My girl is a woman now. ☺️

[MyBuddy]

Well, after a week of a few changes like swelling, a little bit of whining and a few people here noticing it too, my little girl went into heat this morning! And I wasn't ready! My first female Doberman intact.

I've been noticing the swelling for a little bit now. My husband was trying to put his shoes on to go out the door this morning with Annie crawling in between his legs and just excited thinking she was going with him. As I'm watching, I told him, Man, she really looks swollen this morning. Next thing I know he says, Well what's that on the floor? Holy crap, I said! She started! And I have nothing! I had just ordered the pants the day after Thanksgiving. I don't know how long they take but they might be a long way away!

I texted my friend with the Great Dane thinking she might still have her dogs pants. In the meantime, my husband texted to see how things were going. I told him, not good, I'm trying to wrap a damn towel around her! I had a garment that you put around your neck or head for warmth that had a velcro closing. I don't know what you call it. But it fit around her waist perfectly. So I took a receiving blanket ripped it so I can put it between her legs and then stick under the little makeshift 'belt.' It worked pretty good, even if it looked ridiculous! She slept for quite a while with it on.

In the meantime I called my Doggy Boutique where I get a lot of my food and treats and checked if they had some panties. They did and my husband said he would pick some up. But he wouldn't be back till about 2:00! So I had to sit here and do nothing but watch her for all that time just to be sure she kept it on. And then take her outside on a leash to walk her.

When he came home I was like, Thank God! But when I tried it on her they were too small! I got the Large from pants for dogs.com but everybody's large is different. So I called and the girl said she would exchange them for me. So off my husband went to get the next size up. Hopefully they fit. I can certainly see where the ones from pants for dogs will fit better. This one didn't even fit her tail in the hole. Maybe the next size up will be better but these will be only temporary until I get the ones I ordered. I just needed something immediately because she isn't bleeding heavily but she is dripping now and again. And I couldn't have her anywhere without it being a problem. Even on her own bed. I didn't want her getting it all over that.

So here we sit waiting for my husband to get back so I can put these on and hopefully not worry about it as much. At least not as much as my Contraption. This one is much easier for her to just pull it off. I'm sure I'll have to watch her like a hawk with the others too.

I reread @MichiH thread on Peppers first heat. And @Ravenbird said she didn't keep the panties on at night. Did you? I'm trying to figure out if I should do that or not. She's been really good even with this horrible Contraption I had to put the poor dog through today. But one never knows when she's left to her own defenses at night while everyone's sleeping she could easily get that off.

My first contraption


Then I found something I could use as a 'belt.'


A bully stick for entertainment.


I'll post pictures with the panties my husband brings home. And the ones I ordered.

Right now she is comfortable and sleeping so, Shhhhhhhhh

 

[MyBuddy]

Well these almost look too big. But they are only temporary until I get the other ones and let's hope that those fit perfect! These look baggy on her. Like a saggy diaper but the other ones looked too tight like they were going to cut her in the leg. Ugh...


And no way does it fit the tail hole.

 

[MyBuddy]

Aaaaand they just fell off.

The good news is I did get an email from pants for dogs and they are shipping today. But I hope those fit! I wish I would have known that the ones my husband picked up have extra tabs for an extender around the waist. Now I'm thinking I should have kept the last size and used the extenders to make it a little bigger around and not so tight in the leg. Cuz these are just barely hanging on. Really a shame and they were 10 bucks more!

 

[JanS]

Aww sweet girl... I think the ones you ordered will fit much better so hopefully they get there sooner than later.
Aria's mom was just asking me about Olive's first heat and she didn't have her first one until she was 9.5 months but I told her they all vary.

 

[Katyusharocket]

This is good reading, as Zastava is 10 days away from 10 months old. Expecting it any day.

 

[LucyXIII]

Well, after a week of a few changes like swelling, a little bit of whining and a few people here noticing it too, my little girl went into heat this morning! And I wasn't ready! My first female Doberman intact.

I've been noticing the swelling for a little bit now. My husband was trying to put his shoes on to go out the door this morning with Annie crawling in between his legs and just excited thinking she was going with him. As I'm watching, I told him, Man, she really looks swollen this morning. Next thing I know he says, Well what's that on the floor? Holy crap, I said! She started! And I have nothing! I had just ordered the pants the day after Thanksgiving. I don't know how long they take but they might be a long way away!

