in heat swelling bitch mating

Question
QUESTION: We have a cavalier female who is having her first season. She is very swollen, she is bleeding, everything appears correct & progressing normally. However,we picked her up to see how she is going, so we were holding her in our arms on her back. Her legs were relaxed open out, and we could clearly see just how swollen she now is. BUT, we did notice that her vagina was very swollen, but you could actually see a white-ish looking? I'm not really sure what you would call it, it is visible without touching her swelling vagina.It does not appear to be just mucous or soft.It kind of resembles the sac of puppy in birth. BUT we are very positive that she is having her 1st heat, & we have not mated her. She is not delivering pups. Should we be able to see anything that is on the inside of her reproductive bits, such as swollen ovaries or vulva? She is a very healthy, well looked after dog.Is it normal? She is also swollen  a great deal, with the appearance of the pressure you see as pups are delivered. so around her anus area she has swelling in the entire area. Can this look of pressure be the internal reproductive swelling? The white-ish bit looks smooth, it is not gluggy or soft mucous. It is not rock hard. It does move if you carefully feel around the vaginal lip opening.Also the swollen pressure area between the vagina -to the anus will move freely so none of this area is rock hard. She definitely is not pregnant & she is not delivering pups. She is still dripping blood. She does not seem distressed at all. She is actively licking & cleaning her vagina.She does not appear to be in pain. Can you tell me if this is a normal thing to see just inside her vaginal opening, as we have not had to touch anything to see it. Just her legs relaxed apart whilst on her back in our arms, shows the white thing inside her vagina. Does she have swollen ovaries or something similar that would normally be seen??? Is this serious?? will it affect or stop us mating her? will it be painful for her if this is blocking her vaginal opening, or will it move allowing mating?? thank you.. From Concerned owner.

ANSWER: The main thing you would see is her vestibule, which is the opening that leads up into the urethra. Most of that area is going to be swollen. This is all normal but breeding her at a year old is not. No dog of any breed should be bred until they are at least two years of age.

They are not ready to be good dams at one year and more puppies are killed by young mothers than older ones. So wait this heat out and when she is two then breed her if you must.

If you are concerned about what you are seeing then have the vet take a look at her, but from what you are telling me this sounds normal.
You cannot see her ovaries or the uterine horns from where you are looking. If she was having a prolapse it would most likely be vaginal or cervical, and there is no reason for a healthy dog to be prolapsing.

The bleeding is normal, the swelling is normal. She should be just fine.


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QUESTION: Thank you for the advice. I don't think I mentioned that we ARE NOT mating her, as she is only 10 months. But we wanted to see how far into her season she was, as we have her in a restricted enclosure so she cannot possibly be exposed to a mating. I was asking whether this is what is supposed to be just sitting inside her vaginal lips as we had not seen this before. We do not plan at this stage to breed her at all. But it was a query as to whether this would stop her from mating at a later time. Or if it was an issue that would need medical attention. do you have any photo's or other information that can let us see photo's of similar very large estrus? I am having trouble finding sites for this so we can see if what we are seeing is referenced in any vet books or other resource.

Answer
No you didn't mention that and no, I am sorry I have no photos of that. Maybe your vet can look at her tomorrow morning. I have no way of showing you anything that looks like that so it would be best to call your vet. It is midnight here but I know it is already Saturday down there so maybe on Monday you can take her in.

Here are some articles on vaginal prolapses. It does mention vaginal hyperplasia which is swelling without protrusion outside of the vulva.
It is a possibility that she could be experiencing this.

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/dystocia-difficult-birth-in-dogs/page1.aspx

If so then she will need medical intervention.
I couldn't find much more than that myself. I think it would be wise to have the doc take a look at her.

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I am sorry I seemed to be so pointed in my answer but with these sentence it did sound as if you were going to breed her-"will it affect or stop us mating her? will it be painful for her if this is blocking her vaginal opening, or will it move allowing mating?? thank you.. From Concerned owner."

Please understand that we have no way of gauging your level of pet ownership and can only go by what is written to us. I am grateful that you are responsible pet owners. Where I live (USA) there are millions of dogs and cats being euthanized daily because they cannot find homes. As a result of that, the veterinary field has to also be responsible in letting owners know that it the responsible thing to do to not breed but to adopt and to get their own pets neutered and spayed. I did not suggest that as I could tell that you would be breeding her properly when the time comes.

Responsible breeding does keep the breeds pure and I know that you only want the best for your baby. I applaud that and hope that she will be okay through this heat cycle and afterward.

Good luck with your future litters. Cavaliers are great dogs.