My lovely little foster has gone into heat.....yay -_-

I've never had an intact female before....I know the "science" behind it...but have no experience.

as of the other day Ryuk's (neutered) behavior towards her changed from "You're a puppy...you're obnoxious....but I guess you're okay" to "heeeeeeey there pretty lady" which gave me some warning. She started bleeding as of an hour ago. Gambit (intact) has no interest yet....

Obviously Gambit/Rem outings aren't going to be happening (oh god, they'd be horrible tiny duck footed heelinois D: ). I'm planning on moving Rem's crate to the living room so Gambit doesn't have to be on top of her. I'm expecting typical drop in food consumption from both of my boys. Gambit's been worked around female in heat, at this point he gets a little melty but that's about it so hopefully I won't have any OB issues....Ryuk's the one I actually have to watch, no puppy risk of course but he is about 100X more studdy that Gam has ever been and while perfect when watched, if you turn your back it flys out the window.

My main issue is appropriate exercise. We have TINY fenced yard...next to a huge parking lot/ school field that is not fenced or our property that I usually run the dogs on. Is it inappropriate to take her (on a long line while carrying a large stick) during off hours to work her over there or should she not leave the yard? We have a very short fence, so protecting her in the yard is going to be all supervision anyway. The field is not a "dog field" or anything, it's unused sports field and I can see far in each direction for incoming dogs. I don't want to be rude however. I know bringing a female in season into a pet store=not okay....to competition=generally not okay, to a dog park=SUPER not okay....but just working them off property? is that okay?

The second one Rem has a magnetic attraction to the white carpet...so something is going to be needed, especially since she's not going to be crated in my room on hardwood and there is a laaaarge expanse of carpet that needs to be crossed to get to the door outside.... are those "dog panties" worth it or is there something around the house to use? She's 25lbs...so not that big....is it worth it try to save a buck making something or should I just buy the things?

Other than that....anything I need to watch for specifically?

Also, how soon after her heat can she safely be spayed? While ideally I'll find the perfect home who will wait until she's a little older with no risk of pregnancy the reality is, she will probably need to be spayed before she leaves here to make SURE no one breeds her (especially in this area O_O), and she is looking for a new home (if anyone on here is looking for a 25lb mini heeler who's absolutely adorable, will bond like glue to her owner, is highly food motivated, will rock OB/agility/etc, but would prefer a home without young children and most cats let me know! We're around Akron Ohio ^_^ she's adorable and snuggly...and travel sized!)

I had this happen to me a couple of years ago when a foster came into heat unexpectedly. I called the vet and had her put on hormones immediately to stop/delay the heat cycle (it worked) then had her spayed 2 weeks later when the vet schedule allowed it.

With several males in the house I really really did not need an in season little rescue causing chaos in the house. Sounds like it has gone too long for hormones to work but maybe that can be an option if it happens with another foster in the future.

Off the cuff I would say spaying in 3 weeks should be fine. Some will spay while they are in heat but that is bloody and I wouldn't risk it.

Plus you do know that some neutered males CAN have sex right? Yup, they capable of the full deal (just without sperm) so if you have larger males in the house you need to watch that to prevent injury to her. They may appear uninterested one minute and then start knocking boots the second your back is turned -- don't trust them!

As far as walking her do NOT let intact males get near her even if she is on leash, they can jump on her fast. Don't leave her unattended in the yard unless you are 100% the fences are secure (and that isn't likely) males will break through fences, dig under, or sometimes breed through fences if given the chances. There is no limit to what they will do to get at her.

I used to have a female who bled a lot when she was in heat. Had to have something she could wear; otherwise, I would have been cleaning up blood all over the place (and not just a drop here or there). These pants worked pretty good. I always used a panty-liner inside (acutally two side-by-side for her, she was a big dog). They fit reasonably well and she tolerated them just fine. They would slip back a bit, and I'd have to occasionally pull them up. I've heard some people say their dogs won't wear them, but I think a lot of that is introducing them properly and then supervising closely.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14459

As far as ideal spay time, I have heard (and I saw an article again just recently) that spaying somewhere in the middle of one cycle and the next may help to avoid spay incontinence later in life. So maybe two, three months after she's out. I don't know the science behind it, though, and maybe Dr. Betty or others will chime in. I'll try to find a link.

