Our little staffie has come into season. She began bleeding on Saturday. We were going to spay her when we rescued her in January, but were a little concerned about whether she had had a season or not prior to us rescuing her.

I am under the impression that I need to keep her away from dogs for 4 weeks following the bleeding, does that sound right? Also how long from now will we have to wait before we can get her spayed?

You are right in thinking you need to keep her away from other dogs - and whilst I am not the best person to advise on this - my thoughts are that they can be caught (ie get pregnant) anytime from coming into season - up to about day 22. But others will be able to advise better.

Yes - you need to keep males away from her - becareful where you actually take her out walking also - as wandering males will pick up on her scent, and follow you home. they have been known to scale high fences - dig under gates, and no end of tricks - all to find their flirty females.

she is no means innocent either - and many females will actually run off to go out and meet wandering males (just no scruples ) so again watch her like a hawk too.

My believe is that it will be safe to get her spayed 10 weeks from the date her season started - so well before the next one is going to start - but check with your vet. Good luck on your protection duties

Thanks Rainrescue.

I think we will keep her in the back garden for the next few weeks, rather than walk her, it's pretty big and she can get a good run around! I fear there may be major distress for her when we take the boy for a walk and leave her behind.....however this is better that than the potential alternative!

Will get sorted with the vets for her as soon as possible!

aaaaaaaaahh the joys of the bitch in season hehe, when i lived at the parents house we had 3 females all unspayed for a while including my very yougn black labby, we had endless amout of male strays and pets what are let out and they never would go and as i lived on a main road shiregreen lane it was rather scarey to have them wandering so i become best of buddies with the dog warden lol tied them up on the front and sent them off hopefully they found there homes one being a stray great dane absaultly gorgous woofer, begged the parent to let me keep him but wouldent let me as to there words he was a donkey hehe

You can have a bitch payed from the age of Six months (My Trixie was "done" at 6 1/2 months, as she had to have an umbilical hernia repaired and it made sense to use the one lot of anaesthetic to do both surgeries at the same time.

This meant that I didn't have to worry, waiting for her to come into season and risk "getting caught", plus it protects her from any number of other conditions, such as Pyometra, and uterine and mammary cancers. (as well as protecting her from the dangers of "disproportion" in whelping, which is something toy dogs suffer from a lot - the pups are too big for the mother to pass through the pelvis, and it results in needing a caesarian birth and risks the death of mother and pup{s})

As your girlie is currently in season, you will have to wait till approximately half way between this season and the next one, to have her "done". As Rain advises, this will be in roughly ten weeks time.

In the meantime, ;) barricade all your doors and windows! hehe

Our old Bassett was never spayed when we acquired her, and we didn't like to risk putting her under to be done.....luckily she never suffered any of the horrendous things they can get, BUT it was awful watching her get all horny and having no output for it!!

We will get the crazy staffie done ASAP....on hindsight we should have done it straight away....ah well, she'll be bouncing off the walls for a couple of weeks!!