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whelping/breeding

18 13:37:52

Question
QUESTION: Hi, i have a female miniature dachshund-still a puppy and i was wondering when they have there first bleed and if it would be noticeable to look at her???

ANSWER: Hi Zoe. Smaller dogs tend to go into heat the first time sooner than larger breeds. When she hits about 6 months old, start watching. Her vulva will swell up, and she will bleed. Some females keep themselves so clean, their owners may miss the whole thing. Her behavior may change before she goes into heat as well.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi, thankyou for the peompt reply, i noticed all these things today but thought she may be to young, could you tell me how long it will last and aslo if i was to breed her when would be best for her--im not 100% sure that i want to but thought it might be nice for her to have just 1 litter.

Answer
A normal heat cycle lasts about 3 weeks, or 21 days. I's wait until she was at least two years of age before breeding her. Ler her finish growing up. If you breed her really young, you may run into some serious problems. If you're wanting to spay her, then I'd go ahead and do it. A dog doesn't have to have a litter to be fullfilled in life. Each time you breed a dog, you run the risk of losing her. There's always that chance. Breeding alitter is so much hard work, and very expensive. If you think that it's something that you really want to do, check out the link below. It has many great links on what to expect when you whelp, and will give you a lot of things to think about.
www.geocities.com/vvvzena/BoxetBoxers.html