# Dog in Heat



## mollypop15 (Aug 19, 2012)

Hello! I hope this question is in the right place. This isn't my first dog, but I think it is a pretty basic question. 
I recently took in a stray and have had her with me for about 2 weeks. As soon as I realized this little lady would be staying with me long-term I scheduled an appointment for her to get basic tests as well as get spayed (she's around 5 years), because it's something I feel very strongly about. Unfortunately, she tested positive for Erlichia, so the vet could not fix her at the time due to clotting issues and put her on a round of antibiotics. Until she's done with those, I'm dealing with an unfixed girl. 
Today I noticed blood on the floor and after a quick check, found it was what I suspected- she's in heat. I live in a suburban neighborhood and only take her out on a leash and my other dog in the house is a spayed female, so I'm not worried about her being bred, but more so the blood. My entire house, minus the bathrooms and a pretty small kitchen, is carpeted, so containing her in an an "easy to clean" area is really not feasible. So I guess my big question is- is there anything I can do to keep the mess to a minimum? I've read about dog diapers, are those the best plan? Does anyone with experience have another suggestion or a particular style/brand they find to work/fit best? 
Is there anything else I should be doing or watching for, specifically because she is being treated for Erlichia? Thanks so much in advance!


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

How big is she? Some people use little boys' underpants, on backwards, with the tail sticking out through the hole in the front of the underpants -- simple!


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## mollypop15 (Aug 19, 2012)

She's a hound mix (Plott or Coonhound and possibly part Doberman) and about 55 lbs, that sounds like a good possibility- thanks!


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## aznVampire (Jul 20, 2010)

When my dog was in heat, I purchased some dog diapers from Petco and took an underwear (snipped a hole for her tail) and slid it on over the diaper. The underwear over the diaper helped her not chew it. When she needed to go outside I just slid it off. When she was back inside I slipped it back on. My dog is small though, so I could easily hold her between my legs and put her legs through the diaper.


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## Trzcina (Aug 9, 2010)

It varies by breed and individual dog, but most dogs will make an effort to keep themselves clean--and most only bleed for a few days. 

When my Lapphund was still in her show days, I would usually just have her lay on "her" blanket when she was in heat, and keep her crated at night or put a pair of boys' underpants on her with her tail through the fly as mentioned above. This was almost purely because she liked to sleep on my bed and, as she would sleep through the night, wouldn't clean herself at night. During the day, though, I think I found one blood spot ever that wasn't on the first "blood day" (which would usually have a few drops, and a bit of hydrogen peroxide took care of the spots on the carpet).


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## Susan_In_Ecuador (Aug 18, 2012)

I would suggest "pull-ups" with the requisite tail hole. 

They slide on and off easily but can be torn off as well, They don't droop, fall off or get puled off passing furniture.

For any blood spots: blot with paper towel to remove as much as possible; use hydrogen peroxide to bleach out the stain (obviously check that the carpet or upholstery is color safe for this) and allow to dry. You may need tlo do a shampoo on the carpet and upholstery when all is done to get everything back to normal. 

One caution; do not let your doggie roll around where you cleaned with peroxide if it is still wet. Gina our rescue rotti did that and we had the only rotti on the block with ulous a day glo coat. Of course she is a fashionista and looked fabulous for Halloween!


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

What have you done to locate the dog's owner? 2 weeks doesn't seem long enough to do everything you can to find the owner.


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## mollypop15 (Aug 19, 2012)

lil_fuzzy said:


> What have you done to locate the dog's owner? 2 weeks doesn't seem long enough to do everything you can to find the owner.


Ah, yes. Such judgmental replies are what keep me from joining forums such as this. The previous posts had been much too kind, so I appreciate you not letting me down in that respect. Though if you would like the full story I would be happy to share. 
I worked at a VERY remote camp in a very impoverished part of Kentucky over the summer, one which took some degree of effort to find and with no houses in reasonable proximity. To have an animal of any kind wander to this camp is pretty miraculous because of its location and natural predators in the area. She had clearly been walking for days and was not in ideal health. 
Camp staff called all of the local SPCAs/Humane Societies as well as those in surrounding areas only to find they had no room for additional animals and also did not match her up to any missing dog reports they had on file. As camp was coming to a close, and organization "powers that be" were adamant that she not stay on camp property, the options (beyond a staff member taking her home) were to call animal control, with no one available to act as the "call person" in case no owners were found and she were to be euthanized, or to just let her go with the hope that she would once again wander off. So in that scenario, which option would you choose? 
I do worry that someone is out there looking for her, but my hands were really tied in the matter. There were no local towns to put up signs and the only local "establishment" was a campground where a man had just been arrested and jailed for animal abuse, so putting "found dog" signs there didn't seem like the best idea either. I'm sorry if I did not follow protocol exactly, but the options were very limited in this situation. Additionally, upon bringing her home and taking her to the vet, it was found that she had numerous BBs embedded in her skin, so many that I find it hard to believe it was accidental (7-8 BBs in a single leg, 2 on her face, as well as others). She also has Erlichia, which is very treatable provided it's caught, but that would not have been the case had I just left her. I guess it was a lose/lose situation.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

I put panties on Aleu. I cut a hole for her big fluffy tail and use safety pins to keep them on (have to make sure they're positioned properly and on tight enough)
I also line the inside with pads (hope nobody's too sensitive about this sort of stuff. if so, my bad).
Real hassle taking them on and off for potty breaks but it keeps the house in decent shape.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

mollypop15 said:


> Ah, yes. Such judgmental replies are what keep me from joining forums such as this. The previous posts had been much too kind, so I appreciate you not letting me down in that respect.


