Canine Dog Estrus

Sexual maturity and dog estrus varies depending on the breed and individual. For the females the range is as wide as nine – fifteen months. Usually a female dog will go under canine estrus (heat) for cycle of about three week period, two times a year and this is the time in which a female is able to breed. One of the changes that happens to a female dog during this estrus period is that they lose blood and this, in average lasts ten days. If your female dog is in heat, make sure to keep her under close observation because she can attract male dogs, even from great distances.

If you as the owner of the dog are not interested in your female dog becoming impregnated, you should follow these suggestions:

• Keep her away from male dogs during the last fifteen to twenty days of the heat period.
• One option is to use dog birth control methods. If you are considering this option, talk about it with your veterinarian, as he will be able to indicate exactly what it is you should do.
• Another option is to get your dog neutered and in the same way, females that are neutered before puberty, reduce their chances of contracting mammary cancer (which is a very common problem in female dogs), to zero. Female dogs that have not been spayed are in risk of contracting uterine infections, having ovarian cysts and cancers of the reproductive tract, all of which are very common in females.

However if you are looking into your female dog becoming pregnant, you must be very careful during the first times she goes into heat and wait until she has become a full adult which is approximately at the age of two years.

Male dogs on the other hand are able to impregnate female dogs starting at the age of six months. This is something important to know especially if you have a young male living with a female.