Hi,

New to this forum, but looks good, lots of great info.  But I need some help.

I'm an experienced dog owner, but I have my first GSD bitch... and she's in season.  She's 18 months old and this is her second season, but first one with us as we rehomed her.  All has been going well, although we've been cleaning the laminate flooring 3 times a day!  The blood started going thinner and pinker last week as expected, but now it has started getting thicker and maybe a little redder again.  Is this normal?  Or should we be speeding her to the vet?  Or shooting the little mongrel that she ran off with last week?  We're pretty sure he was too short to reach her erm... lady bits, but it took my husband a good ten minutes to find the shameless hussy!

Any advice on this would be most welcome!

Many thanks

Tigz

Sounds pretty normal to me, if she's a 21 day season bitch, the first part of the season the discharge is red, then it pales usually when the bitch is fertile & then it returns to red for the remaining days.

If your bitch has been out with a dog no matter what the size she could well have been mated & be in whelp. I would ring your vet & consider the "morning"after jabs. I presume you will be having her spayed before her next season ?

Thanks for the advice.  She was actually due to get spayed and went into season, so it has been postponed.  Our other bitch was spayed at 18 months and this was about 9 years ago now and I cannot remember her bleeding like this in the last part of the season.

Hopefully we'er coming to the end then!

Thanks for the advice.  She was actually due to get spayed and went into season, so it has been postponed.  Our other bitch was spayed at 18 months and this was about 9 years ago now and I cannot remember her bleeding like this in the last part of the season.

Hopefully we'er coming to the end then!

> We're pretty sure he was too short to reach her erm... lady bits,

I had a bitch that was on day 28, and much, much bigger than my Chi stud.  They had been kept apart all season.  She SQUATTED to give him access!!!!!  She had 5 pups.

Thanks for the advice again.  Seems like her season is actually ending.  Over the past 48 hours the bleeding has almost completely stopped, so maybe this was a sign og the beginning of the end.  Her appetite is back and she is no longer interested in boys (thank goodness!).

I think you would be wise still to have her checked for pregnancy, even if the little mongrel was too short other dogs may have caught her during her trip out! better safe than sorry, I am sure you do not want a mongrel litter arriving out of the blue and needing all the care and attention and long hours and sleepless nights and...shall I go on? Have the vet check her out and if needs be then have the pregnancy stopped.
Believe me the shortest dog can be very very cunning!!!
Aileen.

Yes Dachshunds have mated Great Danes and Rottweilers, much to the bitch owners chagrin when then litters arrived.

Season has ended and had her checked, no puppies.  However vet said she was a tremendous example of a German Shepherd and asked if we were thinking of breeding her LOL!  So now we are trying to weigh up the pros and cons, problem is, although she is a pedigree and from very good stock, her mother was under a year when she had the litter/conceived, so no papers.  We would love to have more GSD's in the future, but were just going to keep rescuing.  Any suggestions?

Thanks

Tigz

Hi Tigz,

>Season has ended and had her checked, no puppies

with all due respect, it is far too early even for a vet to assess whether or not your bitch is in whelp - as you don't know for sure if she was or wasn't mated, it will be another 3 weeks or thereabouts before she can be accurately examined (unless of course you got the post-mate injection - not in itself 100% effective AFAIK)

>vet said she was a tremendous example of a German Shepherd

Unless your vet is a reputable breeder of GSD, he is unlikely to know whether she is a tremendous example or not.  Were he suitably"qualified", he'd be extremely unlikely to recommend breeding from a dog or bitch without KC papers.  Perhaps he was referring to her character and general condition etc for which you should be complimented but as to her qualities as a breeding prospect it is not something the average vet without in depth knowledge of a specific breed could or should comment on.

>We would love to have more GSD's in the future, but were just going to keep rescuing.  Any suggestions?

You sound like you have a deep affection for the breed and I'm sure when you're fully happy that your current girl is completely matured mentally and physically that you would find room in your heart and home for another needy rescue GSD   Sadly, as with many over bred breeds these days, there are always dogs out there needing a new start and loving forever homes.

Good luck with your girl, I hope you take advice given in the spirit intended.
regards, Teri

TBH what a Vet thinks is a tremendous example of any breed & the invisible conditions that dogs can have, unless he has Xrayed her for HD & ED & knows her pedigree & the dogs behind her-he isn't a good authority to say whether or not you should breed from her.

As her mother was too young to have her puppies registered with the KC she will not have been Hip & Elbow scored & was the father tested for Hemophilia tested as well as HD & ED scored ? Please just enjoy her for being herself & not look to breed from her. You would find it hard if not impossible to find a good quality stud dog who has been fully health tested, whose owner would be willing to let you use their dog. You would need to hip & elbow score your bitch(& yes it can be done on unregistered dogs so there is no excuse not to) & if anything should go wrong with th epuppies(like HD, ED etc)then you would liable for damages as you bred from a bitch who had at least one un tested parent(if not both) & that is a very expensive thing to happen

Our rescue which covers Yorkshire & some of the adjacent counties sees over 400 GSDs a year come through the kennels(with more directly rehmed) 99% of these dogs are withour KC papers, from "pet"breeders who breed because they want a puppy or think it would good to breed a litter & then don't have any room to take their puppies back(as all good breeders do), or Backyard breeders/puppy farmers.

Better to let this girl settle in & get her spayed & then look to rescue another who is at least a year younger than her & the opposite sex. We always recommend rescuers who already have a GSD to look for another of the opposite sex

"Thanks for the advice again.  Seems like her season is actually ending.  Over the past 48 hours the bleeding has almost completely stopped, so maybe this was a sign og the beginning of the end.  Her appetite is back and she is no longer interested in boys (thank goodness!). "

Hi Tigz,
Sounds like your a very caring owner.
If your girl did get mated then she would have come out of season very quickly. After a sucessful mating the season often finishes very soon after!!!!!
Most vets cannot tell if a bitch is in whelp till four to six weeks!!!!
If I were you I would consider the injection just incase better to be safe than sorry!!!

> If I were you I would consider the injection just incase better to be safe than sorry!!!

if the op was planning to have her spayed could she not go ahead with this and it would (obviously) prevent a litter? or soes the vet usually not spay straight after seasons (not an area i'm familiar with)

It can be done however most vets prefer to wait till mid cycle as the blood supply to the uterus during seasons in preperation for possible whelping make it a more tricky procedure.

i understand it can also cause probs with phantoms?

Wow! Thanks for all the advice folks.

Re: The vet - He's very experienced, almost due for retirement and has been involved with looking after the local police dogs, so he's seen a few GSD's in his time.  He was pretty sure from the dates and behaviour described etc etc that when she ran off it was too early.

As far as having pups goes, don't think we're going to breed her, been taking on rescue dogs all my life, never been dissappointed and if it ain't broke don't fix it.  We're still being contacted by people with GSD's needing rehomed (putting them in touch with the right organisations).  And when it comes down to it, I don't think I want to risk anything happening to her, so going to go back to the original plan, get the speying rescheduled. 

In response to the comment about getting them speyed whilst in season, very few vets will do that as there is a much increased risk of bleeding out and especially in GSD's.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Tigz

> He was pretty sure from the dates and behaviour described etc etc that when she ran off it was too early.
>

Some bitches can ovulate as early as day three of their season, if there is a mating there may be pups, and if an in season bitch of mien ran off (happened with my very first) I would (and did) have the jab, even though I had no evidence of mating.

The consequences are not worth the chances are approach.