I texted my friend with the Great Dane thinking she might still have her dogs pants. In the meantime, my husband texted to see how things were going. I told him, not good, I'm trying to wrap a damn towel around her! I had a garment that you put around your neck or head for warmth that had a velcro closing. I don't know what you call it. But it fit around her waist perfectly. So I took a receiving blanket ripped it so I can put it between her legs and then stick under the little makeshift 'belt.' It worked pretty good, even if it looked ridiculous! She slept for quite a while with it on.

In the meantime I called my Doggy Boutique where I get a lot of my food and treats and checked if they had some panties. They did and my husband said he would pick some up. But he wouldn't be back till about 2:00! So I had to sit here and do nothing but watch her for all that time just to be sure she kept it on. And then take her outside on a leash to walk her.

When he came home I was like, Thank God! But when I tried it on her they were too small! I got the Large from pants for dogs.com but everybody's large is different. So I called and the girl said she would exchange them for me. So off my husband went to get the next size up. Hopefully they fit. I can certainly see where the ones from pants for dogs will fit better. This one didn't even fit her tail in the hole. Maybe the next size up will be better but these will be only temporary until I get the ones I ordered. I just needed something immediately because she isn't bleeding heavily but she is dripping now and again. And I couldn't have her anywhere without it being a problem. Even on her own bed. I didn't want her getting it all over that.

So here we sit waiting for my husband to get back so I can put these on and hopefully not worry about it as much. At least not as much as my Contraption. This one is much easier for her to just pull it off. I'm sure I'll have to watch her like a hawk with the others too.

I reread @MichiH thread on Peppers first heat. And @Ravenbird said she didn't keep the panties on at night. Did you? I'm trying to figure out if I should do that or not. She's been really good even with this horrible Contraption I had to put the poor dog through today. But one never knows when she's left to her own defenses at night while everyone's sleeping she could easily get that off.

My first contraption
View attachment 151056

Then I found something I could use as a 'belt.'
View attachment 151054

A bully stick for entertainment.
View attachment 151059

I'll post pictures with the panties my husband brings home. And the ones I ordered.

Right now she is comfortable and sleeping so, Shhhhhhhhh
View attachment 151057

You did good for having to engineer a solution

 

[MyBuddy]

I'm so mad that I didn't see these extenders.

I probably could have kept the last ones. I just thought they were too tight on her and I didn't want it cutting her around the leg. But these are just barely hanging on. It's ridiculous. I won't be able to leave her sight, afraid they're going to fall off any minute.

 

[Ddski5]

And bonding with you and Annie continues!!!

 

[Rits]

And @Ravenbird said she didn't keep the panties on at night. Did you? I'm trying to figure out if I should do that or not.

No, you want her to be able to clean herself so take them off when shes in her kennel. Make sure to get feminine pads to absorb the liquids and to keep her clean. Change the pad for a fresh one every time you let her potty or when you take the panties off. I put my girls in their kennels periodically throughout the day so they have a break from the panties and can clean themselves. You want to avoid infection so thats why all of that is very important.

If you have a tiled floor that you could block her off in there and opt to leave her with no panties on then mop the floor behind her. Depends on how heavy she is.

 

[Ravenbird]

No, you want her to be able to clean herself so take them off when shes in her kennel. Make sure to get feminine pads to absorb the liquids and to keep her clean. Change the pad for a fresh one every time you let her potty or when you take the panties off. I put my girls in their kennels periodically throughout the day so they have a break from the panties and can clean themselves. You want to avoid infection so thats why all of that is very important.

If you have a tiled floor that you could block her off in there and opt to leave her with no panties on then mop the floor behind her. Depends on how heavy she is.

That's exactly how I do it. Also, the entire house is tile, so unless she's bleeding heavily I just spot clean with hydrogen peroxide and a rag all day. I pick up or cover the couple of area rugs.

 

[MyBuddy]

No, you want her to be able to clean herself so take them off when shes in her kennel. Make sure to get feminine pads to absorb the liquids and to keep her clean. Change the pad for a fresh one every time you let her potty or when you take the panties off. I put my girls in their kennels periodically throughout the day so they have a break from the panties and can clean themselves. You want to avoid infection so thats why all of that is very important.

