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Tuesday, June 2, 2009

"In season" questions...

Now that Gabrina has went into heat, I have a few questions. Hopefully you guys can answer them for me since I won't be meeting with my club leader until July!

1. Gabrina has been acting really weird lately. I know that most of this is her hormones, but there is one behavior I'm very concerned about. She has been needing to go potty way more than usual. She will get to the point that she can't make it to the door to go outside and she will have accidents in the house. She is very well potty trained and I know she feels guilty about this happening. Is her need to "go" just because she is in heat, or should I call my leader? Also, what kind of "weird" things did your puppy do when they were in season?
*Edit*
Gabrina has been drinking more water which has lead to more relieving. I need to change my question to...Is drinking more water while in heat normal? And is less bladder control normal?

2. Gabrina is a fairly active dog who doesn't like to be left at home. Now that she is on house arrest she has been so hyper. I can't take her on walks because I have at least two neighbors' that have unneutered dogs that are constantly getting out. And when I let her run in the backyard our neighbor's unneutered dog barks at her the whole time and she just runs over to the fence and sniffs at him. When I try to play tug with her she gets bored and she has never been a fan of hide and seek. Normally she gets her excersise from going on outings and walks. So, when your dog is in heat what do you do to excersise her?

Thanks so much,
Maddie and Gabrina

4 comments:

Brittany said...

I would ask your leader about the potty issue. The inability to "hold it" can be an indication of a UTI or bladder infection.

As for in heat exersize, I don't have any suggestions! I raise boys and spayed girls!

Emily and the Labradors said...

Ahh the joys of in heat dogs! I've raised 3 girls that all came into heat while I had them. But now after having an intact male who acts like one, I'd take a few weeks of hassle with an intact female any day! Although I did raise another male who wasn't neutered until 11 months, and he was never a problem...

I would definitely call your leader about the drinking/urination. Phone calls on the safe side never hurt! One of my girls got diarrhea while in heat, but I never saw the increased drinking and urination... not to say that it isn't normal though! I wonder if being in heat can make them more susceptible to UTIs? Maybe all the swelling and licking can stir stuff up? Who knows! Worth a call though. It has also been hot here lately (except the last few days), so maybe she is drinking more because she is hot?

The exercise issue is definitely a pain. I live in a townhouse with a basically non-existent yard, so we were extremely limited. I try and have a few new toys and rotate toys in and out a few times a day to keep things interesting. I guess I also just sort of accept that it isn't going to be the best 3 weeks of either of our lives!

Good luck! It is a bummer of timing with her recall coming up soon, but she should be out of heat and able to have some fun with you before she leaves still!

Megan and Orleans said...

Jeez, I hated when my girls would go into season. After having four girls in a row with a total of six season between them I needed a break. Now I am on my third Male in a row after the girls and I am really missing my dainty little ladies. :D

The excersize question has always puzzled me, I just do the best I can with what I've got. I think Adeline was the worst when she went into season. She got really mouthy, clingy and vocal. She would run herself into walls and doors and pace a lot. I felt so bad for her. It is hard for them to be confined for so long especially when they are so used to going everywhere with us.

I would usually get diapers for them so they could be loose around the house without making a huge mess.

I would also take the girls outside on a long line and let them run around as much as I could. I would rotate new toys for them to play with. I think the favorite was empty laundry detergent bottles they would pounce and toss all over the yard.

I don't remember any of them drinking more when they were in season. I would probably call my leader, better safe than sorry.

Good luck, hope Gabrina's season goes smoothly.

Erin said...

I know this is a bit late, but my girls would pee a TON when in heat, I never got the "pleasure" of keeping my pups while in heat, but I do know they came up with the ODDEST behaviors, before and while in heat.
One became scared of everything, balls, mirrors, weird stuff, the other one, just was really hard to handle etc..

HTH and good luck!!