kindafugly

Curious as to when dobies have there first heat cycles. Im debating letting her have 1 heat then spaying or spaying before her heat cycle begins.
I know some breeds sometimes dont have there first heat for a year sometimes 2yrs.

zorianak

From what I know, it depends on the dog. I've heard of some starting as early as 7 months, while others don't get their first heat until they're over a year.

While there are benefits to spaying early (ovarian cancer chances increase multiplicative after the first heat), there are also benefits to waiting until after the first heat (allowing the growth plates to close and the dog develops normally). If I recall, you have both a male and a female. Needless to say, you aren't going to have buckets of fun keeping them separate when your female goes into heat - it is typically recommended to wait until a male is 18 months - 2 years before neutering.

Hope that helps.

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kindafugly

Actually i only will have the female. As i stated before my friend will be adopting the boy when he is old enough. Since i did only want the girl but ended up with two. Which works out perfectly cause then i get to see him and know he is being taken care of.

kindafugly

Ive also decided not to crop. I want her ears cropped but with the holidays and already all the vet bills i decided it would be best to leave her natural and train her ears to lay flat as she has 1 wonky fly away ear.

monicaei

We have had 2 females from puppyhood. The first we let go through a heat cycle then spayed, the second was a pediatric spay. Given the choice I would NEVER go through a heat cycle again. Its honestly just gross and difficult and have you ever tried keeping "panties" on a dog? It's not as easy as it sounds!

zorianak

Ah, I haven't exactly been following all of your threads. That'll be much, much more pleasant for you in the longrun.

I personally recommend waiting until the growth plates have closed (have an XRay - don't just go by the heats - some don't finish growing until after their second heat), but it's entirely up to you.

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Dobiewankanobi

It's entirely dependent on the dog.
My bitch is right at 10 months and hasn't come in to season yet. We showed against a bitch last week that is roughly 8 months and she was already in season.

Some people say there is a correlation between spaying early and incontinence. However, I feel like the majority of the general public isn't really responsible enough to properly manage a bitch in season.

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kindafugly

Well, After doing some reading online for dobermans and spaying and neutering ill be waiting till she has her cycle to spay. I dont really mind the whole doggy panties and etc.. My boston who is 4 is not spayed so i deal with her every 6 months like clock work. (she is not spayed due to prior health problems) I dont have to worry about males getting with either of them either. thanks for the info tho

kindafugly

I always wondered about dog shows and females in heat. Does breeder just choose not to show when females are in heat or how do you prevent all those males from trying to get with your dog in the ring?

Dobiewankanobi

Males and females aren't together in the classes. They're only in the same ring for the breed.

Some people choose not to show, but a lot of people do show when a bitch is in season. I haven't seen it cause any issues. Sure the males notice...but they're under control.

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Elzajpn

Her first heat came at her 6 months old. I was worried this.
Since then, every 6-month cycle in Late September and March.

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monicaei

Remember a dobe is ALOT bigger than a Boston... Bleeding will be proportional.

BenVera

Don't you also have a male dobe puppy? You'll want to get him neutered before you spay your female(s) so there's absolutely NO chance of him trying to impregnate either bitch.

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GingerGunlock

OP has stated here and in other threads that the male is only in-house until old/strong/healthy enough to be adopted by a friend.

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avianantics

Lola turned 9 mos the 13th of this month and hasn't had her first heat cycle yet.

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BenVera

Ah, thanks. I guess I missed that, but I am sure glad to hear it.

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RedFawnRising

Well, except every bitch is an individual, and none of them really read textbooks

Kindafugly, if you're not real experienced with bitches and their cycles, it may just be safest to spay her shortly after six months of age.

Some young bitches do what is commonly called a "silent heat," and it isn't super-noticeable to humans--but male dogs don't usually miss it

You don't want to risk your poor lil girl, after such a very rough start, getting pregnant while she is still a baby.

As to the spay incontinence thing, meh. I dunno, I've spayed bitches young and old and in between and never noticed any correlation between age of spay and incidence of incontinence.

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kindafugly

thanks for the information. I know of silent heats and all that. Unfortunately i am all to well experianced with females cycles.. Because that begin my head ache for over a month haha.

MaryAndDobes

When one is showing a bitch in season, one advises the people around them that are holding males so that they can try to stay/move away as best they can in cramped quarters. Some keep the bitch panties on until just before they enter the ring so it's quite clear what is going on.

And it's a good idea to mention it to the judge so s/he doesn't put their hand there.

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4Dobes

Hi Willow my youngest came into season at 9 months. She was so so heavy.

We tried her in normal doggy knickers and sanitary pads but she flooded everywhere !!

We had to use nappies and get up every 2 hours to let her out to pee and change her diapers.
She also got violent diarrhoea because she was trying desperately to clean herself.

She was in season for 10 weeks and my life was hell !!!
She had so many accidents in the house, she would poop in her diaper then get anxious and spread poop everywhere.

I was constantly at the vets with her and couldn't leave her for two minutes.
She got a urinary infections even though I was ultra vigilant and tried to keep her clean. NEVER AGAIN !!!

The only thing in her favour was she didn't change personality unlike Crystal

Crystal was 18 months and she turned into the devil dog, very light and you hardly new she was bleeding but personality !!!

It was like I had a different dog in the house. She was wired and given the opportunity she would have been off the first chance she got.
She wanted a fight with everything and everyone.

But Skye and Darcy both sailed through their seasons. You hardly new. Both were late though around 18 months.




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Sam1491

I agree, in all the dogs we've owned and all the bitches at work, not a single one has been the same. Some are light or silent, others heavy. Some are sweeter, some are much more bitchy and others don't change. Some get diarrhea some dont, it's really a crap shoot.

Same thing with the incontinence, between all the ages of our own pets and friends being spayed I've never noticed a large swing one way or the other to incontinence.

Mabel came in at 9 months, her siblings at 13, she had a false pregnancy on that heat cylce the rest did not. She was spayed just after it finished (roughly 10 months) and I think in her case it helped her "fill out" a bit, but not in such a way that it would upset me to have to spay my next dog early rather than later, and same thing with boys. I have a personal preference to wait one cycle or 18 months for a boy of this size dog next time as well but health comes first as far as timing.

Basically I would say do what makes the most sense economically and educationally as well as for her health obviously. If spaying her early seems better than risking the "fun" of a heat cycle and waiting then do it. Every dog is different so it's impossible to say which is "better" for her.

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jdd

The only bitch I've ever had issues of incontinence was spayed at 6 YEARS.
I would get her spayed as soon as possible.
Some of mine come in at 6 months.

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Sinister

As a first time owner of a bitch that's intact, and on our second heat cycle - it's hard. Lots of blood. Lots o panty ripping for me, and the bitchiness really becomes apparent. Lol. Forewarning. Juno started at 9 months and had a false pregnancy which was tortchure.

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eventermal

Guilty came in at 11 months on the nose. She has false pregnancies, but honestly, she is just the easiest bitch...with pretty much everything. Minimal bleeding, she leaves her panties alone, she gets sweeter when she is coming in season, and she doesn't collect or nurse toys when she is in a false preg...she just gets fat and has boobies

As Dobiewan says, Guilty is just perfect

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Dobiewankanobi

She really is. Here's to hoping Siri doesn't eat her cute, sparkle thong!

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