Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning

The period of heat is the reproductive period that a female bitch has to go through. During this time, the eggs will ripen, allowing the dog to reproduce and conceive the puppies. As the amount of hormones in the body changes, dogs will exhibit abnormalities in body and behavior at this stage. These changes will help you to distinguish whether the bitch is in the breeding season or not.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Understand heat periods in dogs

1. 

   Understand the basic reproductive cycle of your dog. If you're wondering if your dog is in heat, you need to first understand the bitch's hormone cycle. When the bitch is about to ovulate, her body is ready to reproduce, and the estrogen levels rise, prompting an egg to release from the ovaries. If mating takes place during this time, the egg is fertilized and an embryo is formed.
   • Female dogs usually go into heat during puberty, around 6-24 months depending on breed. Small dogs are often in heat earlier than larger dogs.

2. 

   
   
   Know when it's time to check your estrus. During the year, dogs are in heat twice with an average interval of six months, depending on breed.
   • This information can help you judge if your dog is in heat. For example, if a bitch was in heat a month ago, her current symptoms may indicate an abnormality.
   • Although most dogs are in heat twice (that is, every six months) a year, in some hormonal cases, a bitch is more likely to be in heat. Some bitches go into heat every six months like clockwise, while others have a higher frequency. A 4 to 8 month estrous cycle is still considered normal.
   • Dogs are usually in heat for three to four weeks.

3. 

   
   
   Know the signs of heat. Oestrus itself is a pattern, and your dog's vulva will swell and bleed during the first week. However, Nature has a mysterious arrangement of Man, because within 7-14 days, blood may stop or decrease. This makes owners recklessly assume that the mating season is over and that their dog is no longer at risk of pregnancy. But, that was a fatal mistake! Midweek is the time of ovulation and the time with the highest conception rate.
   • Midweek is also the time when your dog is most interested in finding a boyfriend. If you don't want your dog to be pregnant, now is the time to tighten your safety.
   • Between day 14 and day 21 during heat, your period may return, but gradually less and completely ceases. However, the vulva will usually remain enlarged than usual for the next few weeks (although the dog cannot get pregnant now because the heat phase has ended).

Method 2 of 4: Observe the bitch's physical signs and behavior during heat

1. 

   
   
   Watch if your dog's vulva is swollen. The vulva is located just below the anus. In the pre-heat phase, your dog's vulva will begin to swell slightly. When she is in heat, her vulva will be three times larger than normal and reddish in color.

2. 

   Watch for signs of vaginal bleeding. A bleeding vagina is a sign that your dog will soon enter heat. When the dog enters heat, the blood volume will decrease quite a lot and the blood fluid gradually turns brown.
   • For a dog that is extremely clean and licks away the amount of blood its body rejects, it will be difficult for the owner to know if it is in menstruation. One good tip is to line the dog's bedside with a white cloth or towel. That way, when he sleeps, the dog will make the blood streaks the white pad.
   • If you are going to breed a dog, record the date that the bitch started bleeding. The best breeding occurs on day 10 or 11 (from the day after the first bleeding) and every day for three days thereafter.

3. 

   Notice if your dog repeatedly licks himself or not. Another sign that the dog is entering heat, or pre-heat, is repeatedly licking the vulva. Although some other female dogs do not, most will develop this behavior around the time they enter heat.

4. 

   Notice if your dog is starting to behave abnormally. A dog that is in pre-heat usually displays behaviors that are different from normal. Specifically, female dogs in the pre-heat phase are often stressed, sensitive, and easily provoked.
   • Some dogs will bark more or become more aggressive with other people or dogs nearby.

5. 

   Note the increase in mating behaviors. The female dog is more likely to be in heat if she starts riding on a male or other dog. This is one of the signs that the dog is under the full heat of heat. Dogs can even ride on your feet.
   • However, riding on other dogs or human feet does not always indicate that they are in heat, sometimes due to behavior problems, such as masturbation, desire. to dominate or act strangely submissive.

6. 

   Watch for changes in the dog's tail position. When a female dog enters heat, her tail will curl to the side to make mating easier. This behavior is very common in female dogs during heat and is called "flagging".
   • You can also detect this behavior by scratching the dog's butt. If the dog's legs are suddenly stiff, the tail is pulled to the side, it is waving the flag.
   • Never insert anything into your dog's vulva or vagina to check if it is ready. You will unintentionally injure the reddened sensitive tissues in this area and cause pain for your dog.

Method 3 of 4: Notice the male dog's behavior

1. 

   Know that some female dogs can "hide in heat". These dogs do not show any noticeable signs of being in heat. They do produce sex hormones but do not develop the usual additional signs, such as swelling of the vulva.
   • The only way to really confirm that a female is in hidden heat is to observe the interactions between the male and female dogs and question them. Male dogs will notice a change in the female's sex hormone levels, although a small change may stimulate the male dog's interest and interest.
   • Note that some dogs can "skip" a heat period. If the dog has been feeling bad recently, has been below average health or has lost weight, its body will store energy and will not enter heat as expected. This is a natural way to show that the female dog's body needs all its energy in reserve since the primary goal is to be in the best condition to care for the puppies.

