any concerns later in life. My vet suggested having her spayed at the same time. He felt that since the pup was undergoing major surgery with anesthesia they should just get it done. My vet usually suggests spaying at 6mo but felt that having two surgeries was a greater risk. The breeder's vet wouldn't do it. He said he would not spay under 6 mo no matter what. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do when the 'experts' are giving you conflicting advice.

 

I think waiting until waiting until after the first cycle sounds risky to me. I'd be afraid to take my dog out.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Personally, I'd go to another vet.  A female doesn't need to have a cycle before being neutered.  IF you want to wait, then you need to keep her away from other intact male dogs if there is any chance she is fertile.