Doggy Lessons - Sex Talk
I am no sex-pert but i shall attempt to do some sex education here today. This post will be slightly wordy but i hope that blog readers bear with me and take time to read this entry carefully because this is written for the benefit of owners with unsterilised bitches.
Yesterday, S was awfully upset because one of the owners at our training class brought their female dog down to our training grounds, knowing that she was still in heat. Firstly, it is the owner's responsibility to keep his/her bitch in season away from situations where entire, hot-blooded males are around to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Secondly, it is just common courtesy for owners to avoid training grounds and competitive trials because bitches in heat can prove to be a real distraction and it really is a bummer, especially when S and I are trying to do some serious work. Just like how there shouldn't be any hanky-panky in the office, no orgies should be allowed on the training grounds too!!!
I know S really wants to do this whole training thing for me and herself and i know she reaaaaally wants to maximise whatever potentials i have left in my Border Collie doghood before she retires me in about 2 years' time. It's no wonder why she showed her face of fury when our training plans were thwarted. That aside, it is also pure irresponsible for any owners to bring a bitch in season to a place where you're fully aware that entire male dogs will be running loose, because of the possibility of an unplanned pregnancy.
Anyway to reiterate my point, dog owners should be responsible enough to keep their bitches in heat away from circumstances where entire male dogs are running amok (e.g. dog runs, off-leash dog parks, hashing etc). Even if there is intention to breed from the bitch, mating should be planned and that's assuming the owners are breeding to improve the breed and not just to get cute puppies which have totally lost the unique traits a certain breed should possess because of improper breeding.
If this were to happen where i came from (remember i'm from Down Under?), such behaviour will not be condoned and will be greatly frowned upon. Owners who turn up at training sessions with bitches in season will automatically be bumped out of class and of course, if the same thing happened during an agility or obedience trial, both owner and dog will be denied entry. I just don't understand why we cannot have this common understanding here!
I wonder if it's Apathy or Ignorance?
I hope it's the latter because ignorance is not a crime and can definitely be overcome through proper education. If it's pure apathy, then i suppose it's a lost cause.
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Anyway, here's just some stuff i have to share about a bitch's estrus cycle and hopefully after reading this, dog owners will gain a better understand of this whole "heat thing" and exercise some responsibility when their bitches are in season.
It's really quite hard to determine which stage of estrus cycle a bitch is in without doing vaginal cytology (don't ask me, i'm just a dog). A bitch's oestrus cycle can be divided into 4 stages - proestrus, estrus, diestrus, anestrus. Proestrus and estrus is what we commonly refer to as "heat" or "season". The average duration of both proestrus and estrus is about 18 days BUT proestrus can last as long as 17 days and estrus, 21 days!!! In short, a bitch can be on heat for as short as 18 days but it can also extend up to 38 days!!!!
Take home point is there's really no set number of days a bitch will be in season so always observe other signs rather than assuming that your bitch's heat will only last for 3 weeks.
During the proestrus:
The bitch's vulva will be swollen and a bloody and mucussy vulvar discharge will be seen. Bitches will be attracted to males and receptivity will increase gradually. This phase can go on from 9-17 days.
Then comes the proestrus period (where the bitch will be ready to accept the male):
This is not a 100%-guaranteed method but occasionally, if you stroke the perineum (roughly, it's the area where the anus and vulva is) of a bitch in proestrus, its tail will deviate to the side and this is known as "flagging" - which means the bitch is ready to mate with a dog. During this phase, vulva will still be swollen but lesser than it is compared to the estrus phase. It is not uncommon for vulvar discharge to become less bloody. In some cases, discharge becomes straw-coloured or clear and may not be noticeable hence do keep in mind that no discharge doesn't equate to a bitch being out of heat!
Generally, if the bitch's vulva is no longer swollen and puffy, it does not show interest in males (and vice versa), it is probably safe to let it resume its normal social activities. However, in the event where you're unsure and notice entire males giving your bitch more attention that they normally would, please do your part and bring your bitch away for all the reasons i've stated above!
I hope i haven't bore you guys too much but i think this is an important point for me to make. I am not a perfect dog and S is far from being a perfect owner. I know i can be obnoxious at times, but S does her best to be responsible and keep me under control (yes, other owners get warned all the time that i am a macho boy and hate getting chased and being disturbed when i work) so i don't inconvenience other dogs and their humans. In the same way, we hope other dog owners will try to be more responsible towards their pets and most importantly, learn from their mistakes and become better dog owners in future!
Edit:
"Not only the issue of the bitch getting pregnant, also can cause dog fight because female on heat really distracting many male dogs. Some of them tends to be very possessive and aggressive. Suria brother was bitten split his ear because a female on heat (although the heat already dry up) hanging around near him more than the dominant male. "
This comment was left by Luna, whose brother, Suria (another handsome BC just like me! muahahah!) got bitten by a possessive, dominant male dog because a bitch on heat was hanging around him. Indeed, entire male dogs can get into serious fights over a bitch in season because of their instincts to mate and defend what they deem as theirs! You know, "the best dog gets the bitch" kinda thing?
An excellent point raised and another good reason why bitches on heat should best be kept away from situations where entire male dogs are present. Thank you, Luna!
Let's all play our part in being responsible both to our own pet and someone else's pet!