Hello & Question about Heat!

[M & Buttercup]

Hello - I'm new here…….I hope you can help me with some questions I have regarding my 9 month old labradoodle.  After we brought her home (at 8 weeks) and took her to her first Vet checkup, we were told she has an inverted vulva.  The first Vet recommended we go through a surgery to correct this problem at the same time she was spayed.  We then went to a different Vet for a second opinion (breeder suggested we do this) and I'm glad we did.  I really like this second Vet and she said it would be best for our doodle to go through her first heat and that the inverted vulva would likely correct itself.  Buttercup is my first dog and I wasn't so sure about this plan but if it was best for her, then I was willing to do it.  When we communicated this info. back to the breeder, we asked if it was possible for her to keep our dog during her heat.  She agreed to it.  That was back in the fall.  Now, I have sent several emails to her over the last month and have heard nothing back.  At this point, I'm not even sure I would want her to go stay with the breeder (we are used to each other now) but I was primarily looking for advice on how to deal with this myself.  We live in a busy, crowded neighborhood with MANY dogs around.  My doodle LOVES her walks and I can't imagine not being able to take her out on walks several times a day.  I'm thinking she will go through her heat in another month or two and I need to be prepared.  Will she really have to be kept indoors (except for bathroom breaks) for several weeks?  How will I handle this?  I hope you don't mind sharing some thoughts and advice with me.  Thanks so much!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I'm thinking at 9 months she may have already had a cycle and you may not know.   I had  a female here that I did not know was in heat at 7 months until she went in for her spay.  The vet called to inform us she was indeed in heat and the cost would be much higher.  I'm no expert  but a lot of times this heat cycle is not messy, like say, a human's menstruation. Sometimes you only see a tiny drop of blood here and there. 

As for an unspayed dog, I am certain any male dog on your walks already knows your dog is an unspayed female. I'm certain of this.  They had you pegged a long time ago  :)

A lot of times, an intact male will even cause an unspayed female to start her cycle.

You handle it like you handled everything else up until now. One day, one experience at a time  :)

Hopefully a  breeder will come in here with some helpful hints for you. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

An un-spayed female is no fun at all!  Every male dog in the neighborhood was alerted a long time ago and once she comes into heat, they will be circling your home.  If you have ANY loose, roaming dogs in the neighborhood, I would not venture out with her at all.  I suggest you be prepared for her heat and buy some doggie britches....unless you want a bloodly mess inside your home.  Save some $ and you can use the human form of sanitary napkins, cut in half for the interior of the pants.  Good luck....she will be in heat for  a good 3 weeks....but that does vary.  Proestrus is usually 4-20 days, while estrus is 5-13 days....and for sure, those are the days you do not want her out or you will find yourself with a preggers female.  How large is she?  If she is a mini...chances are she has had at least 1 heat....if she is a standard, they usually go into heat later on...so you may be just about there.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

This is the type of doggie britches I was talking about.  There are quite a few out there, but this will give you the idea:

http://www.dogquality.com/dog-diapers.html?gclid=CLS2kIuXhL0CFeMSOg...

[Linda and Jewel]

I have a three year old doodle "Jewel" who as a puppy was diagnosed with an inverted vulva and faced many of the things you are describing. I elected not to do the surgery. Jewel had her heat when she was about 9 months old. She wore doggy diapers that you put a feminine napkin inside. It worked great and there was no bloody mess. I could not walk her outside , but fortunately we had a big backyard to play in that was fully fenced. This lasted for about 3 weeks, she was a big girl about 70 lbs.

Also to let you know, the inverted vulva did correct itself. No more infections. :)

Linda

[Rose Coward]

Our Molly has been through a heat cycle (at one year) and it was nothing.  A tiny bit of spotting, she wore those diaper like panties that you can buy for that purpose, though someone recommended a better alternative.  A pair of men's tighty wighties put on backwards with a thin woman's menstrual pad inside, the slack of the underpants are pinned at the top (her back) with a diaper pin.  Easy to slip off for and on bathroom breaks. 
Molly stayed home for her most critical week, she wasn't left to play in the yard just out to potty and back in again.  She is an inside dog anyways so I doubt she noticed.  We went for walks before and after the actual critical time, but just avoided high dog traffic areas.  It was no real effort at all.

I would imagine that just like people if she has had a pregnancy future blood letting is greater than before.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

M ~ I have males so no experience with female issue.  I hope you and Buttercup have a similar experience as Linda and Jewel.  Hope to hear it will correct Buttercups inverted vulva problem. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

I have dealt with several heats with my breeding female (now retired) and it is not bad at all--as others have said, rig up or buy some pants and put in liners that you can change a few times a day. Keep her around the house and in the yard. The bleeding is light for a week, then a bit heavier for a week, then light again for the third week--but keep her out of the neighborhood for another week after that. They are still pretty interesting to the other dogs for a while! You will be fine with her--they sometimes get very clingy and a bit confused during this time and she will want to be home.

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

My dog has the same issue. They never suggested surgery but I was advised by my holistic vet to wait until after the first heat cycle. Let me know how it goes...I'm dreading going through the heat cycle. Mostly because she can be quite a handful with her regular 1-2 hours of running around at the dog park.

I'm glad to hear it can correct itself by waiting, and a few weeks inconvenience for years of better health is worth it.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Well, there is some kind of pill that you can give a bitch so that she loses her scent during her heat.  I know because I had a female Airedale that gave this medication to and she did not have the scent of being in heat.  She could even by around other dogs.  I don't remember what it was, but you could ask your vet.

[M & Buttercup]

Thank you so much for your responses.  I think I'm in for a challenge!  She is 34 pounds…..I'm pretty sure she has not had her cycle.  The vet guessed she would go through this in January but the breeder told me April or May.  I am really disappointed the breeder (a reputable one in my area by the way) has not responded.  You would think she would want to make sure I knew what to do so that I do not have a litter on the way!  

Thanks, Linda, for letting me know about your experience and that the heat did allow the problem to correct itself.  I'm hoping the same for my doodle!

And Nancy, I will let you know how it works out so you can use my experience to help you with Georgia.  

I checked with the vet regarding a pill the dog could take to lose the scent and they told me there isn't such a thing - too bad - there should be one!

Thanks again!

[M & Buttercup]

Hi there -  I just wanted to post an update so if there's anyone out there (Nancy & Georgia) in our situation, they will know what happened.  My dog started her heat at the beginning of April.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  There were no dogs running circles around my house and she tolerated the in/out to just go the bathroom (no walks).  I used doggy diapers on her for the first few weeks.  Toward the end, she figured out how to bite them and pull the filling out.  The toughest part was that it lasted 4 full weeks.  And it was tough in that I didn't sign her up for any training classes since the first of the year because I never knew when her heat would start and I couldn't plan any vacations, etc. for the same reason.  She was spayed at the end of May and the Vet said she looked great.  Letting her go through her heat before having her spayed really helped the problem fix itself.  She did great with the spay and we are back to normal - don't have to worry about this anymore!  I'm so thankful!!  Thanks for all your advice.  I appreciate it!  

[Tiffany Hubbard]

Hi there, can I get an update on your pup? My doodle also has an inverted vulva and my vet has also suggested vulvoplasty and spaying at the same time. I'm reluctant and just want to make the best informed decision for my girl.
Thanks!