my toy poodle is in heat and starting to have issues, what should I expect?

Hopefully others with more knowledge will chime in, but you should wait for her heat cycle to end before having her spayed.  Call the vet and let them know when she started and how long, so they can determine if it's safe for her to go into surgery.

As for the increase in accidents in the house, I'm not sure if that is related to being in  heat or not.  Do you free feed her?  Or does she get meals at certain times of the day?  Feeding 2 or 3 times a day instead of letting her eat when she wants to, will help you to determine when she needs to go and help you keep the messes at bay. 

hi tashakota:

I contacted the clinic and they say they can do surgery when the dog is in heat. They say it's safe. Should I believe them? I've heard different opinions on this.

Also, I only feed Tippey once a day, and some times snacks for treat here and there. I just can't have a clear understanding how her digestive system works. She's just different.

Thanks for your input.

If you can relate to a female period; you know the symptoms. Heat is no fun at all and of course increases irritation & urination (just like in female humans). The "deal" is that she's in heat which requires a lot of responsability and care which is why it is recommended to spay your dogs for many many health reasons. I distinctly remember frequent urination being one of them [which I also witnessed myself since I didn't spay my own dog in time].

If youre not a breeder you should have your dog spayed at 6months; now you can see and understand why that is important.

Also a good Vet will tell you that you should not spay a female untill 3 months after heat. My dog went into heat right at six months or a little over so I had to wait till she was 11months old for the surgery. Please double check with your Vet about this? Like any doctor practices may vary but that is just a suggestion from my personal experience and Vet.

As far as house breaking goes she should be wearing a doggie diaper untill the heat passes and try to let her outside as much as possible. Eventually it will pass and you can get back on track. Also remember that "toy" breeds need to relieve themselves between 3-5 hours anyway.

I really recommend calling your Vet up too. They are there to be a mentor and guideline for medical & health concerns like this. All though I hope my own personal experience and advice can give you some what of a good idea what to expect. Best of Luck.

I would not spay a bitch in season, personally. There will be more bleeding and that can lead to issues esp in a small dog. It will cost more also due to the extra precautions...

And lastly..she will have 1-2 WEEKS afterwards where her body will still be under the influence of the now absent hormones....while they work their way out...and that will NOT shorten the issues you are having.

IMO she is acting normally...hormones do funny things to dogs, male and female alike....bear with her...walk or offer trips outside TOTALLY 100% SUPERVISED more often. It will pass and when it does the spay will prevent further instances.

Keep working daily on training short happy sessions...make sure your bond is still strong and offer her security because she likely feels "off' and unsure.

thanks all for the advices. I'm taking everyone's advices and not have her spay until a monther after she's done with her "heat".

Mickey - I don't *think* I saw anyone answer your original quesition of "how long".  They are in the estrus cycle for three weeks.

Also since this is your first time I want to explain something that maybe no one else has.

 You compared this to her "period".  You understand it really is NOT, right?  When we human females cycle and bleed, it is our body getting RID of the egg that didn't get fertlized and the accumulationg in the uterus that the body put there to 'prepare' in case pregnancy occured.

That is NOT the case with a dog.  The whole purpose of 'heat' in a dog is to GET pregnant.  They are fertile the entire 3 week duration of the heat cycle and you may or may not *see* bleeding.

Part of the purpose of the bleeding is the scent it contains -- and part of what happens the first week is that this 'broadcasts' her scent far and wide.  Male dogs up to 5-6 miles away can smell her and will travel great distances to get TO her. 

So when everyone above tells you to 'supervise' her -- they MEAN that.  Never just 'let her out' -- be with her ALL the time, and frankly, I would have something at hand to get rid of a male that's too big for you to handle.  Stay close to home with her -- don't get caught somewhere you can't handle the male dogs that come up to 'see' her. 

I've seen dogs try to mate thru cyclone fencing and achieve it.  I've seen male dogs jump IN windows of a house and scale 7 foot fences to get there. 

Generally a good vet will tell you to wait SIX weeks post-estrus.  That's about 2 months from now.  See, her tissues get all swollen inside and most vets want to wait to make sure those reduce safely and that there is no infection.

HOWEVER -- you also have to watch how she acts.  Some dogs can actually go thru a 'false pregnancy' after estrus -- and that's not dangerous.  However, if she acts at all sick, like she doesn't feel good ... or even acts "unusual" -- go to the vet.  Because you don't want her to develop pyometra.  That's a very very serious infection that happens to females that are unspayed.

It doesn't often happen to a young female but it can.  A friend of mine toyed with the idea of breeding her girl until she researched it.  And by then she went in heat.  But then after it was over she just didn't act quite right ... and I encouraged my friend to take her to the vet.

She had pyo -- and they nearly lost her. 

So you don't want to rush it -- it IS better to wait until after the tissues return to normal to spay (because those tissues are SUCH breeding ground for bacteria -- that's why the risk of pyometra can be so great, and it's also why vets don't like to spay until the tissues return to normal).  Just watch her.  And don't leave her alone for even an instant. 

Callie:

Wow, thank you so much for your so informative piece of advice. I had little knowledge about "heat" until now. And yes, I plan to not have her spay until sometime in April. I feel sorry for Tippey. She seems less active and irritated.

I live in an apartment, and she's in her crate when we're not home. So, I'm not too worried of some male dog get to her. I will pay close attention to her behavior after the cycle as well.

Btw, is there any kind of food that I can feed her to make her healthier during this time? I know it's a silly question.

Thanks again Callie.

A question that you don't have an answer to is NOT a silly question.

I'd make sure she's getting Omega 3 supplementation and generally make sure she's on a really good food (unless you want to home cook or similar). 

I don't know how you feed, but it's tempting when you have one little one to let them 'free feed' ... but it's not better.  It gives you no real 'control' -- you never know really how much they've eaten so you then never know when they aren't feeling good and have been 'off' their food.

 There's tons of nutrition advice here -- like I said, it's not a dumb question!!

I totally second Callie on the Nutrition advice!!!

hi Callie,

Once again, thanks for your advice.

My Tippey seemed to be in a better mood last night. I fed her scramble eggs and she just chowed it down. lol. She is doing better at not peeing in the house  yesterday too.