If you have a tiled floor that you could block her off in there and opt to leave her with no panties on then mop the floor behind her. Depends on how heavy she is.

Thanks! I'm just seeing this now but that's exactly what I did last night. I actually put another light blanket in there on top of her bed in her crate and removed the panties. There's no way they would have stayed on overnight anyway. But like @Ravenbird was saying, putting a blanket in there and changing it out everyday works for me. I have lots of old blankets that are completely washable. And I've been changing the pad every time I let her out. So our minds are aligned!!

And these panties are so big they're hanging on her so it's not like it's close to her body anyway. But the newer pair might be. I actually thought about getting my sewing machine out and taking a nip and Tuck to make these fit better. I may need a couple of extra pair anyway.

And she's been doing fairly well with it. Actually doing a lot of resting. There's only been a few times where I had to correct her to leave it. She did get me up at 2:00 a.m. to potty and it was a little diarrhea. We both went right back to sleep and when we woke up later she had a little more soft stool. I'm assuming that's just because of the heat. Being a woman is hell.

 

[JanS]

She did get me up at 2:00 a.m. to potty and it was a little diarrhea. We both went right back to sleep and when we woke up later she had a little more soft stool. I'm assuming that's just because of the heat. Being a woman is hell.

I think that's true. I'm guessing they can get cramping like a woman does and that can cause issues with the rest of the system.

If you have a tiled floor that you could block her off in there and opt to leave her with no panties on then mop the floor behind her. Depends on how heavy she is.

That's what I usually do too. I use a spray mop with the Odo-Ban you suggested. I bought 4 or 5 gallons of it so we still have quite a bit. LOL

 

[LucyXIII]

it. She did get me up at 2:00 a.m. to potty and it was a little diarrhea. We both went right back to sleep and when we woke up later she had a little more soft stool. I'm assuming that's just because of the heat. Being a woman is hell.

Poor girl, I guess they get all the symptoms -- at least it isn't monthly for them. Have you seen any mood changes?

 

[MyBuddy]

Poor girl, I guess they get all the symptoms -- at least it isn't monthly for them. Have you seen any mood changes?

You know, I've been trying to think about that myself. Trying to watch and see if there's any changes and I don't think there's been a whole lot. I did notice a bit of whining. Only because she's never really whined much. But once in awhile, for seemingly no reason, she'd give out a whine. Maybe she was not understanding what was happening. . But I can't say it was so bad that I have to complain about it. It just was different from normal. She did sleep a lot yesterday. Other than that she seemed her same bouncy self. I can't even say she was more clingy cuz she's always kind of clingy. LOL

 

[MyBuddy]

Well, she is back in the Large size panties that I had my husband pick up in the first place. What a fiasco this has been! The first pair just seemed too tight to me and I thought it was going to be very uncomfortable. So I had him immediately go back and exchange them for the Extra Large.

Well, she was swimming in the Extra Large! I tried to make it work since she had already soiled them and I couldn't take them back. But after struggling with it for a day, I was done! They were falling off of her! They weren't even tight around the leg. They were awful. I finally decided that I have to bite the bullet and just buy the other ones back again. These are just going to have to get stuck on a shelf somewhere since I can't return them.

When my husband came home last night I told him the pants I ordered will not be here until Saturday. We both were like well, that's a long time. And then he said, why don't you just call the store and get the large ones back and I'll pick them up tomorrow. God, I love him! I didn't even want to tell him that I wanted to buy them again! Between the one on order from pants for dogs and these two sets of pants, I've spent about $150! But the Extra Large was just not working. Every time I looked at her I was disgusted at how they fit!

So I called them back asking if they still had the ones I returned and they did. I told them my husband is going to be there tomorrow to pick them up.

When I hung up my husband asked, how long are they open? They still were open for another 2 hours so he said, I'm going right now and get them. Honestly, I was so glad! I didn't think I can go another whole day with the other ones! I was really stressing out with it! He just worked all day, came home at 4:00 and went right back out to town to get them. I felt bad but I was so grateful!! It's not an easy trip going to town from our place. It takes about a half hour so it's not like a hop, skip and a jump.

I put them on right away when he came home and I immediately felt better! These are  still not perfect, Trust me! The tail on these things is nowhere near her tail! So stupid. But at least they're not falling off of her. It's just that putting a pad inside there is almost useless because it doesn't fit right. But I'll make it do until Saturday when I'm hoping the other one is 100% better.


