Stage 2: When Your Dog Can Become Pregnant
Once the bleeding stops, the second stage of the dog heat cycle, called the estrus stage, has begun. Many people make the mistake of thinking their dogs estrus is done at this point, but this second stage is actually when your dog can become pregnant. “This stage, when the blood is done, is when she will accept a male,” Nielsen says. “This lasts an additional seven to 10 days.” During this stage, the vulva will become soft and enlarged.
If your dog is in heat and you do not want her to get pregnant, you should be very careful to keep her away from intact males during this time. “Heat, for both males and females, is very intense and instinctive,” Nielsen says. “They will breed through fences and kennels, and have been known to break out windows and chew or dig through doors to get together. It is a strong impulse.”
When Do Dogs Go Into Heat?
This time of fertility and breeding can be a fact of life for your dog at a surprisingly young age. Lonna J. Nielsen, DVM, of Winterset Veterinary Center in Winterset, Iowa, says, “The timing of the first heat varies by the size of the dog. It can be as soon as 6 months of age for small dogs or 1.5 years for giant breeds. Having an intact [non-neutered] male in the house will bring heat in faster for a female. It can be as young as 4 months [old] for small dogs!”
Credit: Kailey Whitman
Just how long are dogs in heat? You might be surprised to find out that your dogs heat cycle can last weeks, and “it is a full 30 days that the female should be confined and not outside alone,” Nielsen says.
Stage 4: The Downtime
Anestrus is when your dog isnt in heat. This period of time lasts several months (between three and six months on average, though it varies from dog to dog) before she reenters proestrus.
Dog Periods: When your dog is in heat and bleeding
Do dogs have periods? Not the same way that female humans do. Female dogs who aren’t spayed go into heat and the amount of time a female dog bleeds and when she’s fertile varies greatly from a human menstrual cycle. Let’s discuss some facts about dogs in heat — and why it’s important to spay your female dog!