Heat cycles

[JKent]

Ellie is almost 12 months old, having been born out of the usual season for the northern hemisphere; she then had her first heat cycle at Christmas when she was 7 months old.

Recently (Srring in UK) she has been licking a lot and the area looks darker than usual from the back, but there is no sign of blood or discharge.

Is it possible that these are signs of her experiencing a second hormonal change without having a full heat cycle? She has recently (2nd dose 2 weeks ago) been treated for worms, so could he some residual irritation from that).

[Tuts]

yes, it is

[tanza]

@jkent - Would In my opinion have nothing to do with being wormed and being in season again.... period. But that might explain the licking....if there is irritation ...... check for a UTI, in my opinion

[Zande]

Perfectly possible.

[Tuts]

check also anal glands

[JKent]

@tuts thanks, they were checked when she went to the vet for worming tablets.

[Tuts]

@jkent I don't know when you did check it, but it may change every day.

[JKent]

@tuts checked it 4 weeks ago as she was scooting, but that has now stopped since the worming tablets.

[Tuts]

some dogs need to get it cleaned every month. And if they start licking, biting their vulva or tail, I highly recommend to check their anal glands first. You don't need to get her to Vet for it.

[JKent]

Update - seen blood this afternoon so looks like she is in season. However, I have also realised that she appears to have a recessed vulva so am hoping this corrects itself after this (second) season and will look out for UTI signs as I understand this makes them more prone. We did think her anatomy looked a bit odd when we first got her but the vet thought normal.

For those who have had dogs with two cycles per year - are they shorter or still around 30 days?

[tanza]

@jkent - NOPE.... not shorter.... sorry to say, still around 30 days...

[JKent]

@tanza had better cancel the meet up with her intact brother then

[JKent]

Update - 16 days of bleeding and then nothing at all for the past 4 days. On day 16 I there was a really tiny amount of straw colour (seen on toilet paper when I wiped to check) in the morning and then red bleeding in the afternoon. She's still a bit grumpy with other dogs, but seems to have dried up already.

Last time (first cycle) she had 18 days of bleeding, at least a couple days of straw colour, followed by more of bleeding before drying up.

Any thoughts? Thanks

[Zande]

She's very young. It does take some bitches a couple of years (cycles) before they settle into a routine - which is another reason not to neuter them until everything has really settled down !) I wouldn't worry too much, just keep a close eye on her.

She was born 'out of season' - but will probably revert to one proper season a year in time.