# How to deal with the 'In Heat' mess?



## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

Well, Zoey went into heat a couple of days ago, she's scheduled to get spay on May 12... but that's then.. and this is now... I'm wondering how do others keep the mess ...contained? I'm home with her all day, and so far I've just been wiping her off every so often, but she still leaves little red spots on the floor.. we've covered all of the furniture with blankets so she can still come up on them with out getting them messy.. I tried to put a pair of small underwear on her (and cut out a hole for her tail) but she won't leave them on.. she just bites at them until she gets them off.. We can't just put her outside because we're in an apartment, and um.. the whole boy dog thing. So I've just been trying to get her to stay in one room but she will have none of that, and I can't very well let her scream her head off in the apartment :-/ So how does everyone else deal with this? Do you just crate them for the duration of the heat or what? I have no idea what to do  I've never had a dog in heat before..


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

you could try buying a pair of bitches britches but I don't think you would wnt to invest $15-$20 in something you'll only use once.


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

Keechak said:


> you could try buying a pair of bitches britches ....


Ok, "bitches britches" - cute name.  Anyway, for those of you have ever used these can you even keep them on the dog? I would think most dogs would have torn them off within the first 2 seconds. I'm asking because I have an unspayed female. I'm waiting until she has finished growing/maturing before we even consider spaying. I've had an in heat foster before but never one of my own. The foster I was able to keep outside but my girl sleeps next to my bed. There is no way I could keep her outside. I'm dreading the day when she 'starts'. 

Jihad
and the pound puppy crew.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

I have a pair of doggy panties that I use on Angel, they work great, Petsmart and petco both sell them along with the disposible ones that are made Just for girl dogs. It keeps the house clean and is worth every penny...just be sure you take them off befoer you take your girl out to potty, LOL my daughters have forgotten a couple of times and Angel has come back in with wet pants that I've then had to wash. 

Another solution, since she's small enough, is to get a onsie from the baby section of Walmart or Target and turn it back wards so her tail can be outside the snaps, put a lightdays pantyliner in to catch the mess. Be sure to change the pad at least twice a day which ever you use. Onsies are cheap and they look cute too.


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

I used the doggie panties for Ollie. She has grown since the first time I bought them, so my sister went and got me a bigger pair. This pair was HUGE, so I safety pinned the sides on to keep them from slipping off. This also prevented her from undoing the velcro. That might work for your dog if she keep trying to take them off. 

Ollie also kept pulling the pad out of the pantties and tearing it up. Not cute and a little nasty. So I eventually stopped using the pads, and just washed the panties every couple of days. She was sleeping in crate at night anyway since I have an intact male.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

reynosa_k9's said:


> Ok, "bitches britches" - cute name.  Anyway, for those of you have ever used these can you even keep them on the dog? I would think most dogs would have torn them off within the first 2 seconds. I'm asking because I have an unspayed female. I'm waiting until she has finished growing/maturing before we even consider spaying. I've had an in heat foster before but never one of my own. The foster I was able to keep outside but my girl sleeps next to my bed. There is no way I could keep her outside. I'm dreading the day when she 'starts'.
> 
> Jihad
> and the pound puppy crew.


There's no need to wait until the dog "grows/matures" before spaying. Most vets are comfortable spaying a healthy dog before their first heat. I would get the dog spayed early and not have to worry about it in the first place.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

The dog is already in heat, too late. However it can be a good thing to allow hte hormones to get started, it reduces the chance of Osteosarcoma and low thyroid to allow at least one heat. Early S/N has been connected to both conditions.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

cshellenberger said:


> The dog is already in heat, too late. However it can be a good thing to allow hte hormones to get started, it reduces the chance of Osteosarcoma and low thyroid to allow at least one heat. Early S/N has been connected to both conditions.


I was addressing, reynosa, not the OP. Reynosa stated that her dog had not gone into heat yet. Early S/N is another topic entirely, but I've read things from a number of vets who indicated that it was perfectly acceptable and there was no reason to wait.


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

cshellenberger said:


> The dog is already in heat, too late. However it can be a good thing to allow hte hormones to get started, it reduces the chance of Osteosarcoma and low thyroid to allow at least one heat. Early S/N has been connected to both conditions.


I agree. If your able to contain your dog, then there is no reason why you shouldn't give them the chance to mature naturally.


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## sw_df27 (Feb 22, 2008)

I also use the doggy panties they are wonderful you can also buy the diapers you throw away!!!


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## upendi'smommy (Nov 12, 2008)

hulkamaniac said:


> I was addressing, reynosa, not the OP. Reynosa stated that her dog had not gone into heat yet. Early S/N is another topic entirely, but I've read things from a number of vets who indicated that it was perfectly acceptable and there was no reason to wait.


I've read that it's best to wait until a dog matures and that's what I prefer to do. I guess it's all a matter of opinion and I suppose it waiting would be more applicable to larger breeds.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

When a stray went into heat before I could get her to the vet, I cut the legs off a pair of pantyhose, put a mini pad in the crotch, cut a hole for the tail and put them on her. Then I cut 2 slits at the waistband on either side of her spine, and threaded the cut off pantyhose legs thru them and tied them to her collar to keep her from removing them. It worked well.


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## Locke (Nov 3, 2008)

You could buy baby diapers, cut a hole for her tail and put the front of the diaper facing upwards. 
We use them for my senior dog who can't hold her bladder for more than an hour, so I would think they would work fine for a heat cycle.


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

i use the britches on Tir when she comes in (only at work, tho) and she has no problem w/ keeping them on...the 1st time i put them on her i made a big fuss about how pretty she was and all that and she has been fine w/ them....the only other thing i could suggest would be keeping her crated....mine have always been clean freaks w/ their heat cycles....


