Dog Breeding Is my Bitch Coming Into Season

One of the commonest questions asked by dog owners who have a bitch that has not been desexed, is - Is my bitch coming into season?

To help you know - its VERY IMPORTANT to know your dogs age, as accurately as possible! A bitch can come into season from the age of 6 months - to as late as 12 months. You will need to be switched on though and start checking - at around 6 months of age.

PLEASE NOTE - professional breeders are obliged by their breed associations to breed ONLY from 12 months onward. This is because dogs that are only around 6 months of age are still very much puppies, and are immature both physically and mentally. Your dog will be a stronger and better mother and her pups will do much better if you wait until shes at least 12 months of age.

If youre tempted to breed early ONLY because you think youll make money by selling pups - be warned, Vet bills can be high - it really is best to wait for the dog to be mature!

Early Signs of Heat

One of the really early signs can be a stage of "scenting" to let male dogs know of their condition. This will appear to the more observant owner as an increase in urination and generally occurs around 2 weeks prior to coming into season. There may also be an increase in the dog licking its vulva in an effort to keep itself clean.

More Obvious Signs (Pro-oestrus - about 9 days length)

This next stage is much more obvious and is really the first full stage of heat. The bitches vulva begins to swell and can go to as large as TRIPLE its original size, this stage will last about 9 days.

IMPORTANT you need to have been observing - in order to detect the swelling. For an indication of the extent of the changes - SEE PICTURES on my site under dog breeding.

You should not miss this stage though, it is VERY obvious, because usually there is a blood stained discharge, which will vary in intensity from bitch to bitch. The discharge may start off a brown colour and progress to red. The dogs appetite can also decrease, but this is not always the case. Also usually the bitch may be more dominant with other females and begin to "flag" male dogs - ie, putting her tail up and presenting her rear to the nose of the male dog.

It should be noted however that the bitch will NOT allow a male to attempt mating at this point!

Needless to say, being observant early on means that you should be able to pick the next stage - which is the BEST time for mating - OR if you do not want to breed, the RISKIEST time - the time of maximum fertility!

The next stage is called Oestrus or Standing Heat and is where breeders will want to introduce the stud dog, to allow for mating and a "tie" to occur, for more information on this next crucial stage of the dogs heat cycle, please visit my site, at the link below.

Steve Gaskin is an author of Dog Breeding, Feeding and Training articles - he and his wife own and breed Staffordshire Bull Terriers. For more information - for Ebook reviews and a FREE Home-made Dog Food Recipe visit: http://dogloverstoolbox.com

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What do I do if my dog gets into something that is poison

Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, your dog may get into something that is poisonous to him/her.

About a month after we adopted Copper, while we were away from home, he managed to open the cabinet door under the kitchen sink and got into some roach tablets. In fact the picture shows the actual box he got into. These tablets are mostly boric acid. The Lovely Shane and I were very concerned because Copper was vomiting when we got home. 

It is important that you know what to do in an emergency like the one I described above. I strongly suggest that you call the Pet Poison Helpline immediately. The 24/7 Telephone number is 800-213-6680.

There is a $39.00 per incident charge for the call but it is well worth the money. If you have to take your dog to the emergency veterinary hospital they will always call the helpline and bill it to you anyway. Once you call the Helpline, they give you an incident number that you can pass on to your emergency vet. The Helpline will inform you if you need to immediately take your dog to the emergency veterinary clinic.

In Coppers case, he did not ingest enough of the poison to be life threatening. He was, however, very sick and I stayed up all night with him. The nice people at the hotline gave me detailed instructions on how to treat Copper and what to look for as signs that he was not recovering as expected. I could call back as many times as needed on that incident without additional charges. After a long night, Copper recovered fully. I never knew a dog could vomit that much :) . 

There are more than things than insecticides that are potentially poisonous to dogs. For instances grapes and raisins are not good at all for the little guys. There is a searchable list on the Pet Poison Hotline website. I strongly encourage you to look it over soon. 

Regardless of what anyone tells you, please, please, please do not use home remedies here. Call the helpline and follow the instructions that they provide. Do not try to induce vomiting or feed the dog until you talk to a professional on the helpline.  There is a very good list of emergency instructions on their website. I strongly suggest that you become familiar with them before an emergency occurs. And, for your dogs sake, please dont wait, call immediately!