The main deal with spaying is the engorgement of the uterine horns during/post heat. After about 3 weeks out that should be on the wane. As far as walking her somewhere to exercise, I wouldn't, you'll leave a trail for all the horndogs to follow you home. Maybe stick her in the car (with panties) and drive her somewhere else to exercise. And yeah, you would not BELIEVE the speed with which a male can strike, so don't trust any of them for even an instant.

Welcome to the club!

Sadie is a free-bleeder when in heat. At least your rescue is tiny; I have baseball-sized pools to deal with. (This is so GROSS, I know, but it needs saying).

I purchased doggie diapers, only to find that it was basically a pair of regular panties with a hole cut out for the tail. The velcro side closures do help, but in hindsight, I would have spared myself the expense. The liners were relabeled generic maxi pads...cost= $10.99 for 10. I now buy cheap drug store brand, which are a couple of bucks for 20-24.

I don't have a problem with strays, due to pretty decent animal control in our parish. I bring my walking stick, and try to keep the exercise and walks up, as she needs the exercise during this period. I must admit, however, that I find myself hyper vigilant whenever she is outside during this period.

 Quote: Duane Hull

I purchased doggie diapers, only to find that it was basically a pair of regular panties with a hole cut out for the tail. The velcro side closures do help, but in hindsight, I would have spared myself the expense. The liners were relabeled generic maxi pads...cost= $10.99 for 10. I now buy cheap drug store brand, which are a couple of bucks for 20-24.

I haven't had a female in season since the dog showing days many years ago but back then we would buy the thicker cotton toddler training pants and cut a hole out for the tail (which was the right size for Dobe females). They were cheap and came in 3 packs which was handy because some inevitably got chewed up.

Don't know much about baby items but they probably make something similar for small infants?

I've been looking at cloth diapers a lot lately, so thought maybe someone was doing dog diapers - and it turns they are all over etsy.

A friend and I are doing some cloth diapers from fabric and patterns and unless you're a seamstress in your spare time (I doubt you have spare time?) it will be worth the headache to get pre-made that you can just pop a poise pad into.

ETA: this looks comfy AND convenient. http://www.etsy.com/shop/poochiepantz?ref=seller_info

That's very similar to what I got, but you can get the liners a lot cheaper than buying them from a pet store.

River is in heat right now, about 2.5 weeks into it. She's been super light so I just put blankets down where she lays and have my scrub brush and carpet cleaner handy. I've used dog panties before for and they worked really well for me, but the one I have right now is too small and since she's so light I didn't see the point in buying something else since it's not a big deal for us.

Jamie, I'm going to show the hubs her videos and give him the googly eyes. I'll let you know how it works out

I have 3 intact females and until recently 2 intact males (down to one as the Chi had to get chopped, undescended testicle).

My male Husky, who was neutered at 6 months, ALWAYS tells me first when one of the girls goes into heat.

My male Shepherd (20 months) will do the sniffing and pee licking (Gross!) until about day 8, then he will attempt something, so that is when they start to be seperated even under supervision, so no contact at all during their "prime" breeding days. After about day 16, we start with a walk and see how interested he is. If nothing, then we are good, and group walks, obedience etc continues.

My dogs are never left together unattended, so that is never an issue, heat or not.

I do continue to exercise my female, using fenced ball diamonds, or open parking lots/fields and try to stay off the trails. We do a lot of frisbee, dumbbell retrieve and mental OB to compensate for her lack of off leash run. I walk her off the property, just be mindful and keep your foster on leash/longline.

I have no idea about the panties, except for their first heat my girls have always kept themselves pretty clean. We have hardwood, so they lay on that, very rarely do they leave anything to clean up.

From what I have read, and after talking with my vet, if at all possible wait until your foster has been out of heat for at least 6 weeks before spaying.