Alright, here's the deal. I've never actually owned a female dog, as in it would be my responsibility and all. I've always had an aunt, my grandmother or mother help me with my pets, and even then, we've most owned male dogs with the exception of our Chow Chow, Daria, who passed three years ago. I never paid any attention to when she was on her menstruation cycle.

What I want to know is what do I do when her menstruation begins? I have a little time, as she barely reached her five months, but she will be getting there soon...

Any help would be appreciated!

You have about 3-4 months to prepare. Most female dogs do not show any signs or symptoms other than a swollen vulva. And then some bleed, so you never really know till she goes through it. They make femal doggy diapers. The most important thing is to keep her contained during the duration of her heat cycle. FYI, female dogs are biestrus, which means that they go into heat and are receptive to males only twice a year, usually spring and fallish time.

Alright then, thank you for the information

I'll keep that in mind and look out for any signs.

Sheba went into her heat on her 8 month birthday to the T. There was blood droplets all over the carpet and I had no idea where it was coming from. I followed the droplets and Sheba was laying on the ground licking her vulva and legs like crazy. That's when I was like," HOLY CRAP! I didn't even prepare for this!". I went and bought boys briefs and ladies pads..lots cheaper then actually buying the doggie diapers. You just put the tail through the pee pee hole and put the pad in the undies like a normal deal (LOL!).

When Sheba was in heat I kept her under house arrest to the extreme. She was double leashed on all walks and I kept my Animal Shield spray on me at all times (good thing I did, because a male dog followed us on a walk..it was awful). I also did not allow her near other dogs until a month and a half after her heat. Better to be safe then sorry.

Once they are done bleeding, that is when they are in their prime for mating. Don't allow any male dogs near her.

Sheba's heat lasted for about a month, a little over. I left the undies on her for about three days before I realized she wasn't really bleeding enough to warrant the undies and she kept herself very clean.

Are you spaying after the first heat?

So question, obviously when the dogs go pee/poop they will go in the diapers if not caught on time. Bath time? Or how exactly did you kept her clean?

Well, like I said, I only kept it on her for maybe three days because she wasn't bleeding all that much. I took her out to go to the bathroom every hour. I read that when they go into heat they will want to go outside a whole lot more; to flag their scent and whatnot. Every time she wanted to go outside, I took her undies off and we went. Half the time she didn't need to go, but I would rather let her go outside for no reason then to leave the undies on and have her pee on herself. I did not give her a bath during her heat. She kept herself clean. I know some girls (dogs) who are very dirty (bloody) and their owners keep them in a puppy gate type system and just put blankets everywhere. Their owners let them just bleed it out because putting on undies would be useless. In general, as you know, huskies keep themselves very clean. When Sheba did get blood on her, she just cleaned it off herself. If it would have gotten really gross, I would have used my grooming wipes.

Oh, and when I had to leave her alone (like if I was going to work) I did not leave the undies on either. They need time to clean themselves and the area up. So, if you do decide to go the undies route, don't leave them on when you are not home. Their lady parts need to be cleaned and need to be aired out.

My Meeka tends to keep herself clean but there are days that she loves diving into mud and it stays on her.

I would say she is a 50-50 dog as far as outside/inside. She is inside the house (never crate trained) the majority of the day and goes potty outside when needed. Once I get home and after our walks I let her play in the backyard til night time at which point I say "Home". She will either go inside willingly to her doggy bed or she "woofs" at me at which point she goes to her outside doggy house. Not something I trained her on...I just picked it up after a few times and then built her a doggy house.

I will have to ensure I keep her inside the house like a hawk when that time comes. I have a high fence in my backyard however there is a small portion of my house) front yard where it's a regular chain link fence..I can just imagine a dog going through the neighbors house and sticking his thing into Meeka through the holes of the fence. NOT HAPPENNING.

Oh yes. Definitely NEVER keep outside unattended. The things males do when a female goes into heat..it's crazy. Dogs have tied through chain link fences. So yes, it can definitely happen that way. Heat is made out into a way bigger thing then it really is. I was freaking out when she started, two weeks into it, it was meh. No big deal. Just have to be extra cautious and keep an eye out for unwanted visitors.

If she does get dirty you could totally give her a bath, just make sure her coat isn't drying out and all that jazz! Have you tried grooming wipes before??

I have tried grooming wipes from Petsmart but despite the label reading a certain honey odor in my opinion it leaves an awful wet doggy smell despite not being so damped.

What brand did you try? I have been through a lot of different brands and the only kind I like are the KONG wipes and my favorite are my Paul Mitchell brand wipes.

The one I am currently using its from the Petsmart Brand "Top Paw".

At my Petsmart location, they ofer Top Pay and Nature's Miracle brand wipes. I also have a local "Feed Store" but have not seen them carrying any sort of wipes unless I missed them.

Hmm.. I have never used top paw wipes, but I don't like the rest of their products. My PetSmart carries KONG brand. That's odd yours only carries that. I got my Paul Mitchell wipes off petflow from their spoiled rotten box. I will definitely be buying that brand again. Some people use baby wipes instead!

Just got back from Petsmart. Top Paw and Natures Miracle...didn't see anything else unless I missed them.

Anyways since I'm signed up at Banfield finally inquired on spayed prices which would be $150 and $300 once Meeka turns 6 months.

Only problem I have is most of my funds are accounted for (wife unemployed, my mortgage, parents struggling with theirs, etc)
.

Wait $150 now or is it $150-$300??

$150 if I do it before she turns 6 months. After she turns 6 months it goes up to $300.

Sounds like a deal compared to some of the prices I heard here on the forum.

They spay THAT early?!

What all is included in their spay price?? It is a very decent price!

From the details the Banfield Vet told me it includes the operation and same day pick up and of course pain meds. That's all the details I got.

The price I gave is to be added to my Puppy Plan I already have (essentially upgrading to it).

Sounds pretty good to me!

You can spay early. Lots of vets have indicated that was pretty normal.

As for heats, I keep two unaltered females. They usually swell up about a week before I see any blood. The swelling is all it takes for the hormones to be in the air, though. Soshannas brother who is an unaltered male can smell her from 3.7 miles away, and is getting pretty close to finding my house. Thats going to be about a month. If he can smell her, everyone can. So for a month, I will have to monitor her outside, etc, etc. Its easier to just spay if you didnt get her for the express purpose of breeding, which is its own story.

Not interested in breeding, but my mom doesn't want to get her spayed until she is a little older. We've had bad luck with Banfield, resulting in my dalamation's death and my orange tabby developing pulmonary edema not too long ago. So, we are done with Banfield for now. But all this advice is great and very much appreciated.

Just came across this post and im wondering how long after a bleed should a male not be allowed near? My sisters pup just went through hers and stopped bleeding about a week ago so we were going to let bella and jasper go over tommorow for some play time now im not so sure. Should we wait until honee's vulva swolling is gone, or is it safe? I never had a male dog before jasper is my first, my mom has one that was unfortunately never fixed but it will jump anything in heat or not, a dog or any other living being.

At least a month. After the bleeding stops is actually when they are ready to mate. Keep all intact dogs away for at least a month. I kept Sheba on lock down for almost two months.

Definitely give it time for her vulva to go back to normal. Im pretty sure that, just like in humans, you are most fertile and receptive after the bleeding. It takes 2 weeks to a month for you to be back to normal

Ok will do, no play time for a while we definetly dont want a small hoard of lil honee's and jasper's running around! Trying to train jasper is proving difficult enough its like talking to a brick wall, actually i think the wall is more cooperative then jas. And honee well as my sister says is a crazy lil beast.