# What age did your female go into heat?



## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

My girl went in at 9 mos


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## MyMaggieGirl (Nov 12, 2008)

My girl Mandy is almost 6 months old and I, too, have never had a girl go into heat so I'm curious of the answers you receive.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

With Zoe it was about 9 months I think. With Gracie it was about 11.5 months. If you got Nova from a breeder you can contact them to ask about Nova's mother's, grandmother's etc. heat cycles. I'm told they often follow a family pattern.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

TheZ's said:


> With Zoe it was about 9 months I think. With Gracie it was about 11.5 months. If you got Nova from a breeder you can contact them to ask about Nova's mother's, grandmother's etc. heat cycles. I'm told they often follow a family pattern.


Thanks for that info! No, I got her from a woman on CL who bought her and her sister from a breeder for $200 each. She had a toddler and the two puppies and I think it was just too much for her. She's very nervous around people, though she's come a long ways in the almost 3 months we've had her. She's fabulous with our dogs and all other dogs, which is good because we have lots of dogs coming and going with our dog training business.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

What are the first signs to look for that will tell me she's in heat?


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

There may be some very subtle changes in mood, in Gracie's case a little lower energy and a little clingier. The female parts will start to swell but unless she's laying on her back you probably wouldn't notice that. The definite sign will be when you notice a red spot or two on the floor. If you Google "heat cycle" or something similar you can find more detailed descriptions of the signs and stages of the heat cycle. With our first female I was shocked to learn the cycle lasts about 3 weeks. Sounds awful but it's not really that bad.

You mentioned you have lots of other dogs around. I've heard many times that females living together tend to cycle together. So if she's exposed to another female in heat that may bring her in.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Between 14 and 24 months typically. Kate didn't start to cycle until 27 months of age.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

TheZ's said:


> There may be some very subtle changes in mood, in Gracie's case a little lower energy and a little clingier. The female parts will start to swell but unless she's laying on her back you probably wouldn't notice that. The definite sign will be when you notice a red spot or two on the floor. If you Google "heat cycle" or something similar you can find more detailed descriptions of the signs and stages of the heat cycle. With our first female I was shocked to learn the cycle lasts about 3 weeks. Sounds awful but it's not really that bad.
> 
> You mentioned you have lots of other dogs around. I've heard many times that females living together tend to cycle together. So if she's exposed to another female in heat that may bring her in.


Our dogs are all male and neutered. Most of the dogs who are sent to us for training are spayed/neutered. We've had one female in heat, but she was already well into it when they sent her to us. We've also had some unaltered males or recently neutered males, so I need to be careful there, too.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Did you know that your neutered males can tie with your female, spayed or not? When your girl goes into heat, your boys, neutered or not, will be the first to let you know she's in heat. Watch those boys you have around. They will still act like boys. You might have to separate at times if they get too friendly. Should you have a tie, do not pull the dogs apart, let them finish. A tie can last for over 10 minutes, so don't rush if it does happen.

Girls can go into heat at all different ages. Mothers and sisters will give you and idea of when, but not necessarily. My girl was 15 months. Her mom was 13 months, one sister 12 months, and another sister 20 months. So be ready starting at 5 months. 

Do not take your girl swimming while she is in heat. Their anatomy is a bit different than humans. You don't want to trap potentially nasty water where it shouldn't be and cause pyometra. 

Read up on pyometra if you have an intact female. Pyometra is a dangerous infection that can kill a female. Be familiar with it and watch for signs, in heat or not.


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

fostermom said:


> What are the first signs to look for that will tell me she's in heat?


With Hazel, I noticed some slight change in color in the fur around her area. The big giveaway was the blood on her butt feathers one evening, but she really didn't bleed a lot...or at least it was less than I had feared.  

For mood changes, I think she was a little more laid back than normal, but nothing an outside person would have even noted. Other than that, I don't think there was any difference at all. For reference, she was a little over 11 months at the start.


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## Bwilson (Mar 25, 2014)

River was 8 months old for her first heat. The other dogs will probably notice before you do. My neutered male and my in laws kept smelling her more often. The area will start swelling some also.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

By the way, females bleed different amount depending on the heat cycle. My girl bled more with each heat cycle. When I spayed her at 3 years old, by then her bleeding was so heavy for the entire 21 days. Some dogs you hardly notice any bleeding. With Lucy there was no mistake and she had to wear pants all the time she was in the house.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Alaska7133 said:


> Did you know that your neutered males can tie with your female, spayed or not? When your girl goes into heat, your boys, neutered or not, will be the first to let you know she's in heat. Watch those boys you have around. They will still act like boys. You might have to separate at times if they get too friendly. Should you have a tie, do not pull the dogs apart, let them finish. A tie can last for over 10 minutes, so don't rush if it does happen.
> 
> Girls can go into heat at all different ages. Mothers and sisters will give you and idea of when, but not necessarily. My girl was 15 months. Her mom was 13 months, one sister 12 months, and another sister 20 months. So be ready starting at 5 months.
> 
> ...


