How do I know when she's in heat?

[CaliMomma]

Darla will be a year next month. I'm wondering when she will have her first heat? What are the signs? My last female dog was my springer spaniel and she was so meticulously a clean freak she kept herself clean, with no signs but nasty looks lol. I need help here.

[kjc]

Her vulva will swell to 2-4 times normal size, and you may see tiny drops of blood, may be mixed with urine or appear watery, not usually bright red. She may be clingy, or stand-offish... depends on the dog. Look for unusual behavior (unusual for her). Her nipples could become more prominent.

[CaliMomma]

All of those except the blood droppings. And I haven't seen any red tint on her pads. Her vulva looks a little bigger but cannot say 100%. Yesterday she was very clingy and not as playful as normal. Do they gain a bit of weight? She suddenly looks fatter, even my bf said wow she's getting fat. I've not changed her diet at all in 6mo, except petsmart and Petco was out of her BBpuppy dry, so I replaced it temporarily with science diet puppy.

[Yorkiemom1]

Are you planning on breeding this youngster? Keep her away from intact males, or you too will be experiencing yet another "ooops" breeding.

[CaliMomma]

No, no breeding for us. I love pups but she's my handful. I was going to get her fixed a few months back but other personal reasons I had to use my savings for something else. I hope to get her fixed by February. We are not around any male dogs. We rarely go out as the hawks seem to come a flying whenever we are out.

[kjc]

Yes they can get swollen all over, and some have personality changes... mine gets a bit lazy for a few days and goes off her food a bit. Some can go into a false pregnancy, and some one can't tell at all when they in heat or not.

There's a law here that requires any bitch in heat always be on leash when outside, even just for a potty break.

[CaliMomma]

She started bleeding about 10 days ago. It seems to be getting lighter but still a little bloody discharge. Her vulva looks swollen still and her nipples are still large ( they used to be flush almost with her skin hardly noticeable, now they are large like a pimple large like the pin head on a sewing pin). Her appetite isn't back yet either. She eats her wet dry mix but her random snacking on dry during the day has slowed a lot. How much longer will all this keep going on?

[CaliMomma]

Bump please

[Deb1]

I full heat cycle last 3-4 weeks. Tatiana had her first heat at 9 months. She gained some weight and her nipples never did go back to being flat! I am glad I get my dogs spayed as I wouldn't want to go through that again. Tatiana's temprament really didn't change much, but she spotted a lot and the diaper wouldn't stay on as I couldn't find one small enough! It was messy and I was so happy when it was over!