Ruby did not come into heat until she was right at one year old. At first, she would lick and she was swollen. The swelling surprised me more than anything, I didn't realize they swell THAT much. About a week later she started bleeding. There really wasn't a lot of bleeding, and she kept herself clean for the most part. The bleeding did last longer than I thought it would, tapering off after about 9 days. Her teats remained swollen though, even a couple of weeks after the bleeding. This was Ruby's experience and I know different dogs will have slightly different heats, as far as, length, amount of bleeding, swelling, etc. Hope this helps some.
Ruby will be getting spayed before her next heat. After reading an article on spaying, I chose to wait until after her first cycle.
__________________  ~Ruby, Reno, Razz, & Jack~ |