The ladydog and being on heat

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Dawnflight1984
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by Dawnflight1984 »

Sorry to pull this thread up again after a month (it's such a good thread!)

Oreo is partially spayed and since she turned one, she stopped "cycling" in that sense and she didn't have another heat, until she turned 2 on Saturday, when I noticed her vulva swelling and showing all the signs of being on heat - licking her bits, feeling moody, peeing a lot, occasionally having accidents in the house etc.

It's not a big deal, except her skin seems to be acting up again, after a few months of not having any issues at all. She has rashes everywhere, hot skin and all which seem to be getting worse by the day. She doesn't seem to be itching much or otherwise bothered by the fact that her skin is flaring up again. But I cannot help but wonder if all these rashes are due to crazy hormones?

I'm unsure of how to help her skin calm down, apart from the usual chamomile tea bag compress, ACV rinses etc. If it is hormonal, what else can I do?
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Nettle
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by Nettle »

I'm not familiar with the after-effects of a partial spay, but your vet will be, so have you had a chat about that with her? Maybe a blood test to check hormone levels might be useful to get the picture here.

or - you know - she may have a UTI and it's nothing to do with her hormones at all. How is the timing? Is it when she would have had a season?
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Dawnflight1984
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by Dawnflight1984 »

Argh! You are right! It may well be a UTI, but initial gut feeling (very unscientific. Haha) told me it was estrus. Anyway, she had never been regular. I guess it is no harm to start treating at home as if it's UTI instead of a heat. But what are my homeopathic options and home remedies? Just sent her to the vet last Monday for her sore paw, I'll hate to have to send her again so quickly.
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Nettle
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by Nettle »

UTI really needs ABs. Skin you already know :) and are very good at it. Skin eruptions often indicate trouble inside the dog, so the ABs might well do the lot. Did she have any meds for the sore paw? Was it an infection?


Hormones - a homeopathic vet would probably suggest Pulsatilla. But I'm not a vet or a homeopath so really you'd be better to consult a specialist as there are other options.
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Dawnflight1984
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by Dawnflight1984 »

Nettle wrote:UTI really needs ABs. Skin you already know :) and are very good at it. Skin eruptions often indicate trouble inside the dog, so the ABs might well do the lot. Did she have any meds for the sore paw? Was it an infection?


Hormones - a homeopathic vet would probably suggest Pulsatilla. But I'm not a vet or a homeopath so really you'd be better to consult a specialist as there are other options.
Darn... I was hoping to avoid antibiotics. The paw was likely a bacteria infection. Her pee, which is super concentrated definitely makes me want to hold my breath - it truly stinks. And she's licking her bits way more than usual, I guess something itches/stings. I didn't manage to catch her vet on the phone earlier today and there's no chance of me bringing her down to the clinic today or tomorrow. I guess just giving ACV orally and topically for now can help until Thursday? Or should I bring her to the emergency vet (it's just a 2 min walk down the street, well... But they have a reputation for overcharging and being heavy handed with dosing...)
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Nettle
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by Nettle »

No, not IMO an emergency. Can you get cranberry, raspberry, milk thistle and/or dandelion capsules? Those should fix it without ABs but that's only my opinion :wink: and I am not a professional.

If you can cook up some nettles and give the liquor as well as the leaves, that is good also. Any combo of the above is very helpful.
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Dawnflight1984
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by Dawnflight1984 »

Thanks! I have milk thistle and cranberries. I will try hose for a few days and send her back to the vet if they don't help. :D
ClareMarsh
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by ClareMarsh »

I've read this a few times in preparation, as at some point I am going to have this "joy" :lol:

The one thing that hasn't come up, is whether females go through a hormone spike similar to males which causes other dogs to take exception to them?

I know teenagers of either sex (or any species for that matter :lol: ) are going to push boundaries and have to learn to cope with their new hormones but do the girls also have the problem that entire male teenagers can have around other dogs?
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Nettle
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by Nettle »

It's all about power.

As a parallel, think how pregnant women queen it around non-pregnant women. It's a bit like that. :lol:

The b itch going into heat is crackling with power. I hate to say 'status' because it has echoes of all the pack rules nonsense, and it isn't like that at all. She is 'woman', she is mystery, she is survival, she is ' I am!'. Teenage b itches generally mature fast in the run-up to and during the season, and they really do come out of it much more grown-up than they go in. But there is not the antsiness you get with the boys, because the girls come into their maturity and no dog challenges it. Instead they get respect.....which is what the boys would really like.

It's so hard to describe, but the girls have this awesome certainty about them when they are on heat and once they have completed their first oestrus cycle.

