My dog is in heat. Can I spay her? How to tell when heat is over?

Most dogs are in heat for an average of 2-3 weeks. Keep her away from any intact males during this time. The surgery itself will likely take 20-30 minutes (o complete. She isn't too small or too old. Your veterinarian may recommend pre-anesthetic blood work and a pre-anesthetic exam to confirm good health. Recovery will take about 2 weeks. Try to limit excessive running, jumping or rough play. These activities could place undue stress on the incision and prolong recovery. A crate can be used if necessary. She will probably have an e-collar (cone) on when she is discharged to prevent licking or chewing of the incision. You should get complete discharge instructions from your veterinarian when you pick up Precious.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Doodles. I prefer to wait 2-3 months after a heat cycle to spay a patient. The surgery is technically less difficult as the vessels are not as engorged with blood after the heat cycle. It is possible to have it done during a cycle, but I feel it is riskier. I hope this information helps!

The hormones can stay around for several weeks after a dog in heat is spayed, so you can expect some bleeding for another week or two. The vulvar swelling should decrease some after that, but I will say that for some dogs the vulva stays large after just one heat cycle.

It would be better to wait until after the heat as during the pre-estrus and heat the uterus is very well vascularized and the extra amount of female hormones increase bleeding. So in order too minimize the surgical risk it is better to have her spayed during anestrus, ie when not cycling.

I would not recommend giving her anything to stop the heat, in dogs it's usually a potentially harmful hormonal treatment that is known of causing cancer. you should wait at least 2 months after her heat cycle before you can have her spayed, .

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/

After 14 days of what? Heat usually lasts between 2-4 weeks. There is a relatively small window when your dog is most fertile during the heat cycle; it may begin about nine or ten days after she goes into heat and lasts about five days. However, she can become pregnant until the end of the cycle. Hope this answers your question. As a side note, there is a huge spay/neuter campaign going on in February in Puerto Rico - it is free. You should consider taking your vet to one of the clinics to have it done if finances is the reason you have not done it yet. You can try contacting this person for more information: Shayna McClelland 202-253-6953 smcclelland@humanesociety.org