11Dec
As we currently have 3 females in season, I thought it would be worth popping up a blog post. Astra started 24 hours after Raven, and then Alaska just a few days later. It's interesting as it hasn't taken them long to sync together and I am curious when Willow will synchronise with them.
Females
Female dogs come into season on average every 6 months. It can vary between females even within the same breed. Large to giant breeds may come in every 12 months to 18 months. Some females start showing signs of their impending season weeks before any blood appears. Signs include restlessness, and increased affection for their humans, and sometimes you cannot put your finger on it but their behaviour just seems different.
Day 1 of their season is when the blood hits the floor. Most females like to keep themselves clean but you may find when they shake themselves, blood can spray up the wall. There are pants available to cover the female but this is not my preference. I do not like the idea that they will bleed, that area gets moist, they cannot tell us it feels uncomfortable and I worry about a build-up of bacteria.
Signs during seasons may vary. Some show flirty behaviours from day 1 whilst others may be flirty around their fertile days only. Females may be restless, be nauseous, have a loss of appetite, show territorial behaviour, want to be close to owners and some owners report their females cry or whine. Around the fertile stage, females will want to find a male so gardens need to be fully secure with fencing that they cannot jump over. Males will smell the females pheromones from a good distance away and will try to get into the garden to get to the female.
How to manage this time
One of my top tips is to act normal yourself. If you appear distressed, show signs of worry or mollycoddle them then they will get more distressed.
Seasons are completely normal, dogs have been having them since they were first created, and they can cope well without human intervention.
Ensure the garden is escape-proof and ensure male dogs cannot break in or jump over the fence.
Keep females on short leads during walks- no extendable leads or long lines. Males can run over and tie within seconds. Some owners get into the car and drive somewhere to walk their female so the scent trail doesn't lead back to the house.
Increase mental stimulation games and training in the home. Not only does it give their brains something else to focus on but they will be calmer, feel confident whilst the changes occur in their body, increase their bond with you and it is fun.
Spaying females once they are fully grown (18 months to 2 years for most dogs) means they will no longer have seasons and fluctuations in hormones. It also decreases the risk of pyometra which can be fatal if not caught early.
We use towels and old throws to keep the sofa clean. As well as Anigene to disinfect the floors and dog bedding, I use a dog specific neutalising disinfectant to remove the females scent as much as possible.
Males
When males smell a female in season, they may start marking their territory, become restless, go off their food, lose weight due to not eating, whine, howl, bark, scratch at doors and try to escape.
We have had to use belly bands to stop the boys weeing in the house when we are not around. Drake didn't do it in the house until we got Hendrix so now there is competition, they of course started weeing in the house (only when females are in season).
I am very lucky as Drake is pretty much silent even when girls are at their peak of their seasons. He does get excited to go outside to taste their wee to find out if they are ready yet which is gross but normal.
Hendrix makes a little bit of noise but if we ignore him, he manages to calm himself and sulks in a corner.
I previously had a male in the home and I could not have him in the house when females were in season. He whined, sobbed and barked all day and all night. Most intact male dogs will be more like him when fertile females are around so I count myself extremely lucky with my boys.
Our Experience with Multiple Dogs
I would love to say it is easy and quiet during the female’s seasons but it is not. It is seriously hard work and exhausting.
My number one house rule is to keep females and males separated with 1 room and 2 doors in between each other to avoid unwanted pregnancies. The space allows any of them from escaping that room they are in so they can be safely put back without being near the opposite gender. The rooms have to be closed off with doors and not just baby gates. Raven easily jumps over gates and I have seen 2 of the others jump over but only when they really wanted something on the other side.
Sometimes the females have to be separated from one another as they get confused and very excited. If I had the luxury of someone trustworthy to look after the boys or the female in season for a week or two, that would be ideal.
We have to watch some of the females closely as two like to wee on their food bowls once they have eaten their food.
I can smell the females blood strongly at the moment as there are 3 of them dropping blood. Alaska isn't as clean as the others so I find myself cleaning up much more when she is up and about. Though I am cleaning up multiple times a day and cleaning bedding more often.
Raven has to be in a crate overnight otherwise she humps the other females. They don't seem to mind but it wakes me up 🙈
I am currently thankful that the girls came into season weeks before Christmas. If their fertile stage occurred around Christmas Day, it would have been difficult and changed plans around visiting family. Admittedly, awkward timing is something that we have to accept as part of dog breeding.
Claire 🐾
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