Yorkshire terrier bitch coming of age?

Question
Hello, and thankyou in advance for your reply. We have a 10 month old Yorkshire Terrier Chihuahua cross breed (not yet spayed). We have never had a dog before so are really quite new to the whole experience. for the last few days to a week she is very swollen and passing a little blood from her reproductive organs (never a nice word to describe that part of an anatomy).

My question is is this normal of a bitch reaching sexual maturity and probably coming into season for the first time or is it more likely to be an infection that requires the attention of a vet. The amount of blood that is being lost is minimal a few ten pence piece size patches per night that she sleeps on a bed.

Many Thanks

Answer
Yes, she is in season, and the word you are searching for is "vulva". You need to keep her confined and keep an eagle eye on her for the next two to three weeks as the boys will come looking for her (and she will most likely be trying to get to them). She is probably close to prime now. She can be spayed about a month after she has been out of season.