Please don't take offense to comments like that -- people have no way of knowing the particulars until you tell them (and thanks for sharing your story, and for rescuing the dog!). I also find that a lot of the time, people interpret a post's tone differently than the author intended -- I hope lil_fuzzy will come back and back me up on this, but I doubt any offense was intended, just concern.  It definitely sounds like the dog was abandoned, so I'm glad you two found each other and that you're doing right by her.


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

I believe most Boxers fit into a size 6 boys pull up just for an idea for size. They also have ones made specially for dogs. I don't know if they're more expensive or not though.

And even though she's not a male still watch her like a hawk. I've heard of females breaking out to get bred. Around days 10-17 that's their main goal, just as bad as the boys.


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## mollypop (Oct 10, 2011)

boxerlover876 said:


> I believe most Boxers fit into a size 6 boys pull up just for an idea for size. They also have ones made specially for dogs. I don't know if they're more expensive or not though.
> 
> And even though she's not a male still watch her like a hawk. I've heard of females breaking out to get bred. Around days 10-17 that's their main goal, just as bad as the boys.


Thanks so much! She probably is about the size of a boxer. She's been alternating between not wanting to go out at all and wanting to drag me all over the place when we do go for walks, so I'm definitely keeping an eye on her. Hopefully the next report from the vet is a good one so I can get her fixed ASAP and not have to deal with this again!


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

mollypop said:


> Thanks so much! She probably is about the size of a boxer. She's been alternating between not wanting to go out at all and wanting to drag me all over the place when we do go for walks, so I'm definitely keeping an eye on her. Hopefully the next report from the vet is a good one so I can get her fixed ASAP and not have to deal with this again!


You're Welcome! 

Just so you know they normally have to wait for a few weeks after they come out of heat. All their organs inflame and become more blood filled so it can e dangerous to spay right after with more risk of bleeding out and other complications. I believe you have to wait two months? That's what I've heard of for cats at least.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

boxerlover876 said:


> Just so you know they normally have to wait for a few weeks after they come out of heat. All their organs inflame and become more blood filled so it can e dangerous to spay right after with more risk of bleeding out and other complications. I believe you have to wait two months? *That's what I've heard of for cats at least.*


Cats are basically always in heat so if you try to wait until she's out of heat she'll never get done. Especially not if you want to wait 2 months! Vets are accustomed to spaying in-heat cats. 

Dogs are another matter. It is best to wait 2-3 months after her heat to spay. Not all vets will tell you this. I picked up a stray once and she went into heat right after I found her. Waited a month or so and had her spayed when the vet said it was OK. She nearly bled out . So I looked it up online and found the info saying to wait longer. The vet said "well, I didn't mention it because I didn't think you wanted to wait. . ."


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Crantastic said:


> Please don't take offense to comments like that -- people have no way of knowing the particulars until you tell them (and thanks for sharing your story, and for rescuing the dog!). I also find that a lot of the time, people interpret a post's tone differently than the author intended -- I hope lil_fuzzy will come back and back me up on this, but I doubt any offense was intended, just concern.  It definitely sounds like the dog was abandoned, so I'm glad you two found each other and that you're doing right by her.


Nobody here is a mind reader. We have had people come here and say "I found a dog, I asked my neighbor if he knew the owner and then I kept it. A year later, I took it to the vet and it has a microchip, what do I do?" 

Good, loving owners lose dogs accidentally all the time. I'd hate for that to happen to me, so I ask these questions, too.


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## Mheath0429 (Sep 4, 2011)

Good for you for helping this dog - yes, it could be somebody's dog, but in the very least you are doing everything in your power to keep her healthy and happy.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

mollypop15 said:


> Ah, yes. Such judgmental replies are what keep me from joining forums such as this. The previous posts had been much too kind, so I appreciate you not letting me down in that respect. Though if you would like the full story I would be happy to share.


How was my question judgemental? There are no opinions or comments about what you have done, it was just a question. And the reason I asked is because a lot of areas have laws that say you have to make every reasonable effort to locate the dog's owner over a certain period of time (usually 2 weeks) before being able to claim it as your own. And here you are planning to spay the dog after stating you've had her for only 2 weeks, and that you've already realised she was staying long-term, and your comment suggests spaying was something that hadn't just popped into your mind, it was something you had already considered before the 2 weeks were up.

I don't know what the laws are in your area, I just know a lot of areas have those types of laws, and you didn't say anything about what you had done to locate the owner. You'd be surprised at the amount of people who see a dog wandering down the street one day and take it in and call it theirs just like that.

I know I would be pretty upset if my dog was lost and someone took it in and said it was their dog just like that. That she was in bad condition doesn't mean anything, any dog can wander off and being in a very rural area no one spotted it for a while and it didn't eat much and lost condition. That doesn't mean no one cares about it.

Was the dog checked for a microchip at least?

Good on you for taking her in, I would have done the same thing. I don't have an issue with you taking her home and taking care of her, I just wonder at the very quick decision to spay when you haven't really done all that much to locate the owner. Every reasonable effort means calling every shelter, vet and pound in a fairly large radius, as well as checking for a microchip and putting up posters. You don't need to put a photo on the poster, it could just say you found a dog, and anyone who calls then have to prove it's their dog.


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