Female Yorkie in Heat

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

I thought a heat was a month

The length of the heat is 2-3 weeks on average, but could last up to a month. Good point! The vet will be able to tell the OP the signs to look for that the heat is over. When I had a Siberian Husky about 20 years ago, I wanted to take her in to be spayed after her first heat. I took her in when I thought the heat was over (it wasn't) and they spayed her anyway, and the vet complained to me that her sex organs were still engorged and that made the spay more difficult. They could have told me that when I brought her in, before they did the surgery! I was ticked off, but other than that he was a good vet. Moral of the story: Be sure the vet gives your dog more than a cursory inspection before doing the spay. That includes bloodwork.

[CouversMom]

My advice would be to not let her out of your sight and spay her asap after her heat. I'm glad you came here for advice

[TxVicki]

Originally Posted by CouversMom

My advice would be to not let her out of your sight and spay her asap after her heat. I'm glad you came here for advice

Yes have her spayed. But you need to wait at least 6 weeks after the heat cycle is over to do that. That will give time for all the swelling to go away, and be much easier on her.

[chattiesmom]

Welcome to YorkieTalk. You have been loads of great ideas to help keep your little missy safe from roaming bachelors. You could try rubbing a bit of Vicks Vap-O-Rub in the hair around her vulva - but be careful not to get any ON it. The smell will help mask her "in season" scent. We used to rub out stallion's noses with good ole Vicks when they had to be around a mare in heat. Like I said, Vicks may help some, but won't deter a determined stud.

[Yorkiemom1]

The most important thing you can do for her right now is be sure she is kept safely away from any intact males, for the next month. Do not tempt fate by deliberately exposing her to danger by walking her around the neighborhood in heat....keep her sequestered in her own yard, UNDER SUPERVISION because they will dig under the fence to get to her........and when her heat is over, you can safely have her spayed.

[bjh]

Heat cycles last 3 weeks. At the beginning of the cycle they bleed. Females are most receptive to the males (what we call 'ready') sometime after the 9th day of their heat cycle but there are exceptions. Some females will allow a male to mount her earlier than that. Once a female is receptive to a male she will usually remain that way for the remainder of her heat cycle. I have had females that had the breeding take very late in their heat cycle so don't be fooled into letting her around a male after a couple of weeks. The bleeding usually stops after the first 9 days and it becomes a very light pink.

[MyYorkieFancy]

Wow, you guys are great!!! Thank you so much for all of this information!!! I'm feeling much better about everything now. She's been a little lethargic lately but i think I've narrowed that down to her food. She's not a fan of kibbles n bits. We are changing it today. Any suggestions?

[pstinard]

Many people feed their Yorkies Royal Canin or Blue Buffalo (I've used both)--either one would be healthier than Kibbles n Bits, and they can be found at most pet stores.

[MyYorkieFancy]

Royal Canin!!! That's it!! We were trying to remember what the previous owner said they fed her. Heat we'll get that today!! Yaaay! Thanks

[cindersellie]

Originally Posted by MyYorkieFancy

Wow, you guys are great!!! Thank you so much for all of this information!!! I'm feeling much better about everything now. She's been a little lethargic lately but i think I've narrowed that down to her food. She's not a fan of kibbles n bits. We are changing it today. Any suggestions?

LOL!!!!! There's another hot topic- food!

First- welcome to YT! I love sarcasim, but sometimes you have to add a j/k to the comments, or the dreaded smiley train- !

There's a ton of foods out there. Yorkies seem to be a very picky breed. The trick (for you) is to find what food yours likes. There's a list of companies that will send you free samples if you email them. I think I tried all of those before finding 2 dry kibbles that mine would eat. I have to switch between those because she gets bored with the same old thing. Some will stay with 1 flavor/ type, some won't- like my picky girl.

The sample list can be found in a sticky at the top of the Yorkie Health and Diet section. I'm posting a link to it. There's a lot of threads in that section too that discuss foods for your pup. Any food company that had healthy food and YT members recommended as something theirs liked to eat, I emailed and asked for a sample. The 2 dry foods mine likes to eat are Holistic Health Extension Tiny Bites, and Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul. Good luck in your search for the perfect food for your pup!

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...e-samples.html

[MyYorkieFancy]

;-) gotcha. I thought I cleared it up with "LOL...seriously" but I must have failed lol :-P but as for your info, THANKS!!! I would have never thought to ask for samples!!! Thanks for the link!! I appreciate all the info that everyone is giving!!