In heat...

A

amfule

Forums Regular
Yuko, my 13 month old female sheltie is now in heat. It is her 2nd time. The first one was when she was about 8-9 months old. Is this normal? Would it now be safe to breed her when she's in heat the 3rd time around? Or should I wait when she's at least 2 yo.? Thanks!
 
You want to wait till she is atleast 2 years old because that is how old they have to be to have all their health clearances done. Which you want done before even thinking about breeding, and most stud dog owners require it to be done before using their dog.

1 year old is far to young to be having a litter. Think of a 13 year old girl having a baby...same thing. Their body is not done developing and maturing. Having a litter takes alot out of their body.

As far as coming into season every 4 months or so, that is not normal and I would have her checked out by a repo vet to make sure there is no underlying issues. If she continues to come in every 4 months she should be spayed ASAP because you are increasing her chances of pyo with coming in soo often!
 
Thanks!

I'm not so sure though about what you mean by this: "If she continues to come in every 4 months she should be spayed ASAP because you are increasing her chances of pyo with coming in soo often!" --What is pyo? :confused2:

Thanks much!
 
sorry its pyometra, its an infection in the dogs uterus that spreads rapidly and if not caught very early is deadly. Every time they have a heat cycle they are at risk for it because the uterus is open to infection
 
Pyometra- it is a very serious infection of the uterus. All intact bitches are at risk for this. The older they get and the more heat cycles they have, the higher the risk. If they had abnormal season again the higher the risk. Coming into season every 4-5 months is unusual. 6-8 months is normal. It really shoud be checked out.

http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/SmallAnimalTopics/PyometrainDogsCats/

I am bit wary of pyometra right now. My dog's Justice's half sister Sunday had pyo in april and almost died and my obedience instructor almost lost her 2yr BC bitch to it. These were very experienced dog breeders and knew what to look for.

Breeding dogs is risky business, you need to know what you are doing. Pyometra, C -sections, mastitis, fading puppies the list goes on of things that can go wrong and be very life threatening and expensive. Also you need to be breeding to better the breed and not just because. I would purchase some books on canine reproduction and study up. I would study up on health testing needed for breeding. Finally, I would find a good experienced sheltie breeder in your area who could honestly evaluate your girl(your girl could be lovely I have no idea) and tell you if she is breeding quality and who could also mentor you.
 
Justicemom said:
Pyometra- it is a very serious infection of the uterus. All intact bitches are at risk for this. The older they get and the more heat cycles they have, the higher the risk. If they had abnormal season again the higher the risk. Coming into season every 4-5 months is unusual. 6-8 months is normal. It really shoud be checked out.

http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/SmallAnimalTopics/PyometrainDogsCats/

I am bit wary of pyometra right now. My dog's Justice's half sister Sunday had pyo in april and almost died and my obedience instructor almost lost her 2yr BC bitch to it. These were very experienced dog breeders and knew what to look for.

Breeding dogs is risky business, you need to know what you are doing. Pyometra, C -sections, mastitis, fading puppies the list goes on of things that can go wrong and be very life threatening and expensive. Also you need to be breeding to better the breed and not just because. I would purchase some books on canine reproduction and study up. I would study up on health testing needed for breeding. Finally, I would find a good experienced sheltie breeder in your area who could honestly evaluate your girl(your girl could be lovely I have no idea) and tell you if she is breeding quality and who could also mentor you.
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I hadn't heard of this before and found this information both interesting and scary. It certainly reinforces why we should spay our companion dogs as soon as they are old enough. We had been waiting a bit to have Brie spayed so that she could lose weight thinking that it would be better for her to have surgery without the excess weight, but I think I maybe we should call the vets office in the morning.
 
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