How long are dogs fertile for?

[marypoppins38]

Aww, she is absolutely gorgeous! They would make gorgeous babies...

[ERICSMUM]

Is it usual for rescue dogs to be re-homed before they are spayed / castrated ?

Rescue cats re-homed by the Cats Protection shelters are always neutered, microchipped and given all their vaccinations before being re-homed. I assumed that the same applied to rescue dogs ?

(I know this doesn’t help answer your question, I’m just interested!)

[ziggyzag]

Originally Posted by ERICSMUM

Is it usual for rescue dogs to be re-homed before they are spayed / castrated ?

Rescue cats re-homed by the Cats Protection shelters are always neutered, microchipped and given all their vaccinations before being re-homed. I assumed that the same applied to rescue dogs ?

(I know this doesn’t help answer your question, I’m just interested!)

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Our first rescue dog was spayed but our second wasn't, but she was only 12 weeks old, we were meant to foster her to help the rescue out, but ended up keeping her, This rescue spays at 6 months and most are spayed the only ones who aren't are 1. If they are too young or if they have come of the track with an injury ( greyhounds) that needs treating before they can be spayed but these dogs are usually fostered before being put up for adoption.

[PoohBears#1fan]

Thanks all, it's going ok, Cooper's home and her hormones were winding him up last night, poor Bernard (his big cuddly St Bernard) really paid the price, it's so weird seeing him like that, as he's such a calm boy usually!

We're both around now for a few days and DH is going to work from home as much as he can next week so we're just keeping them apart until they lose interest in each other.

To answer the question, the St Bernard trust don't remove dogs from their homes unless they're in danger or they can't rehome them within days so whilst she came through the Trust and all paperwork was completed by them, we collected her from her previous owner. It was exactly the same with our Betty also when we rescued her.

[ERICSMUM]

What a beautiful dog xxx

[PoohBears#1fan]

So... how do we know when this is over?

From a blood loss issue she's lost VERY little, it's purely been a few drops a day, last week Cooper stayed at my friends and this week we've ensured that one of us is always around & we've managed them by keeping them in separate areas, we did manage some supervised time together, but after a while the interest would start up again.

Until around 48 hours ago they were manageable, very interested in each other (not always at the same time) but happy to just sit in the same room for 20 minutes or so, before sniffing round each other, around 2 days ago, things really took a turn and her hormones are obviously driving him mad, I've never seen him behave like this, really getting wound up, humping his toys...

She seems happier in herself, she's less swollen, drinking less and just seems more comfortable - could this be her reaching the end of her fertile period and him getting a sense of 'last chance' urgency from her?

[disjunkie]

Unfortunately there’s no way to know for sure, but when all symptoms have subsided is a good indication. On average a season will last around 3-4weeks. Normally a week to 10 days of bleeding, then around a week to 10 days of fertility where she will be very receptive to male attention. Our lab has just finished her first season, (swelling has now completely subsided, no discharge and our male no longer interested) which end to end lasted just over 3 weeks. If she’s still swollen she’s still in heat, and the swelling will likely subside before her fertile period finishes, so keep them separated for at least a few days after all symptoms have stopped.