It is also a great idea to know the location and phone number of your nearest emergency veterinary clinic. If you live near the Dog Trainer Shack here in Fayette County, Georgia. Your nearest one is likely Southern Crescent Veterinary Emergency Clinic.  They have a few locations. The one in Fayetteville, GA is at :

1270 Highway 54 East

Fayetteville, GA  30214.  

The phone number is: 770-460-8166.

I hope you are never faced with this sort of emergency. But, if you are, it is great to be prepared ahead of time!

Please contact me if you have any training needs or dog related questions.

Till Next Time

-William -

William Moore

William Moore Canine Training 

678-702-4791

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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Welcoming an adopted dog into your pack

The Lovely Shane and I are pleased to welcome Cody to our pack!  As I mentioned in a previous post, we adopted Cody from the Coweta County Animal Control Shelter. He arrived yesterday afternoon. He is adjusting to his new forever home very well!

I thought it may be a good occasion to write a blog entry about welcoming an adopted guy or girl to your pack.

If this is your first dog it is important that you dog-proof your home. Take a look at my blog entry about dog-proofing for more information.

Remember to be patient. This can be a stressful time for the dog. If he is a housebroken adult, it is possible that due to the stress he may have accidents. Make sure to take him out very quickly after you get him home so that he knows where he should go. If you need to reinforce or teach housebreaking take a look at my blog entry on housebreaking.

If you have other dogs in your pack, slowly introduce the new guy or girl. Make sure he is not trapped in a corner. If you pick a dog with similar temperament to your existing pack members this transition will be much easier.

If possible, find out what sort of food the dog was eating at the shelter. To eliminate the possibility of an upset stomach, get a bag of the food that he is on. If you want to transition him to a new food, mix his current food with the new food. For  more information on Dog Food, take a look at my blog posts on Nutrition and Corn.

It is not uncommon for adopted dogs to experience separation anxiety. I encourage you to be prepared for this possibility. If you see that the new guy or girl is being destructive when you leave him at home, consider leaving something to occupy his time. A great idea is to buy a Kong toy and fill it with peanut butter and crushed treats. If you freeze this it will work even better. He will spend a lot of time trying to get the peanut butter and treats out of the toy and this will occupy his mind. You may also consider leaving a TV or Radio on so that he hears the voices this may soothe him. See also my blog posting on Dogs and TV.

It is very important that the dog get plenty of exercise. I recommend walking him on the leash at least once a day. If the weather is rainy, take a look at my blog posting about places to walk your dog when it is raining for ideas about dry places to walk when it is raining.

I strongly recommend that you make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible. Even if the dog is healthy, you need to make sure his shots are current and that you start heart worm preventive and flea and tick preventive as soon as possible. I would also have the vet do a wellness check examination just to verify there are no health issues.

If your dog is not micro-chipped I strongly recommend that you have this done. This is particularly important for sent hounds (beagles, bassets, bloodhounds, etc.) because they are ruled by their noses and will get lost on the trail of something interesting. It is important for any breed ! It is important because the microchip will identify the dog even if he loses his collar. The microchips can be read at veterinarian offices and shelters. I will write a post soon that will go into detail about microchips

I also recommend that you get an engraved name tag for his collar. This way he is very easily identifiable if lost.

The Lovely Shane and I wanted to make sure Cody was clean before we brought him into the dog trainer shack with the rest of the pack. We stopped by Petco in Peachtree City and used the self-service bath. This is really nice because it is set-up for dogs and you dont have a mess to clean up when you are finished. We think it is well worth the $10.00. I also had Whitney ,in the grooming salon, clip Codys nails while we were there. The nails had grown to a very long length. Nail trimming is a very important part of grooming. I will write a blog entry later that explains this in more detail. But, I strongly suggest that you maintain the nails.

Just so that you know I practice what I preach (so to speak) I am taking Cody to the veterinarian in the morning.

You should start training as soon as possible. This will ensure that your new little guy or girl is polite and well behaved. Contact me at any time and I will be glad to discuss training options with you!

Till Next Time

-William_

William Moore
William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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