Any dog owners got tips for when a bitch comes in to season/on heat?

digitalscream

Dominic said:

digitalscream said:

Dominic said:

There is an injection from vet which will stop the season although it can lead to Pyometra in some cases after a few months.

In a young medium-to-large-breed dog, stopping the season is entirely defeating the point and can lead to serious joint and skeletal problems later in life.

I have huge experience of large/giant breeds........and 2 vets in the family .....you are not wrong but it's not conclusive 
the principal concern is pyometra far above the risk of FCE although in larger breeds calcification of joints is pretty much complete by 11 to 14 months.
 The greatest threat to joint and skeletal problems other than breed specific genetic susceptibility is over balance of protein in the diet ,imbalance of phosphates and calcium and especially over - excercise  ie ;the strain on bones and joints that are so rapidly grown and still semi-cartiligenous rather than fully calcified . Giant breeds for example should not have more than 10 minutes free excercise per day until they are at least 9-11 months .Impact damage from allowing dogs to climb steps and stairs or jump out of car boots etc until all bone is fully calcified is the proven cause of most joint/ skeletal damage especially in heavier breeds .

Yes, pyometra is a good reason for stopping a season, but it has an incidence of about 2.2% whereas the growth hormone imbalance due to not allowing a female dog to pass its first season causes a much higher incidence (~20%) of arthritis and dysplasia later in life.

Sorry, I'm taking the advice of my vets and the specialists at Queens Veterinary Hospital on this one I don't doubt that what you're saying might be true for Irish Wolfhounds, but that's because they generally don't live long enough to develop skeletal problems given the far more serious problems inherent to most lines.

Sporky

On the upside, Sprocket was a much nicer dog after her first heat. It wasn't really a traumatic experience.

Dominic

@digitalscream - ah,first season .......totally agree with you ( I wouldn't do it personally for any season )  you wouldn't want to stop a season for a pyo - the risk is uterine infection from not allowing a season to pass naturally which is the effect of Delvasteron injections - the risk of Pyometra is actually 17.4%..........Sadly some idiot dog-showers keep bitches on 5 monthly Devasteron injections because it is hormonal and greatly enhances the coat in breeds like Afghans and Setters ;this is the kind of shit that stopped me showing dogs years ago .
Sadly you are also right about Wolfhound age - MALE average 6.3 years ;FEMALE 7.2  I have had 32 Wolfhounds and the longest lived were 9 years old ......as it happens they are not prone to any kind of Dysplasia nor are most hound types but osteo-chondritis actually becomes evident as young as 6 months in most dogs but it is usually due to over -excercise or too much protein in early growth .
@Sporky - Yes they do need excercise but can happily live short periods without it .......A common misconception with any of the Sighthound groups ( greyhound,Borzoi,Wolf/deerhound ,Afghan etc ) is that they need a lot of excercise -they don't surprisingly enough..........their life-purpose is to chase down and hunt ......most would chase a paper-bag in the wind across a field because they are highly sight/movement stimulated .
  Their natural inclination is to lay in wait for long periods and then having sighted quarry to chase it down in one mad,frantic burst of speed and fury .....in the wild they would then eat and sleep it off .In fact ,what most sighthounds want is a 10 minute mad run and then lay down ......and kip for the rest of the day (greyhounds too ) Surprisingly ,they make great pets for people who are not so active as they are naturally inclined to doze for 16 hours a day when maturity is reached .
  I have done quite a bit of lure- coursing and the biggest problem is that if they win a first round they generally can't be very much arsed to perform a second and third time !
 

digitalscream

Dominic said:

...the risk of Pyometra is actually 17.4%......

I was referring to this study:

http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/173/16/396.full

Admittedly I didn't read the full study, so I'm not sure of the breed-specific implications.

We tend to be hyper-aware of breed-based conditions for our dogs - we have two Chihuahuas (so hydrocephalus, collapsed trachea and luxating patella), husky-collie mix (hip dysplasia and arthritis) and an Akita (gastric torsion, eye disorders and any number of auto-immune disorders due to the genetic bottleneck from WWII). There's a lot to keep an eye out for...I definitely regret not getting the Akita's stomach tacked at the same time as her spay, because that would've at least reduced the chances of gastric torsion being fatal should it happen.

