shar pei on heat ???

Question
hi i have a female shar pei she lives inside and, is about 7 months old and has not yet come on heat i have been told that dogs come on heat at 4 months so i am a bit concerned. also i have two small children that she is grate with now but could she turn on them during heat?

Answer
Danielle, generally, larger breed dogs don't come into heat until later. Your girl should come into heat anytime now. I would recommend that you have her spayed first, however, if you are not involved in showing. Having her spayed before her first heat will make her chances of developing mammary cancer nearly zero. It will also prevent dangerous, life threatening diseases such as pyometra, as well as uterine and ovarian cancer.

Some dogs can become moody and even aggressive during heat cycles, yes. It can also be messy. Some dogs lose control of their bowels and bladder during their heat cycle (which lasts 3-4 weeks), not to mention the blood, which lasts for at least a week, though some females bleed for 3 weeks. Even if loss of control of the bladder doesn't occur, females in heat still pee a LOT.