First heat cycle

[kingmark]

Hello to all mastiff owners. My 11 month girl is having her first heat, so how are your experiences with your mastiffs first heat? And others? Any advice is welcomed,as i am first time owner of female dog

 

[MastiffMillie]

Millie also had hers at 11 months and it was a breeze. Our last dog however was not and was a really messy affair. Millie however kept herself clean and although I had a nappy at the ready, it wasn't needed. Her lady bits were extremely swollen...... she looked ridiculous! Also, she finished her season about 3/4 weeks ago now and although her vulva has gone back to normal size, her teats remain enlarged. We have been asked if she is pregnant (she had no contact with in tact males at all). I've wondered if she's having a phantom pregnancy but she isn't acting out of character at all.

 

[kingmark]

Millie also had hers at 11 months and it was a breeze. Our last dog however was not and was a really messy affair. Millie however kept herself clean and although I had a nappy at the ready, it wasn't needed. Her lady bits were extremely swollen...... she looked ridiculous! Also, she finished her season about 3/4 weeks ago now and although her vulva has gone back to normal size, her teats remain enlarged. We have been asked if she is pregnant (she had no contact with in tact males at all). I've wondered if she's having a phantom pregnancy but she isn't acting out of character at all.

Similar story at my place ,so all is normal

 

[Bailey's Mom]

Bailey's heats were quite easy. A little messy, but I was always jumping up when she got up, so...got most of it. She kept herself very clean as well. We had blankets on the floor to absorb anything I missed, but it helped that we are mostly tile and wood floors, so clean up was a breeze. The worst part was worrying about boy dogs bothering her, but, it was mostly in my head. She did offer herself to two boys, but Mama put a stop to that fast! As for her teets, they went down between heats, but they never quite returned to her pre-heat size. After multiple heats just after the two-year mark, we had her spayed. She had developed a swelling in her teet under her front leg and it was caused by her body producing small amounts of milk-like fluids during those heats, so, watch out for swellings that don't go down.

 

[kingmark]

Bailey's heats were quite easy. A little messy, but I was always jumping up when she got up, so...got most of it. She kept herself very clean as well. We had blankets on the floor to absorb anything I missed, but it helped that we are mostly tile and wood floors, so clean up was a breeze. The worst part was worrying about boy dogs bothering her, but, it was mostly in my head. She did offer herself to two boys, but Mama put a stop to that fast! As for her teets, they went down between heats, but they never quite returned to her pre-heat size. After multiple heats just after the two-year mark, we had her spayed. She had developed a swelling in her teet under her front leg and it was caused by her body producing small amounts of milk-like fluids during those heats, so, watch out for swellings that don't go down.

Thanks for sharing your experience my girl is in her 12 day still dripping now and then but she is also keeping herself clean. I will post update hope everything goes well

 

[Nik]

We only went through one heat with Kahlua before getting her fixed. She was a sweetheart the entire time. She definitely had some heavier bleed days and we had a very unfortunate experience with the first of these days when I woke up to wet drops all over my face (she typically sleeps in bed with us). But, that one experience was the worst of it. The diapers didn't work for Kahlua they irritated her too much. We ended up buying some loose very soft cotton toddler shorts and those worked much better and still caught all the drops.

She was very swollen during the entire thing and she kept presenting her back-end to our neutered male (Diesel).

 

[kingmark]

Help. My girl vulva has some pimples on it like something sting her , is that normal? I cant upload a pic so any advice or help is very welcomed

 

[Boxergirl]

I don't know that it's normal, but Ella gets these. She has a recessed vulva and tends to lick a lot. She always had more skin infections, chin pimples, and large pustules on her vulva when she was coming into heat/during/after. Now that she's been spayed she only gets them if she has a uti or vaginitis and is licking a lot. I'm not a huge fan of antibiotics, so I just kept her clean and discouraged licking. They've always gone away on their own. If they look worse or are really bothering her, a vet check is always an option.

 

[kingmark]

We have been at the vet ,and they tested her urine and said its some light infection, maybe its her heat as she is still in the end of the heat ,but they dont want to risk and wait to clear by itself so they gave her antibiotics for five days so we will see on monday how is situation. I have never had a female dog so all this is new to me and much stressful.

 

[Boxergirl]

Did you use any kind of diaper on her?

 

[kingmark]

Did you use any kind of diaper on her?

No i didnt, she didnt bleed that much ,nothing that i couldnt mop up and she kept herself clean. But week ago we were out on the walk and some dog that was being walked off leash came to us from behined and licked her two times down there. The other day i noticed one pimple and i thought it was her hormons or something but maybe that dog got her some infection or something because he was off leash and poking his nos on everything and here poleople tend to dump al kind of trash on the street so who knows. She got her first antibiotic today one more in the evening so i will see what will happen,hope its nothing serious.

 

[Boxergirl]

I'm not a fan of diapers. I think it cuts down the airflow when it's needed most and creates an environment for infection. Just my opinion. I also don't think it was the other dog. I'm sure she's going to be fine. I would suggest wiping her with a clean cloth or unscented diaper wipe to keep the area clean. I do that with my girl and it definitely helps. Good luck.