[jrijr]

I have three dogs - Georgie, 3.5 y/o, full-blooded female black Labrador; Beef, 13 months, son of Georgie; Grace, also 13 months, daughter of Georgie.

Georgie has been fixed - the pups have not.

Grace has come into heat this week. I do understand the whole process, and plan to have her fixed once this heat cycle is complete (and please, no comments about my decision to wait until she has gone through the one cycle). However, Grace and Beef have been a bit "wild" for another in the last couple days. I have them crated individually in different parts of the house, and they do not go outside together now.

However, there is definitely the vocal frustration from them on occasion. They are not used to being crated in the evenings (they play in the house, and sleep at the foot of my bed), so it is different for them for sure.

Any tips on helping keep this overall challenge "low-key" for the next few weeks? I will be taking Grace to be spayed before the end of the year, but obviously I cannot do that right now. I would like to keep Beef unaltered, but I may need to change that at some point.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Jim

 

[3doglady]

All I can say is God bless you. What a fun challenge!

Perhaps some mentally stimulating games and individual exercise and training will help.

btw, I agree with spaying after at least the first heat cycle. It can correct any issues with an inverted vulva, and last time I checked, there is still a consensus in agreement with growth plates closing and therefore lower possibility of costly, painful joint injuries later.

 

[Emily1188]

Just hang in there, lol. The boy dog in our house will go on and off his food for a few days when my girl is in a standing heat, but it does pass.

I don't have personal experience with this product, but I have heard that chlorophyll tablets for the bitch can reduce her odor and help make her less attractive to the male, which should cut down on the whining. I believe you can purchase chlorophyll at the health food store.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

they will live and so will you.. Have a group all intact and during heat you set a routine of separate and rotate to keep them safe. When they are first learning one in the crate one loose or one behind a baby gate and one loose, rotate more frequently so they learn to happily wait their turn for the future when you can rotate less frequently and they still happy. The dogs are really good about the routine.. all bets are off at the standing heat time frame and you don't hold it against them for being more vocal. The dogs learn being exposed to the heat cycle routine and are calmer except for the standing heat time frame so your not having crazy crazy for the full heat cycle

 

[jrijr]

Thanks for the tips, all. Amazingly, I had all three dogs outside today for several hours while I mowed. Aside from the sniffing, the boy dog was not really interested in anything different. Of course, in typing thing, I am jinxing myself for the future.

Hopefully all goes well in the days ahead!

 

[Willowy]

Don't give him access to her! Even supervised, they could tie pretty quick. If that happens, are you willing to do an emergency spay? It's best to just keep them totally separate until she's out of heat.

 

[Emily1188]

Thanks for the tips, all. Amazingly, I had all three dogs outside today for several hours while I mowed. Aside from the sniffing, the boy dog was not really interested in anything different. Of course, in typing thing, I am jinxing myself for the future.

Hopefully all goes well in the days ahead!

If she's in the early stages of her heat, that's not surprising because she's not fertile or ready to mate yet, but... that will change and you don't want to find out the hard way that it has, so you need to separate them completely until your female is totally done with her season.

 

[Kyllobernese]

Don't let that lull you into thinking that when she is ready, you will have time to stop the male as it only takes a few minutes and it will be too late. You would then have to do a spay/abort as them being brother and sister they should not be allowed to have pups.