[Phoebe’sMom]

Well it finally happened! I was sitting on my bed and noticed a dark spot on my duvet, it was blood and my first reaction was that I had a cut!🤣 Nope Phoebe has started her first heat and was it great timing too. We just got back yesterday from a week of lake life and in a week I have to fly to see some family, my roommates have agree to help thankfully. I was thinking of using this to keep a daily record of what we experience, maybe be helpful down the road as well.

 

[Liz]

Congratulations to Phoebe!

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Congratulations to Phoebe!

Lol. I've been singing this song to Peggy.

Congratulations to Phoebe! This is a strange time for her, so give her some gentle pets from me.

 

[Phoebe’sMom]

Thanks?! Lol she seems to be completely normal but once again it just started hrs ago, I put her in some cheap boxers with a liner because she seems to not care yet about cleaning herself. I am planning on taking it off ever once in a while to try and allow her to take care of it herself! She didn’t eat breakfast this morning but has snacked instead, not sure if this is just her heat or an coincidence.

 

[Phoebe’sMom]

Lol. I've been singing this song to Peggy.

Congratulations to Phoebe! This is a strange time for her, so give her some gentle pets from me.

I will do! She will be getting lots of love and lots of virtual hugs from y’all!!

 

[PeggyTheParti]

She looks adorable!

Is she acting extra cuddly, barky, or lethargic?

Peggy's on day 2 and she was so embarrassing yesterday, barking at our landscaper because he was walking up the driveway with a single blackberry in his hand. She gave it one sniff and was like, "Okay, fine. You may eat that. But next time, please check with me first."

 

[Phoebe’sMom]

Day 1 so far has been really normal but with a cute pair of boxers to protect our stuff. Nothing unusual and she isn’t acting bothered by the shorts either. Her sister thinks she looks nuts but they are still running through the house wrestling like sisters do!

 

[Phoebe’sMom]

She looks adorable!

Is she acting extra cuddly, barky, or lethargic?

Peggy's on day 2 and she was so embarrassing yesterday, barking at our landscaper because he was walking up the driveway with a single blackberry in his hand. She gave it one sniff and was like, "Okay, fine. You may eat that. But next time, please check with me first."

Thank you! To me she looks like a little boxer 🥊 when she is walking around in her boxer shorts. This morning she definitely didn’t touch her food but currently is scarfing her dinner so her appetite is normal. Hard to tell with the cuddling since she is super cuddly to begin with but today was definitely a cuddle on the bed kinda of day. With the barking it was a very heavy barking day on top of our normal barking. 🤣

 

[PeggyTheParti]

She does look like a little boxer! Go get 'em Phoebe!

Is your plan to spay after this heat or will you be letting her have another?

 

[Phoebe’sMom]

She does look like a little boxer! Go get 'em Phoebe!

Is your plan to spay after this heat or will you be letting her have another?

Not entirely sure, she is almost 11months and the next heat would in 6 months so she would be 1 1/2? I’m going to be looking in on more research on the benefits of the second heat at that age, also depends on how this heat goes! 🤣 If we do spay it won’t be until December for sure. We are also doing a gastropexy at the time of spay as well, I plan on doing it during my break from school so that all of my schedule will be work and being with her.

 

[Liz]

Glad to hear it's going smoothly. Mia's first heat was gentle: light flow and no major changes in activity or personality. Like Phoebe, I dressed her in boxers in the house, which worked fine - in fact she looked so cute, we used the boxers as part of a Halloween costume (they were boys boxers with a surfing theme from Old Navy). Maybe an idea for Phoebe? A big gold belt, her boxer boxers, and some shoes on her front paws. 🐩🥊

Mia's second heat came 183 days later, which I found impressively exact. Her flow was heavier this time, and I remember the boxers getting dirty. I had her spayed (OVE + pexy) almost exactly 3 months later and just a few weeks before she turned 2 years old (recommended for standards), timed to be at the low point of her cycle, so the structures would be small and compact and easily removed. If you haven't been following Lacey's spay thread, you might want to check that out.

 

[Phoebe’sMom]

Day 2-
Definitely feel like Phoebe is being extra cuddly today but the moment we would go outside it was major zoomies! Ive been allowing her to take care of her of herself without the cute boxers when I could control/watch her inside throughout the day. Another then that still using boxers and liners to control what I can! She wanted to eat everything all day so maybe she is have a final growth spurt? Ate all of her breakfast plus extra and dinner went a similar way as well. If anything she barked less then usual today, thankfully 😂 Although it was raining today and she definitely was mad I kept her out of the mud today!

