Question about heat and bleeding

[Loomis]

So Skoll went into her first heat about a week ago and every day she bleeds more and more... she's bleeding a lot more than I expected (this is my first intact female so I dont really know from personal experience). I have bought some washable diapers for her to wear in the house and they need to be changed 2-3 times a day because the blood soaks right through them. Is this a pretty normal amount to bleed or should this be cause for concern?

PS. I am keeping her intact and I am being very careful not to have an accidential breeding so, not to sound like a jerk or anything, but I'd appreciate it if we can stay on topic and not get into the ins and outs about whether I should be spaying her or not. I have my reasons for keeping her intact and promise to be responsible about it. Thanks!

 

[Damasyn]

I think the bleeding is just different for every dog. Lexi is the first girl I had intact long enough for her to go into heat...and she just "spotted" so I didnt have to worry too much * whew *.

But my sister in laws dobe...well... lets just say, it looked like a murder had occured. I mean they just about had to put a full on baby diaper on her ! lol Anyway, that would be my guess anyway..I think it varies. But maybe someone else with more experience can chime in here.

 

[hrd2gt]

oh gawd... Fate still hasnt had hers... I was going to let her have one but kinda dreading it from what i been hearing and what i seen. Saw a dog in heat at a dog show... oh gawd, she was so swollen, like a orange. i never seen that with any other dogs (which is only 2) that i had prior that did go into heats. they also did the spotting tho.

 

[Dobiegirl]

My girl Cody was not fixed till she was almost 7 due to VWD and she would vary from heat to heat, sometimes she would go heavy and others not so much. I got kids underpants and cut a hole in the tail and cut pads in half worked great....now they have regular pants for them....Emmy went into heat the week before she was to be fixed and her's was not too bad. I think it depends on the dog, they are all different.....

 

[Loomis]

Thanks for the info! The thing about VWD makes sense. Im not sure if Skoll is a carrier or not though. Her dad is clear and mom is a carrier.
She is more than just spotting though, its really a lot. Gonna give it some more time before I get worried about it though.

 

[Damasyn]

Hopefully shes just having a "normal" heavy heat. But here is another thing you should keep an eye out for if you keep her intact. Females that are kept intact have a higher risk of getting Pyometrea.. an infection of the uterus you can usually pick up on the signs of it .. excessive thirst...not eating...vomiting...running a fever and a brownish discharge from her.....ummm WHO HA lol... so just be aware of that when she goes into heat. hopefully she will never have that issue...but just in case..keep an eye open . And if she gets it...your probably gonna end up with a spay anyway.

 

[immortaldobes]

hi there. just wanted to chime in on the VWd thing. a carrier will show NO signs of disease but you should have her tested through vetgen DNA if you are planning on breeding. If she is a carrier you should only breed to a clear male. just my 2 cents

 

[JanS]

It was mostly lighter spotting with Della, but once in a while if she was straining (she happened to get sick one day and threw up) it would gush out a little more.

Hrd, on a side note, I think it "may" have worked to pop Della's inverted vulva out by letting her go through the one heat cycle. At least it's been 4 weeks since she started her cycle and most of the swelling is down, and her winkie is still out. KOW...

That reminds me, I need to order a VWD test from Vetgen for Della before I set up her appointment for a spay too...

 

[Loomis]

hi there. just wanted to chime in on the VWd thing. a carrier will show NO signs of disease but you should have her tested through vetgen DNA if you are planning on breeding. If she is a carrier you should only breed to a clear male. just my 2 cents

Yes I know, like I said in my inital post; I promise I am being responsible with keeping her intact. IF I breed her, not only will she be checked for health concerns and matched with the right male, but I also refuse to breed her before at least getting her SCHI title.


So I've decided to take her to the vet on Saturday. Shes coming up on 3 weeks now of heavy bleeding. She's energetic and bouncy, shes eating and going to the bathroom ok so Im sure shes fine, but its just a little concerning to see my doggie bleed like that. Better safe than sorry!

 

[Apollo]

i think thats the best you can do, go to the vet let her check out, they should know best. i nevr had a female yet, so i'm not a big help with the the heat in feamles andi would get the test from vetgen regarding the VWd better safe then sorry.

 

[Loomis]

Well, we just got back from the vet today. The vet was a little concerned and checked her blood under the microscope to see if everything looked normal. We also sent out the VWd test today so we should know more within a week or so. The vet also discovered a heart murmer while we were there... she said it could just be from the major blood loss over the last 3 weeks. We're gonna go back in about a month and have that double checked. Hopefully it will go away....

 

[JanS]

Oh my, that is a bit concerning. I hope they can figure it out for you, and that the heart murmur is just from the blood loss. It sounds like your vet is really on the ball!

Keep us posted.

