How long does the heat of a bitch last?

To know how long your bitch has been in heat, the first thing you need to know is what female dogs are in heat. The first thing to keep in mind is that the bitches first heat It occurs mainly depending on the type of breed they are, specifically if they are of a small breed this can start around 6 months, on the other hand if they are larger in size it can occur around 12 or even 14 months. Other factors are the environment and the state of health of the bitch, in addition to genetic factors.

There are several signs that can indicate that our dog is in the prime of this period, among these symptoms of heat in bitches we find the following:

• Bleeding
• Inflamed vulva.
• They urinate more frequently to mark.
• More irritability and aggressiveness than normal.
• Restlessness and anxiety.

Depending on the phase in which our bitch is, we will see that it rejects the males or that it looks for and accepts them. Another important symptom to watch out for is sadness and depression that can arise when the cycle ends and there has been no pregnancy. This is a delicate point because the dog can develop psychological pregnancy, for this reason if we are not going to allow our furry companion to reproduce it is better to sterilize her, thus avoiding many serious health problems that may arise.

To answer the question of how long does the zeal of a bitch last, we must think how is the zeal of a bitch and start by taking into account that the reproductive or sexual cycle of female dogs is divided into 4 parts. In these different stages our dog undergoes hormonal changes and, therefore, behavioral changes in order for the body to be prepared to reproduce. This reproduction cycle means that our furry can reproduce 2 times a year.

Different stages of heat are as follows:

1. Proestro

It is the phase in which the vulva of the bitch is very inflamed and due to this vasodilation of the walls of the vulva there is bleeding that has nothing to do with the way in which women bleed. This bleeding can be small, which we may not notice, especially if our dog cleanses a lot, or it can be much more abundant, but it will always be a bright red color. The males are attracted to the female’s pheromones in this period and this, at this stage, rejects them and can even become aggressive at their insistence, this phase lasts between 6 and 11 days.

2. Estrus

In this stage ovulation occurs, so it is the fertile phase, and although the vulva is still swollen, bleeding is reduced or even ends. Female dogs begin to urinate more to attract males and accept them to breed. This point in a female dog’s reproductive cycle usually lasts between 5 and 15 days.

3. Metaestro

This is the phase in which, if at least one copulation has occurred, the bitch is pregnant. This stage lasts between 110 and 140 days that include pregnancy, childbirth and lactation. At this time the bitches are not fertile as the body recovers and rests, focusing on lactation.

4. Anestrus

It is the last phase of a bitch’s reproductive cycle and is the complete rest period from reproductive activity. Progesterone levels drop and the body begins to prepare for the first phase, proester, again. This phase has a variable durability that depends on each female.

How long does the heat of a bitch last – time

In summary, regarding the time of heat itself or, which would be the same, how many days does the bleeding of a bitch in heat last, we can say that:

• Proestro: lasts one 9 day average, although it can range between 6 and 11.
• Estrus: hard between 7 and 9 days, but it can last 5-15 days.

Thus, putting together the two main active phases in which the bitch is in heat, we can say that a bitch’s heat lasts between 2 and 4 weeks, going to the most extreme cases of less and more time.

Is your dog in heat and has anxiety or do you hear her cry? Follow these recommendations to help claim the anxiety of a bitch in heat who won’t stop crying:

• Remember to give more nutritious food to your bitch while she is in heat, because the effort that the body has to make at this stage is greater than usual and it needs more nutrients to avoid weakening and feeling unwell. Make sure it is always healthy nutrition for her.
• Do not stop walking it so that be as physically and mentally active as possible. To do this, we also recommend that you play a lot with her and prepare sniffing games for her at home, such as sowing feed or pieces of food, hiding them in certain places in the house and encouraging her to track them.
• Spend time with her exercising her, as we have already commented, but also playing, offering her a lot of love and caresses, cleaning and grooming, and so on.
• You can give it plants for anxiety good for bitches in heat. Plants that are very good for when bitches are very anxious during heat are valerian, chamomile, and St. John’s wort.

In these other articles we talk about the Properties and dosage of valerian for dogs and about Chamomile for dogs.

Spaying and neutering in bitches, they are sometimes necessary to be able to solve a disease that is currently affecting our furry friend and, other times, we prefer to do it as a preventive way to avoid diseases and other health problems. Another reason is that simply because we do not want to have litters, we prefer to avoid that our dog is pregnant 2 times a year, which adds up to many puppies.

This process is not dangerous for the health of our dog and serves both to prevent and reduce the abandonment of dogs and to prevent the female from suffering psychological pregnancies, detachment of the uterus and breast cancer among other serious problems.

Now that you know more about the reproductive cycle of dogs and how long does the zeal of a bitch last, you may be interested in reading this other article by unCOMO about How often dogs are in heat, in which, in addition to talking about female dogs, we also explain how it affects males.

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