Why Should I Spay My Dog
Leaving the toll aside, giving your dog litter and raising children, and allowing the number of homeless animals to be euthanized each year, will allow your dog to coexist irresponsibly.
Although many people have heard, there are health benefits to allowing litter in front of the dog. Spade, this belief has not been proven. In fact, the difficulty of giving birth and raising children can lead to premature aging and in some cases death.
It has also been shown that dogs exposed before the first heat cycle have a much lower risk of developing mammary gland tumors.
- Tags
At What Age Should I Spay My Dog
Although veterinarians used to recommend spaying your dog as young as four months old to ensure she never experienced a heat cycle to prevent mammary cancer, current research is leaning toward allowing large- and giant-breed dogs to grow before removing the hormones necessary for skeletal development. Discuss health concerns with your veterinarian before deciding what age is appropriate to spay your dog.
When To Spay Your Belgian Malinois Female
If you dont plan to ever breed your female Belgian Malinois, spaying is the best way to make sure you never end up with unplanned puppies.
However, the timing of the spay surgery can be important for your dogs adult health. As a European Belgian Malinois breeder explains, too-early spaying may cause health issues later in life.
Always talk with your dogs breeder and veterinarian to determine the best and safest time to schedule your dogs spay surgery.
Also Check: How Much Do You Feed German Shepherd Puppy
How Long Does A Female German Shepherd Stay In Heat
Heres what I learned from breeding my black female German Shepherd. When I decided to breed my female German Shepherd Val. Being a new GSD owner, I was curious too how long she will be in heat, and how long the full heat cycle would last. This is what I learned. The average heat cycle stages about 21 days and total, depending on each individual German Shepherd it could be different.
Can Male German Shepherds Go Into Heat
Male German Shepherds do not have a uterus, therefore they cannot physically go into heat. Instead, they are sexually active and ready to go all year round. Alright for some.
Its no surprise that some people might ask this question, because male dogs can act really odd when a female is in heat. This is purely because they can smell her cycle in a way that we cannot, and it causes them to want to mate and breed.
It doesnt matter whether your male dog has been neutered or not, as they will still have the natural urges to mate. They will go through some behavioral changes especially if they live with a female unspayed dog such as cheekiness, agitation, or even aggression.
They can become very protective of the female dog, even more so if theyre confused as to why shes not producing a litter.
For small dogs, its somewhat easier to keep a male and female dog away from each other when she is in heat. This doesnt mean they wont try to get frisky, however. For German Shepherds, itll be slightly trickier to keep them apart. These are big and strong dogs, after all.
This is why a lot of German Shepherd owners will opt to spay their female if they own both a male and female dog.
Even if you have a male German Shepherd who begins to act strangely in the dog park or at the groomers, theres a chance he is simply indicating the scent of a dog in heat. This scent can linger, and German Shepherds are notorious for their heightened and impeccable senses.
Recommended Reading: Do German Shepherds Whine A Lot
Stages Of A Female Canines Reproductive Cycle
Now that When do german shepherds go into heat is answered, lets take a more in-depth look. If you are interested in breeding, heres what you need to know about dogs and their reproductive cycles:
Pro Estrus: At this stage, estrogen levels peak. Your dog will not be receptive to male dogs. However, this wont prevent them from giving unwanted attention! This stage is also accompanied by bloody vaginal discharge. 9 days is a standard for this stage. It is like other standards, quite flexible, and can be for more or less. It may even go up to 27 days or so.
Estrus: In this stage, your dog will be ready to mate. Their vulvar discharge will become less red. 9 days is also a non-rigid standard for this period. Again it could take a few less and quite a few more days.
Ditestrus: In this phase, successful fertilization results in pregnancy. It lasts for two months.
Anestrus: If no successful fertilization occurs, your dog reverts to Anestrus. The cycle begins again in about four months after this phase.
To prevent fertilization, you will have to keep your dog inside at all times. Going outside will attract some neutered and intact GSD crowd. Speaking of Male GSD attention, does a male GSD need to be in the heat too?
What Is The Average Heat Cycle For German Shepherds
This article may have shown you a trend: heat cycles can vary greatly, and the size of each one plays a significant role. This is also true for the duration of each heat cycle.
Sometimes, small breeds of dogs may only be in heat for a few days. Some dogs can stay in heat for several weeks. It is rare to experience shorter heat cycles than one week.
A German Shepherds heat cycle is approximately three weeks.
Your dogs cycles can change as she ages. If youre concerned, ask your vet. To ensure nothing is wrong, they may check her hormone levels.
Its most likely just normal aging.
Read Also: When Do German Shepherd Puppies Lose Their Baby Teeth
How Old Does A German Shepherd Need To Be To Breed
When I bred my first female German Shepherd, I did not breed her before she had her third season. After talking to the Breeder that I purchased my dog from, he told me to wait until your dog has had her fourth season before you breed her, but she should be three years old or older before she is bred. He has experience breeding a female too young and its a risk because some female will not want to take care of her puppies because shes too immature and then he would have to bottle feed all the pups to save the letter, and thats a lot of work and time youll spend taking care of puppies.
Just in case youre wondering
Male German Shepherds can be bred at 18 months up throughout their lives, but its not being bred they can become sterile as they ages.
How Long Do Heat Cycles Last For German Shepherds
You may have noticed a trend in this article so farheat cycles can vary widely, and size plays a pretty big role. Thats true for how long each heat cycle lasts, too.
Some dogs, often the very tiny breeds, may be in heat for only a few days. Others can be in heat for weeks on end. Shorter heat cycles of less than a week are pretty rare though.