 

[PeggyTheParti]

I had her spayed (OVE + pexy) almost exactly 3 months later

3 months from the end of her heat? Or from the start?

If anything she barked less then usual today, thankfully 😂

Yay!! Lucky!

 

[Phoebe’sMom]

[QUOTE="PeggyTheParti, post: 3307900, member: 118507"
Yay!! Lucky!
[/QUOTE]
Sorry to hear about Peggy's emotion roller coaster this time around. I have an interesting question to ask, we usually go on daily walks every morning unless the weather permits it of course. Should I have her wear her boxers or let her be free, i'm not sure it matter but just wondering what other do?

 

[PeggyTheParti]

I think if there's any risk of her encountering other dogs, I'd want her covered up. But I seem to recall someone saying here that no diaper (or boxers!) can actually prevent mating.

There's also the issue of her possibly peeing in them. By the second week of Peggy's first heat, she was peeing a LOT. Even in her sleep. Phoebe might feel the urge to mark on her walks.

 

[Liz]

3 months from the end of her heat? Or from the start?

Both Her heats were 183 days apart (6 months), and I timed her spay to be at the midpoint around day 91 (3 months). IIRC it fell on a Tuesday, and our vet did surgeries only on Thursdays, so it was a few days off.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Both Her heats were 183 days apart (6 months), and I timed her spay to be at the midpoint around day 91 (3 months). IIRC it fell on a Tuesday, and our vet did surgeries only on Thursdays, so it was a few days off.

Oops. I meant did you spay her 90 days after the end of her second heat?

So when she was no longer fertile, that was Day 1 and then her spay was 90 days later.

Or did you count the first day of her second heat as Day 1? So her spay was roughly 60 days from the end?

(Sorry if this is confusing. Lol. This crazy poodle's fried my brain.)

 

[Porkchop]

That’s so funny, my first thought was that Lacey had a cut when I found blood, then realized it was her first heat cycle! It’s a big milestone!
I journaled her heat experience week by week in my 52 week photo thread. Looking back, I probably should have kept it in its own thread so other people looking for information could find it more easily! Lacey slept a lot, was low energy, started alert barking inside the house, was wary of other dogs, became very cuddly, and had even less of an appetite than usual. She only had one heat cycle.
I’m glad you’re sharing you and Phoebe’s personal experience since there’s not enough of that floating around to refer to!
(Thanks, @Liz for recommending my spay thread!

 

[Liz]

Oops. I meant did you spay her 90 days after the end of her second heat?

So when she was no longer fertile, that was Day 1 and then her spay was 90 days later.

Or did you count the first day of her second heat as Day 1? So her spay was roughly 60 days from the end?

(Sorry if this is confusing. Lol. This crazy poodle's fried my brain.)

First day was day 1, just like in humans:

• Her first heat started August 11, 2011.
• Her second heat started February 10, 2012 (183 days later).
• The midpoint, as human gynecologists calculate it, would be 91.5 days from the start of her heat. February 10, 2012 + 91 days was May 12, 2012.
• Our vet only did surgeries on Thursdays, so I chose the nearest Thursday.
• Mia's second birthday was June 25, 2012, so she was spayed about 6 weeks before she turned two. From talking with the vet, I don't think the structures would have changed size significantly during this time, but he was very impressed by how small everything was.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

First day was day 1, just like in humans:

• Her first heat started August 11, 2011.
• Her second heat started February 10, 2012 (183 days later).
• The midpoint, as human gynecologists calculate it, would be 91.5 days from the start of her heat. February 10, 2012 + 91 days was May 12, 2012.
• Our vet only did surgeries on Thursdays, so I chose the nearest Thursday.
• Mia's second birthday was June 25, 2012, so she was spayed about 6 weeks before she turned two. From talking with the vet, I don't think the structures would have changed size significantly during this time, but he was very impressed by how small everything was.

Thank you! I'd been told to schedule her spay for 3 months "after" her heat, but could never get a straight answer on when to start counting.

I'm going to go ahead and get her scheduled. Looks like it'll be very close to her 18-month "birthday."