I did not know my neutered boys could tie with her, so I will definitely watch for that.

Many years ago, when I was in my early 20s, I had a female who got pyrometra that almost killed her, so that is one thing I am aware of. I did forget totally about that until you mentioned it, though. I forgot she had gone through heats, too. The way I knew with her was all the male dogs that suddenly showed up at our place (we lived in the country back then). I don't remember anything about her heats other than that, though.


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## SunnynSey (Jan 17, 2015)

Sunny was 11 months, Stella was 9 months, both from the same sire.


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## Carbon&Sophie (Sep 30, 2015)

Our Sophie started at 11 months, and lasted for about a month.


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## cinder (Dec 8, 2013)

Dixie was 10 1/2 months, her dam was 9 month-ish. In the 2 weeks leading up to it, she skipped a few meals, which is very out of character for her. A few days before, her nipples got bigger. Those were the only signs we had that it was getting close.

We saw blood on her butt feathers and she was licking herself more than normal. Bleeding was light and she kept herself clean so we didn't have to use britches. She stopped spotting on day 18. The first 2 weeks she didn't feel well and barely ate, just wanted to nap or lay around. Today is day 20 and she's back to her rambunctious self.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Cindi,
Hope all is well with Dixie!


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## Hyperion_Kennels (Jan 18, 2016)

9 months and again at 14 months.


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## cinder (Dec 8, 2013)

Alaska7133 said:


> Cindi,
> Hope all is well with Dixie!


Stacey, she's doing great. Bored as can be and misses her golden buddies. See you on Wednesday


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## Mom Fischer (Dec 3, 2014)

Our Lucy was 7 months.mshe was very clingy and tired. Her mom was much older than that and our breeder was a bit surprised. We had intended to spay her before her first hear. However we did not make it.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I had one girl come in at 6 months and then at 11.5 months, she was the exception...most of my others have been closer to 10 months. You will definitely see some swelling and some blood. And yes, my long neutered boys have tied with the girls, although not 13 years seven months George any more.


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## bixx (Sep 8, 2015)

Amber's mother was at 10 months old, and thereafter, 2x a year. We are nearing the 10 month age, but according to her breeder, things to watch out for would be peeing often (sometimes even resembling incontinence), and a change in normal behavior (clingy, grouchy, needy, wary, etc). Amber's hormones are probably revving up. She's very jumpy, and during our walk in the forest, a male golden retriever off leash sniffed her up..and then tried to mount her! It's the second time a male dog has tried to get to her. So, it could happen anytime now I guess. I've got our couch already covered, and her dog bed has a second waterproof cover. And I try to time our walks when the forest is practically deserted. Wouldn't want male dogs to come running after us!!


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## anamcouto (Aug 15, 2015)

Ella turns 1 year on the 2nd March and today it is official she is in HEAT!

First signs:
1. She's been licking herself a lot
2. She's been very cuddly and clingy the past couple of days
3. She had a sudden scuf with a male dog 2 days ago, not sure if he tried to bit her or the other way round but he didn't mounted her
4. Yesterday she smelled different, not her usual smell
5. Last night before going to bed I thought I've seen a drop of pinkish blood on her pillow but wasn't sure, today when she sit on the lift lobby marble floor I was sure those were 2 tiny drops of blood.

She's not swallown, very little and it seems is more the result of her licking herself than anything else.

So no more off leash walks and the walks will be off hours to avoid the neighbors dogs as I suspect that there might be a few nor neutered, we also have a lot of construction sites near by and they have stray dogs so we will try avoid being outside for long periods to avoid uninvited visitors.

Texted the Vet this morning so she already put a pre-booking for surgery on the last week of May first of June, we just need to settle the exact day.

My baby puppy is a big girl now

Ahhhhand she looks very depressed when we are not cuddling her


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## kmb (Apr 24, 2009)

I am also interested in this thread as my Mia is now 6 months old. I will be spaying her before her first heat. I too considered waiting but after having my last golden who ended up getting mammary gland cancer I have decided to spay earlier than later. Many studies have shown that spaying before the first heat greatly lowers the risk of this type of cancer. My last golden was at least 3 yrs before spaying. We adopted her and do not know if she had a litter before getting her or not. She later then developed a cancerous tumor on her liver which took her from us.Deep down I feel that tumor was a possibly caused by her first tumor. There are so many opinions when you look on the internet it can be very confusing. My vet did mention the incontinence issue but that can happen after being spayed at any age.


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