 

[Loomis]

Definitely, fingers crossed about everything. I am lucky to have a really fantastic vet

 

[MyBuddy]

Three weeks of bleeding? That's not normal is it? I haven't really ever had an intact female so I don't know.

 

[Loomis]

Three weeks of bleeding? That's not normal is it? I haven't really ever had an intact female so I don't know.

Three weeks of HEAVY bleeding at that! And no, its not normal. My vet said they should bleed for 4-9 days normally. I guess thats why she is concerned about VWd

 

[MyBuddy]

Three weeks of HEAVY bleeding at that! And no, its not normal. My vet said they should bleed for 4-9 days normally. I guess thats why she is concerned about VWd

That's about what I would think, 4-9...poor girl! I hope she's feeling better!

Ya know, I'm just thinking....with VWd, I always knew you have to be careful about surgeries/injuries, but I never gave the heat cycle a thought! If they have VWd, do they go through this every time?

 

[Loomis]

That's about what I would think, 4-9...poor girl! I hope she's feeling better!

Ya know, I'm just thinking....with VWd, I always knew you have to be careful about surgeries/injuries, but I never gave the heat cycle a thought! If they have VWd, do they go through this every time?

Im not sure actually... My knowlege of the disease is pretty limited. I guess I will find out more about what to expect if she does have it. I'd never thought about bleeding from heat being an issue with the disease either so that kind of took me by surprise. I really am just hoping she doesnt have it!

 

[von Cosack]

You should only use vetgen for her test, also there will be hormonal inbalances present during heats, so some readings will differ. The vWD test should be done out of heat, I'm not sure if the inbalances would effect the results but I remember some info to that effect. You could double check in regards to what I'm guessing and trying to remember, sorry for the guess work but I'm pretty sure about it. von Cosack.

 

[MLR]

My male, Hercules, is Vwd positive. Your vet will probably send the test out to be done. I don't really know what being in heat has to do with it because Herc's a boy. His white count is like 11 which is the lowest my vet has ever seen. He has the ability to clot but not the starting factor. They have to be six months old or older for the test to be reliable. None of this really matters unless you were planning on breeding her. Then you'd want a more specific test done to see if she is a carrier or affected. It sounds like she's affected if the vets worried about the length of time she's bled during her heat cycle. Did she bleed a lot when they did her ears? That's a pretty good indicator right there. There will be certain meds she can't have like aspirin and pepto. You're vet will give you a list. Cuts will take a long time to heal and surgeries, well, let's just cross that bridge when you get the test results back. I'm just more careful with Herc. Deep wounds would present a bigger problem. Things like getting hit by a car or a dog fight. Thankfully dobes are such velcro dogs that they usually don't get to far away from us as they age to worry about things like that.

 

[dobebug]

Im not sure actually... My knowlege of the disease is pretty limited. I guess I will find out more about what to expect if she does have it. I'd never thought about bleeding from heat being an issue with the disease either so that kind of took me by surprise. I really am just hoping she doesnt have it!

It really shouldn't be an issue with your bitch. If she's the product of a clear to carrier breeding she can only be clear or carrier. If she's having unusual bleeding it from some other cause than vWD. It is the vWD affected dogs that are of concern. But the fact is that there are around 15 other possible causes of bleeding that have nothing to do with vWD.

You said that you sent out the vWD test today. Was that a gene test for vWD? Or was it an Elisa assay (done by a blood draw). If it was the Elisa assay you should probably do the gene test. The Elisa assay gives a reading for vWD factor for that moment in time that the blood draw was made. It can be affected by so many things (being in heat is one) that the information is often hardly usable. As I said earlier this would be unlikely to be a vWD related problem since she should by breeding only be a clear or carrier.

I hope they sort it out--three weeks of heavy constant bleeding is definitely abnormal.

For the other people with young bitches. The general rule is that a heat season lasts about 21 days. Usually it starts with spotting and that is counted as day one--depending on the bitch (some spend all their time cleaning themselves and you will hardly see any blood) the heaviest bleeding would be in the first 7 or so days--then as the bitch approaches standing heat (when she is fertile and would normally be bred) the color of the discharge lightens to straw (that would be the middle 7 days roughly) and the last 7 days there will be less discharge and the swelling of the vulva will decrease. That would be a normal sequence of events.

---------- Post added at 06:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:51 PM ----------

You should only use vetgen for her test, also there will be hormonal inbalances present during heats, so some readings will differ. The vWD test should be done out of heat, I'm not sure if the inbalances would effect the results but I remember some info to that effect. You could double check in regards to what I'm guessing and trying to remember, sorry for the guess work but I'm pretty sure about it. von Cosack.

The VetGen test (which is the genetic test) is unaffected by heat cycles illness etc. It is the Elisa Assay that is affected by practically everything--definitely heat cycles and the numbers that come back can be far far different from one time to another.