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

I don't seem to see so much controversy about neutering a dog before they reach maturity. The whole "wait until after the first heat" puzzles me. Personally, I wouldn't want the headache of keeping the dog inside all day unless closely supervised. I wouldn't trust a chain link fence to keep male dogs completely out.


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

hulkamaniac said:


> I don't seem to see so much controversy about neutering a dog before they reach maturity. The whole "wait until after the first heat" puzzles me. Personally, I wouldn't want the headache of keeping the dog inside all day unless closely supervised. I wouldn't trust a chain link fence to keep male dogs completely out.


i have heard many times that it's best to wait even w/ males as their hormones help them to mature properly....i wait w/ my females till at least their 1st cycle (about 2 mo after) and my males i don't do until after 1 yr....and i, personally, don't think of it as a headache dealing w/ either one, w/ the females it's just being careful and w/ the males it's called training (and, yes, they can be trained to "curb" their instincts and keep it tucked)....


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## Wynpyp (Sep 19, 2008)

Baylee has hit her first heat and it doing awesome at keeping herself clean. No drips, no mess... I am so thankful lol! She won't be as large as we first thought but I'm still going to wait to get her spayed till after she is a year old. 

I think the onesie idea would be a great idea for a smaller dog. Would be much harder for the dog to get off... most babies can't manage to get out of one. So I personally would try that. Wal-Mart or any other cheap store should have them individually or in multi-packs.


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## LastCallLabs (Apr 22, 2009)

You could also get a pair of little boy's undies with the 'window' to put her tail through. 

If she is in season, please keep a good eye on her to avoid any oopsies. 

I would also recommend waiting 3 months after her season before spaying her, to allow the uterine bloodflow to be at a minimum and her uterus time to return to a normal size to make an easier surgery. Its safest to do between seasons.

Good luck.


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

hulkamaniac said:


> I was addressing, reynosa, not the OP. Reynosa stated that her dog had not gone into heat yet. Early S/N is another topic entirely, but I've read things from a number of vets who indicated that it was perfectly acceptable and there was no reason to wait.


There are even some vets that will s/n 8wk pups. IMHO, very crazy. I am all for s/n due to so many irresponsible pet owners, too many 'oops litters', and far too many dogs in shelters with little to no hope of ever finding a forever home. I consider myself a responsible pet owner and have absolutely no desire to ever breed any of my dogs. Whenever such a thought even shadows across my mind I recall the faces of dogs I've seen in shelters on their way to be euthanized. That will kill any thoughts of ever breeding every time.
I would prefer to never spay my GSD girl since I feel there are more cons than pros when it comes to pet sterilization. At this point I'm not considering spaying but may change in the future after she has reached full maturity. Even the most responsible of pet owners can have an incident resulting in an 'oops litter'. In the meanwhile I'm just wondering if others are able to keep those bitches britches on their dogs. 

BTW, an interesting article on S/N;

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24597888/




tirluc said:


> i use the britches on Tir when she comes in (only at work, tho) and she has no problem w/ keeping them on...the 1st time i put them on her i made a big fuss about how pretty she was and all that and she has been fine w/ them....the only other thing i could suggest would be keeping her crated....mine have always been clean freaks w/ their heat cycles....


LOL, how cute/funny!  That's probably what I'll do with Artemis when the time comes. 
Do you think I could be so lucky as to have one of those dogs that has 'silent heats'?



hulkamaniac said:


> ... Personally, I wouldn't want the headache of keeping the dog inside all day unless closely supervised. I wouldn't trust a chain link fence to keep male dogs completely out.



I have an 8' brick wall AND 5 very large other dogs and wolf hybrid to get through before getting to my little girl. I would like to see anyone, human or animal, get through that. lol 

Jihad
and the pound puppy crew.


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## pooch1041 (Apr 13, 2009)

HUGGIES! and hug them a little tighter so she can't tear the diaper off. I feel awful for oreo when she wears it since her legs don't have as much freedom to move, but she does look adorable.


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies guys! 
We got some little boy's boxers and put a sanitary pad inside. It worked pretty well for an hour or so till she figured out how to pull them off, so the Hubby got out the duct tape and taped around the waist band to make them tighter (like a belt).. and then she figured out she could pull the pad out and ripped it to shreds. >_< That was ...messy. So now we're duct taping the pads in too... LOL.. just around the edges of the pads so she can't get a hold of them.. It seems to be working pretty well.

She looks SO cute in these little undies.. I might go out and get some Huggies this week though. That sounds like a really good idea since I could just throw away the whole thing instead of pulling out the little pad and re-taping it in every time.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

We just ate the 20 bucks and bought a diaper for Smalls before she was spayed. She does NOT like any thing touching her for too long or wearing any thing and all we had to do was correct her a couple of times and she left it alone.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

Baby wipes and disposable panties are a must for me! I buy PullUps disposable training panties, because the bitches britches invariably get soiled, despite checking the pad frequently. They fit better, too, having elastic stretchy side panels, allowing for freedom of movement, AND, you dont need to add the pads! Just toss 'em in the garbage.


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

Binkalette said:


> .....so the Hubby got out the duct tape and taped around the waist band to make them tighter (like a belt).. and then she figured out she could pull the pad out and ripped it to shreds. >_< That was ...messy. So now we're duct taping the pads in too... LOL.. just around the edges of the pads so she can't get a hold of them.. It seems to be working pretty well....


Blinkalette, that's what I'm worried about having to do with my girl when the time comes. 
There have been some very ingenious ideas here though. I'm sure I'll be trying a few, if not all of them, eventually. 

Jihad
and the pound puppy crew.


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