Schnauzer heat season

Question
Hi Karen,
I have a 7 month old female (Dazee) and a 15 month old male (Jaxon) schnauzer.  Dazee looks like she is swollen in her private area and Jaxon is constantly sniffing and trying to mount her.  She has no blood showing and I am assuming she is about to go in heat?  At what age should she be allowed to breed?  Any suggestions on keeping them apart during the season?  I've never had a female before so this is all new to me.
Thank you for any suggestions you have!
HAPPY NEW YEAR,
VICKY

Answer
Yes, she is coming into season, if she isn't in already. They don't always bleed. Now is the time to separate the two to prevent an accidental breeding, and they need to be kept separated for at least four weeks. I keep my bitches in the kitchen behind two baby gates (one on top of the other) as I have some jumpers here and the kitchen floor is the easiest to keep clean. If you cannot do that, you need to keep them crated, and alternate letting them out one at a time so neither one is spending too much time in a crate.

The bitch must always be accompanied when put outside to potty, and kept on a leash if your yard is not fenced. Males will do their best to get to her, and often the bitches are just as bad in trying to get to the males.

Bitches should not be bred until they are over 18 mos. old and they (and any sire) have been examined for hereditary health problems. The eyes of both sire and dam must be examined yearly by a veterinary ophthalmologist (as should all offspring at 8 weeks) as schnauzers have a number of hereditary eye problems. Thyroids should be checked, and here are some other issues a breeder should be aware of: http://amsc.us/health.html

Since you are contemplating breeding, here are a couple things you should read as breeding is not something that anyone should enter into lightly:

http://members.aol.com/ktbrit/breeding.html
http://www.geocities.com/virtualbreeding/virtualbreeding.html

Karen