Dominic

I am very familiar with GDV and Torsion .....its endemic in so many larger and waisted breeds particularly hound types
I have dealt with it a number of times and sadly seen 2 dogs die of it ( not mine ) I would imagine Akita 's (lovely dogs btw ) are quite prone and the eye issues are entropian related . I used to look after 2 Malamutes which have some vague simiarity.
 There have been so many reports on causes of Torsion ( i did a lot of data collection for the Wolfhound Society on gastro dilation volvulus and Dr Serena Brownlie 's published heart studies in wolfhounds ) none of them have any conclusive answers but the usual suspect causes that I am sure you are vigilantly aware of - ironically,given that the catalyst for conversation was seasons there has been quite some evidence of bitches in season and stressing for a mate being the cause of a torsion onset being yet another cause .You can drive yourself mad and become quite OCD about it given that death can occur within a few hours .Most saved cases die relatively soon after due to the damage of necrosis and also those that were caught soon enough before necrosis still often die within months from a secondary attack even though they have been stapled or tacked . I used to feel and palpate the loin and stomach of each dog an hour or so after feeding and always last thing at night before bed as a matter of routine .Unaware people just don't realise the urgency of surgery.
  You are obviously very "doggy " people and know exactly what's what.

Sporky

Dominic said:

@Sporky - Yes they do need excercise but can happily live short periods without it 

Gotcha.

Sprocket gets very cranky without 2 hours a day.

Dominic

That'll keep you bloody fit then..........what make is Sprocket ( good name ) ?

joneve

Sporky said:

On the upside, Sprocket was a much nicer dog after her first heat. It wasn't really a traumatic experience.

Poppy has been fine other than being a bit dithery and taking longer to settle down. 

Walking her has been tiring, as she's obviously got heightened senses right now, so it just pulling like a train trying to follow a scent trail! 

The result of that is her expelling a lot of energy, and she's now currently snoring her head off. 

@Dominic there is absolutely no way we couldn't walk Poppy. She's a Springer Spaniel and has 2:30-3 hours walk a day normally, sometimes more at the weekend...if we stopped that she would end up being restless and probably a bit distressed.

No issues so far, trying to walk her 'out of the way' and successful thus far but still 2 weeks or so until we are through the other side. 

Love irish wolfhounds though. There's one we see when we walk in our local woods. He's fucking massive and sounds like a horse galloping when he runs, which can be terrifying, but he's as gentle as anything. 

Dominic

Yes ,they are gentle giants..........always very sweet and loving even though they can be bigger than a small donkey
I like Springers a lot and they are a fantastic working gundog -certainly the best dog for a walked-up day......they really get in there and put the birds up.....never tire of working .......now I know why you need to walk her so much as they are just so active.
 I think all Spaniels are ......we had to look after an Irish Water Spaniel once and it was very hard work.

Sporky

Dominic said:

That'll keep you bloody fit then..........what make is Sprocket ( good name ) ?

Old English Sheepdog, so bred for (ignore the breed name) escorting cattle to markets - not the fastest dogs, but astounding stamina.

digitalscream

Sporky said:

Dominic said:

That'll keep you bloody fit then..........what make is Sprocket ( good name ) ?

Old English Sheepdog, so bred for (ignore the breed name) escorting cattle to markets - not the fastest dogs, but astounding stamina.

It amuses me that she's about the same size as our Coco, but completely the opposite. Akitas are all power and agility, but after 40 minutes she's knackered; she just sits down, and I'm fairly sure that nothing on earth could move her.

Sporky

digitalscream said:

Sporky said:

Dominic said:

That'll keep you bloody fit then..........what make is Sprocket ( good name ) ?

Old English Sheepdog, so bred for (ignore the breed name) escorting cattle to markets - not the fastest dogs, but astounding stamina.

It amuses me that she's about the same size as our Coco, but completely the opposite. Akitas are all power and agility, but after 40 minutes she's knackered; she just sits down, and I'm fairly sure that nothing on earth could move her.

On one walk last week Sprocket played - vigourously and boisterously - with twenty one other dogs, some on their own, some in groups. She was still raring to go after that and the hour or so of walking in between and wanted to play more in the garden.

Admittedly, she did get some good sleeping done that evening...