Dog Heat Cycle

A dog heat cycle lasts three weeks, every six months. Here are signs and symptoms of a female dog in heat, which will start between six and eight months of age.

It's much easier to tell when the time is near, if you know what your dog looks like and pay attention to her moods. By knowing what the vulva looks like normally, it's easy to see when the area begins to swell.

Week One

The first week of the dog heat cycle, all the signs are clear. If there is a male dog around, you might call her a 'tease' this week.

• The vulva swells
• She pees less, but more often to get the word out
• She has a mood change. While she can get more or less affectionate, mine get very sweet and cuddly
• She keeps her tail tucked close to her body
• She will clean her genital area more often than normal
• You may notice a bloody discharge
• She may be interested in a male dog but not actually let him mount her. Instead she will either sit down or nip him.

Week Two

This is the serious stuff week. She is now the fertility queen. Added to the above list, we have:

• Bleeding may increase
• She may become extremely playful
• She may back into other dogs (she can't help herself!)
• She may mount a male dog to let him know she's ready
• Instead of tucking the tail, it will go up like a flag.

Week Three

Is very similar to week one and bleeding begins to decrease.

Other Things You Should Know

If you're not sure where she is in her dog heat cycle, scratch just above her tail. During week one and three she will keep her tail down or to the side close to her body. In week two, it moves out of the way for penetration. This can be either up like a flag or arched out to the side.

The smell of her urine causes a side effect to many males and females alike - herself included. I call it jaw chomping. The mouth quivers or chomps uncontrollably. It looks odd, can be noisy, but it's perfectly normal.

The more often your dog mates during that one week, the more puppies she will likely have. The fertile eggs attach themselves in the uterus but wait until the second week is over before they begin to grow.

This also means there can be more than one father in one litter of puppies.

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Being in the same pack means their estrous cycles are close together by nature. The alpha female first. Even if the youngest swells first, she won't actually go into heat until the other two are finished.

In nature, only the alpha may be permitted to have puppies, but the cycles of the other females adjust to hers. I think it's nature's way of perpetuating the species. Once, one of my dogs did get pregnant (the only second I wasn't watching). During that pregnancy another got milk without pregnancy or even a false pregnancy. Mother Nature is amazing.

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If you do not want your dog to have puppies, keep her locked up for the entire three weeks. That means if there is another male in the house, kennel her in another room. Do not even let her in the back yard alone.

Whether you want to breed your dog or not, please read Should I Breed My Dog.There are a few examples of unexpected pregnancies that may enlighten and entertain you in Why Neuter a Dog? Should you decide to spay, learn the best age to spay for your dog's long term health at Spaying Dogs.

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