My dog is in her first heat. Is licking blood okay? Should I mate her?

It's all good Mariah! It's not silly at all. I wouldn't worry that Mia doesn't want to mate with Asher, she isn't fully mature physically or emotionally. You don't want to mate them anyway. This sounds normal.

Yes, mating does not affect the length of the heat cycle, so she may continue bleeding even after being bred. Dogs can mate several times within a heat cycle, and puppies can even be born with different dads within the same litter.

If you think Juju could be in heat then there may not be anything to be concerned about. If she is not in heat then blood would be abnormal and could be a sign of a urinary tract infection or other lower urinary disease. If she is not in heat I’d recommend having her examined by your vet.

Hi, this is a behaviour that is normal in certain contexts. You need to keep an eye on everything else, if they are eating well, and drinking well and there are no abnormalities in the urine that you can see, I would not worry about it. Hope this helps !

I would not mate Akira now. It's not recommend to mate a female dog for the first time until her second or third heat. This is because at her first heat, she will not be physically or emotionally mature enough for puppies. I would wait to mate her until she has her second heat. I hope this helps!

When she bleeds, she is in pre-estrus. This is the time where she prepares for estrus (heat). This means she will be bleeding for about 2-3 weeks, continuously. Then the bleeding gets less and her discharge will be more of a clear red-tinged discharge. This is when she actually will go into heat for another 3 weeks, approximately, and this is where is can conceive. You should wait until about two months after her heat cycle is over before having her spayed. Here is some good information: https://www.petcoach.co/article/anatomy-and-function-of-the-reproductive-system-in-dogs/

It is normal during a heat cycle for the vulva to become very swollen. She is probably licking constantly to clean off and remove the bloody discharge that is coming out. She is just trying to keep herself clean. They can bleed pretty heavily for part of the heat cycle.