It's been a frustrating couple of days with all of this. I jokingly told my husband, now I know why people spay their dogs!

And as for leaving the panties off, I just can't do that. The area that she is gated in during the day is on tile. But it's a very large area. With several throw rugs that would all have to be picked up. And also all her beds that are on the floor. And, I mean yuck, I wouldn't want her dripping all over that. That's just not me. I wouldn't want that in the grout of the tile either. It would just be a mess. I don't see how I can be cleaning up after her constantly, that's ridiculous. And I don't want to be stepping in it and tracking it. No, that's just not going to work for me. I don't see how that would not be a mess. So she does have to keep that on except for going outside and sleeping at night.

But at least now there's not such a concern for it simply falling off of her. And she's been pretty good with it. I haven't left her alone very much at all the last few days. At least not for very long. Simply because I didn't want to come back and find it fell off or she got it off and ate most of it. So I couldn't even stay out there and clean stalls. Even with a camera on her it made me nervous. I'd have to be checking every 5 minutes! LOL and it's been so darn cold lately I can't bring her out there with me. Locked in the barn, sitting around doing nothing but waiting for me she would be freezing. Now with these panties fitting a lot better and not just falling off, I feel better. I'm sure she can still get them off if she tried. But last night my husband and I went out to the barn to clean and left her inside in the new panties. When I checked the camera she was sound asleep on one of her beds.

So just like anything new, there's a learning curve. I just found mine! Hopefully from here on out things will get easier. It's been frustrating, believe me. But sometimes that comes with learning something new. And this is all new to me. An intact female. And I hope other newbies don't find this discouraging. Rather, I hope they find my experience as a teaching moment. It's been stressful and frustrating, yes. But I wanted to be honest and not just say it's been a bed of roses. We still wouldn't give her up for any amount of $$.

So, this has become a book, hasn't it?! Well, it'll be like a diary. One day I'll look back and laugh.

 

[remy]

And I hope other newbies don't find this discouraging. Rather, I hope they find my experience as a teaching moment. It's been stressful and frustrating, yes. But I wanted to be honest and not just say it's been a bed of roses.

I was just going to say, you’re not making me excited for when I get a female eventually. If Dobermans weren’t prone to same sex aggression I’d only have males. It is helpful to read through everyone’s threads though and see what is (or isn’t) working!

 

[Ravenbird]

So just like anything new, there's a learning curve

It's like farrier tools (horseshoeing). There's a special tool for everything that works perfectly. You cannot pull a horse shoe off a hoof with household pliers. You just can't! You will be amazed at the fit of Annies new pants that come on Saturday. I can't recall if you said what style you ordered, but I really like the ones that are split in the back for the tail instead of a round hole. They stay put!

 

[MyBuddy]

Yes, I got the French cut that most here recommended. I just know they will work! Aside from this photo making them look like a stripper, I can see the fit is fabulous. Can't wait to get them. I only hesitated in my purchase because every time I looked they didn't have very many colors to choose from. In between the holiday and other things that took me away from the site, I just hesitated too long. My fault. But they're coming! Saturday! Can't wait.

 

[Rits]

Lesson learned; buy the panties way ahead of time LOL. You are going to be spoiled by the pants for dogs. Both of my pet homes got those ahead of time on my recommendation and said the heat was really so easy to deal with that they have no problem waiting until their girls are two.

 

[MyBuddy]

I was just going to say, you’re not making me excited for when I get a female eventually. If Dobermans weren’t prone to same sex aggression I’d only have males. It is helpful to read through everyone’s threads though and see what is (or isn’t) working!

Well since I've only had all boys I may have made the same choice, if it weren't for same-sex aggression. But I will tell you, as much as Buddy was attached to me and affectionate, Annie is three times that. is it because she's female? Or maybe because I got her even younger? I'll never know but she is a sweetheart.

You are going to be spoiled by the pants for dogs

Oh I know! Honestly can't wait. If anybody takes anything away from this thread it's don't buy anything but those! Even though I haven't even tried them I can tell you that these other ones are an absolutely poor fit for a Doberman and a waste of money! And most of the time when I look at her, the hole for the tail is right where she is bleeding. So right out the hole! LOL crazy crazy!