2. 

   Pay attention to the level of aggression in male dogs. If you have a couple of male dogs with a likely female dog in heat, watch how one male dog fights against another. When more than one male dog is near the female in heat, the males will begin to behave more aggressively to show who is dominant and mating with the female.

3. 

   Observe an increase in verbal communication and agitation. If you have two dogs, one male and one female, in the spawning phase, pay attention to how the male dogs react when away from the female.If the male looks more anxious than usual and groans when he is not around the female dog, it may be a sign of arousal. This is a good indication that your dog is in the breeding season.
   • Although this is not easy because you need to analyze based on the physical changes and normal behavior of the male dog in the context when it is not near his "wife". Some dogs show anxiety when separated from their mates and this can be difficult to distinguish from a sexual crisis.

4. 

   Observe the interactions between males and females. If you let the male dog go indoors, keep an eye on what happens when it is around the female dog. If the female allows the male to lick and smell her vulva for a long time, the bitch is likely in heat. Specifically, if the bitch lets the male dog ride on it is a sign that the "girl" is in heat.
   • However, allowing another dog to ride is also a sign of submission, so again, you need to do a thorough analysis and ask questions, such as whether Is it due to heat or not, how does your dog normally behave around other dogs? Remember that sniffing each other's back is something dogs do a lot at the best of times, just to get to know each other!
   • If your dog pair isn't interacting very often, hold the male leash and bring him closer to the female. Either or both may be aggressive if they are not familiar with each other.

Method 4 of 4: Check heat period at veterinary clinic

1. 

   Ask your vet to have a blood test to see if your dog is in heat. A test can be used to measure the level of progesterone in the blood, if the hormone is high, the dog is entering heat. It's very simple, the doctor just takes a sample of the dog's blood and sends it to the lab. A low progesterone level indicates a dog is not in a cycle, medium indicates a dog is in heat and a high concentration indicates a dog is pregnant.
   • Another is the test used in research institutions. This method measures the amount of Luteinizing hormone (LH) in the blood stream, which is elevated before ovulation. However, this is not a test available commercially as a test kit.

2. 

   Ask your veterinarian to do a test for Vaginal Cytology (cervical smear). This is also a quick and easy test to do. The doctor will use a cotton-tip stick to cycle around the wet lining of the vulva and apply the cotton tip to the microscope slide. The smear will be stained after drying and examined under a microscope.
   • A pattern of large keratinocytes and red blood cells is a typical sign of heat. Combining this with physical signs is enough to confirm whether the dog is in heat.

3. 

   Ask yourself if the symptoms you see indicate heat or indicate a health problem in your dog. This means that your normal judgment is crucial in determining whether the dog is in heat. If in doubt, take your dog to the vet.
   • Is your dog going to heat? If so, this is more likely to be a sign of heat rather than a symptom of illness.
   • Has the dog just finished in heat? If that's the case, then a new cycle won't come so soon and this could be another health problem.
   • Is the dog in good spirits, eating normally and working as usual? If all goes well, it is possible that the symptoms are caused by a period of heat.
   • Is your dog different from normal, has anorexia, drinks plenty of fluids, or is vomiting? If so, an urgent health problem may be in progress and the dog should be seen by a veterinarian.

4. 

   Ask your veterinarian to look at the dog if he's not in heat and he shows similar signs. Endometriosis is a pathology that affects older dogs, whose symptoms are very similar to oestrus under the amateur eye. Symptoms include vulvitis, with or without drainage. Endometriosis causes uterine infection. In some cases, the womb is filled with pus and the dog becomes poisoned if toxins from the bacteria enter the bloodstream.
   • If you have an adult dog that has just ended her heat period (4-8 weeks ago) and her vulva has suddenly stopped, bring the dog to a doctor immediately because there is a high risk of this is a sign of the disease. management of uterine latex.
   • In the early stages, the dog may become thirsty and have a poor appetite. When the disease becomes more serious, the toxin will damage the kidneys, lose the ability to detox and possibly lead to death.
   • After each oestrus session, your dog's uterine lining will weaken a little and your risk of developing latex will also increase. This disease mainly occurs in older dogs (the more cycles it goes through, the more likely it is to occur), except for any breed.

Advice

• If you find that your dog is overgrowth and does not want it to become pregnant, after the heat is over, take the dog to the vet and sterilization clinic.
• You can tell when the oestrous period ends with the same observation. When the heat is over, the dog will not allow the male dog to ride, her vagina is dry and her vulva returns to normal size.

Warning

• If your bitch has been sterilized but has blood excreted from her body as a sign of her heat phase, get it checked out immediately. Dogs can develop urinary tract infections, venereal diseases such as Transmissible Venereal Tumor (TVT), scratches, trauma, or an infection of the uterus.