[dalans]

Hi all.

Lila - 11mo 75lb Betnedoodle, just finished her first heat cycle about a week ago. During her cycle she was a little lethargic but we did not think much of it. She started her cycle April ,6 or so and that lasted till about the 20th. Now she has been done for a good week (we sort of know based on the fact that she has had zero discharge in almost 2 weeks and other dogs are not overly interested in her scent).

The thing is, her energy is still low. Well not her energy so much as her stamina. One or two fetches and she is panting and crashed. And it is not hot weather either. This is happening on cool days. She used to be good for a good twenty minutes of activity, now one or two sprints and she is DONE.

No other issues. She is happy and eating and sleeping well.

Do you think this is just a temporary post heat thing, considering we are still within a 4-week time frame, or do you think that she actually lost her conditioning? Or something else? And no, while in heat she had very limited exposure to other dogs and was literally not out of our site for even one second.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[3GSD4IPO]

Was she confined while in heat? Very little exercise? Did she gain weight? It might be just being out of condition (a dog can lose condition in a week).

If not, get her to a vet and see what is going on.

Is she coughing when she is tired or working? What are you feeding her?

 

[dalans]

Thanks for your response. She is perking up already, so I guess this was a false alarm. I do not know if it was coming off her cycle, if she was a little under the weather, or something else. For sure she was getting less exercise for the last 2 weeks. At any rate it looks like she is about 80% of the way there. At this rate by next week she will be at 100%.

 

[gingerkid]

Behaviour changes during a heat cycle are pretty common. Those behaviour changes are usually caused by changes in hormone levels, so will reverse themselves when the hormone levels return to their pre-heat levels, which can take a week or eight (or somewhere in between).