When the vet told is Isis was going into heat, the only advice he really gave was to buy Doggy Diapers. We got them (of course the "fashion pattern" ones), and surprisingly, Isis hasn't tried to tear them off, or even paid attention to them.

The question I've run into though, is how often should I be changing them?

She doesn't wear them while on a walk, or in her crate, but she's got about 4 hours of time loose in the evenings between her afternoon and her night time walk, where she's wearing one.

For the holiday, we were at my parents house and she didn't have her crate, so she was loose all day. We changed the diaper once, but that evening she seemed to spend a long time licking herself, and acted like it might be sore. I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing now, so she doesn't end up with sore spots from them, rather than trying to fix things later. Any help would be appreciated.

I've never had a female in heat so I can't say for sure. One on my teacher in college (a veterinarian) would only put them on when she was bleeding. I don't know how often he would change them though. Are you using the washable cloth ones or the disposable ones?

Are you using disposable liners? That would allow you to change the liners more frequently to keep her cleaner and more comfortable. How often you change it will depend on how quickly it's filling up. Every dog is different and will have varying amounts of blood, just like with people. There's no exact number of times to change it, you'll have to use your judgment. If she's bothered at the current rate that you're changing it then obviously you'll probably want to do it more frequently.

My mother in law used human Always maxi pads to line her dog's diapers and that worked wonderfully for her. The pads were cheap and easy to get and she didn't have to wash the diapers too often.

I am using disposable diapers. We are only using them when she's bleeding.

She only started a few days ago, so, I can't say for sure that it is bothering her. On sunday (the night she seemed like she might be bothered), she also had mediums, and we have since switched to large, because they seem to fit better.

Right now we're keeping her in one for about 4 hours, and then giving her a new one the next day. After this heat, we will have her spayed, so I don't know that buying washable diapers will be cost effective, but if they are better for another reason, I'm all ears.

I have the washable ones, but I use a liner in them. I change the liner about every day when the flow is heavy and less often when they are just about done with their heat. I don't think there is any advantage of getting washable ones if you are planing of spaying her. They do the same thing. But if you don't have many left, then you can just put liners in them and reuse them. BTW, I have no clue if how often I change out the liners is the correct way or not, but I pretty much change them out when they are messy.