QuestionI have a yorkie who just turned 1 years old on November 21st. I believe she is having her first cycle.We recently found her liking her rear and now has red spots on her blanket.I have heard about the swelling of her area where she pee pee's,how would it look? How can I tell if this is the real thing or not?Is this the beginning or her cycle?
AnswerTracy,
It sounds like she is indeed having her first heat. The heat usually lasts for three weeks. The first week the pee pee starts to swell and then you may see some spotting followed by red blood droppings. It depends on the female how heavy the spotting will be. Towards the end of the first week and into the beginning of the first week the bleeding will become heavier and the pee pee will swell more. About mid week of the second week the bleeding will start to wain and the discharge will become pinkish in color. This is the time that she will be most susceptible to becoming pregnant. The pinkish color lasts from about day 8 to day 13 and then will stop all together. The last week her pee pee will be swollen but there will be no bleeding or discharge. If you do not want her to get pregnant you will need to watch her very carefully from day 8 to 13 or you will have some unexpected guests in about 9 weeks.
As far as how the swelling looks it would be just as you would expect any swelling would look. Her pee pee will be larger than normal and look a little puffy. Small dogs tend to go into heat later than large dogs. A large dog can go into heat as early as six months of age while small dogs may not go into heat until they are a year and a half old.
I hope this helps!
Melinda