Probably gwd can tell it better than I can.
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gwd
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by gwd »

Nettle wrote: Probably gwd can tell it better than I can.
That was a PERFECT description. They go from little girls to proper ladies in the space of a month! They have an air of confidence about them that other dogs take notice of.

Think of it as if the young lady got a big promotion and now feels really good about herself.

I've never had a b*tch that was spayed prior to a season so I have no idea what that would be like, but like nettle said, there is a ton of grow up packed into a short time when they have their first season.

But to specifically answer your question.......... no, I've never had altered dogs target a entire b*tch the way they sometimes can to a young male that is just bursting with an excess of testosterone.
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katej215
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by katej215 »

Nettle wrote:he b itch going into heat is crackling with power. I hate to say 'status' because it has echoes of all the pack rules nonsense, and it isn't like that at all. She is 'woman', she is mystery, she is survival, she is ' I am!'.
this really made me smile, and totally described my normally submissive little girl, who just turns into Queen Bee during her seasons..

Just as an aside..Hattie has had 3 proper seasons now and I have to say it's been pretty easy. I havent been swarmed with other dogs when we've been out, I let her off lead pretty much as usual (obviously watching like a hawk)some dogs are interested , some aren't, Hattie is very bold and playful with some, totally ignores others..and apart from a Springer who's owner had to walk over and remove its head from Hattie's bum we've had no issues at all.. :lol:
ClareMarsh
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by ClareMarsh »

Thanks everyone, that helps :D

She's just past 5 months old now and still very much a little girl, although maybe slightly less of an airhead than when she arrived, she still does a lot of stuff without really thinking :lol: It'll be interesting to see a girl dog develop and see how this is different to a boy dog :D

I've no doubt when "it" happens I'll be back here with a million questions :D
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bendog
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by bendog »

Seems I have the devil dog as usual.....Starting to think Poppy is just the terrier (and female) version of Jasper.

I definitely noticed Poppy mature a lot after her first season and even after her second and third. She is noticeable more mature headed than the boys (even though Ben wasn't neutered until well into adulthood). But the first season was when she really changed from silly puppy to little miss serious and sensible.

However the seasons themselves are hell. She is incredibly messy (I guess you won't notice so much with a Chi :lol: ) and turns into a raving sex mad lunatic. At the start and end of her season she gets very snappy if dogs approach her rear end for a sniff and tells them very firmly to get lost. But then when she is ready she is a menace, humping other dogs, flagging, pushing herself into other dogs faces and generally causing trouble. She will even try to stand and flag for my feet! She can't be trusted off lead at any point in her season as the boys seem to adore her (and some boys still try to hump her long after her season is finished) and she wouldn't be at all shy about running off to find them. She gets very fat and lazy with her false pregnancy stages too.

I don't know if it's just Poppy, or all female dogs, or just unspayed female dogs, but Pops reacts very strongly to other b*tches being in season, even when Poppy herself isn't anywhere near a season. She has a tendency to hump certain other dogs anyway (wimpy dogs she thinks she can bully usually) but when she met another in season b*tch she tried to hump her obsessively and would not leave her alone at all. Even though neither Charlie or Ben were interested, and Poppy knows this dog very well (and saw her today and made no attempt to hump her at all). She used to try to hump Sash when she was in season too but she doesn't anymore (mostly because I don't let them interact much at all)
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Nettle
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by Nettle »

That last paragraph - that's just Poppy. Different b itches produce a variety of behaviour within the 'normal' spectrum, and Pops is a very reactive little lass.

Re: the behaviour when ready to mate - animals that are only sexually available for a short time each year are correspondingly 'needier' at that time than those few animals that are available always or more often. It is the same amount of need but concentrated into the available times. That might help you understand it better. :) Understanding makes it easier on you.
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bendog
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Re: The ladydog and being on heat

Post by bendog »

Great, I do just have a devil dog :(

Wouldn't mind her humping if she needs to if only she would hump a toy or something and not the other dogs!!!
And she humps after walks, and humps after her dinner too (or tries to).

She is a very anxious, stressed little girl. I'm not sure where I've gone so wrong, Ben was anxious even as a puppy and he does find living with other dogs stressful but I didn't get much choice about that. I've thought he may be happier living with my nan as an only dog, but selfish as it is I just couldnt bear to give him up.

Pops seemed confident on her first night home and went downhill from there :(

Lack of socialisation was a major factor I'm sure, and living in a house where shouting was the normal tone of conversation. Her food guarding didn't appear til we put her on raw. But at 6 months old everyone asked us if she had been abused because she was so frightened by everything :(

Often I would love to rehome her, but then I think, would she just be even worse somewhere else? And its not fair of me to just pass the problem on and not fair on her to move to a new home unless its going to be better for her.

Nettle - I'd love to just post her to you!
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