The average heat cycle for a German Shepherd is about three weeks.
As your dog ages, her cycles may shorten or lengthen. If youre concerned, ask your vet. They may decide to check her hormone levels and do a physical to be sure nothing scary is happening.
Most likely, however, its just normal aging stuff.
Read Also: How To Grow Long Hair For German Shepherd
When Can I Expect My Female Dog To Come Into Heat
Owners that have not spayed their pup need to be aware of when their female dog will come into season.
You can expect your female dog to start coming into heat when she is between six and fifteen months old.
Smaller dogs tend to get there more quickly than larger breeds.
The average cycle length is fourteen to twenty-one days, give or take a few days, with younger dogs usually on the lower end of that time frame.
When a female dogs cycle begins, they will start to bleed from the vulva.
At the start, this will be nothing more than a few drops, but the flow will steadily increase, and the vulva will become swollen.
The general rule of thumb says that the female will begin to accept males for breeding somewhere between the tenth and thirteenth day of their season.
This is when the blood flow will sometimes start to decrease, and her vulva will become swollen.
Female dog owners need to be incredibly vigilant during these three weeks.
Interaction with male dogs needs to be restricted, and owners should have their female dog in their sights at all times.
That means NOT leaving her out in the backyard alone, even if you have a well-constructed, high fence.
Dogs of both sexes will go to extreme lengths to get at one another during this period.
Calm female dogs that are usually happy to stay in their yards will climb fences and find ways out to get to a male.
This means that you need to keep females contained and in your sights at all times.
In Summation: When Does A German Shepherd Go Into Heat
Remember to observe your Shepherd. Figure out what her heat signs are and her behaviors mean. Identifying where she is at all hours during their fertile times will support you preventing an unwanted dad from mating with her.
Make sure your vet checks it out and make sure that you will go through all the activity necessary to raise Shepherd puppies carefully BEFORE you ever breed them. When you have a male and are you not interested in employing him as a stud consider having him neutered.
You May Like: How To Draw A German Shepherd Puppy Easy
Is My Female Gsd In Heat How Can I Tell
Is my female GSD in heat? How will I know? What do I do? Intact female dogs , and that are sexually mature are said to be in estrus, “in heat”, or “in season”, during their occasional “cycle” in preparation to breed and reproduce.
On average, the complete canine reproductive heat cycle takes about 6 months in length which results in about 2 heat cycles each year for most female Alsatian dogs. Be aware of all aspects of your dogs health and behavioral life, prepare accordingly and you should both have a long and healthy life together.
Female German Shepherds, also called bitches, generally have their first heat cycle at around 6 to 12 months of age. Sometimes, a female GSD in heat may not have their first seasonal estrus cycle until they are 12 months of age or older, depending on that particular dog. Remember, however, that this information is very general and not all female dogs will follow these exact patterns.
Overall, each individual female dogs heat cycle pattern tends to be relatively close to the basic average, length wise, however lengths of heat cycles may differ from female to female when the female German Shepherd goes into heat.
Remember these important points concerning your female GSD in heat and her yearly heat cycles and prepare accordingly.
First, assume your dog to be “in season” for at least 21 days, possibly longer, which will vary due to your own individual females heat cycle.
What If The Dogs Heat Cycle Isnt Regular
Irregularities in a dogs heat cycle are much more normal than irregularities in a humans menstrual cycle. Mother Nature works in weird ways.
Sure, you can write down the day she begins her heat cycle and the day you think it has ended all you like, but this wont determine how long it will take for her next cycle to arrive. Especially as German Shepherds are such large dogs, the time between cycles is mostly unpredictable.
As dogs cant vocalize when they are going into heat, you must look out for the warning signs instead. Some dogs might have a streak of cycles over a couple of years that are very regular, like clockwork. Others will go into heat randomly.
Its important to note that if your German Shepherd has a litter, this will also affect the regularity of her future heat cycles. Theres no point doing anything by the book you kind of just have to go with the flow.
Generally speaking, your dog will develop some sort of regularity with her heat cycles when she is around 4 or 5 years old. Dont hold us to that, as each dog is different!
Also Check: Pitbull German Shepherd Fight
Why Do German Shepherds Have So Much Pain
Because GSDs are a large breed that grows fast, they often experience pain due to their rapid growth. Although the dog may experience soreness in puppyhood, the condition disappears when the dog is around a year and a half to two years old.
The first sign of dental health issues is bad breath, followed by inflamed or bleeding gums. In severe cases, the dog may drool, have difficulty eating and swallowing, and grind their teeth as a reaction to the pain.
Total Length Of The Belgian Malinois Heat Cycle
Looking at the total length of the Belgian Malinois heat cycle from the four stages listed above here, you can see that it just about adds up to every six to seven months.
Here is an overview of what veterinarians share about the typical canine heat cycle:
- Proestrus: one to 27 days
- Estrus: four to 24 days
- Diestrus: two months
- Anestrus: four months
You see the most variance in the proestrus, or readiness stage, and the estrus, or fertile stage.
In fact, when most dog owners talk about heat, they are really talking about proestrus and estrus.
So when you hear veterinarians or dog breeders talk about how the Belgian Malinois heat cycle typically lasts two to four weeks, it is actually just the proestrus and estrus stages they are talking about.
This is important to know or you might panic at the thought that your dogs heat cycle is taking a whole lot longer!
Read Also: German Shepherd In Costume
The Size Of The Female Dog
The size of the dog has a big impact of how many puppies they can carry. Although German Shepherds are considered to be a large dog breed some female German Shepherds are larger than others.
A female GSD that is larger will be able to carry more pups than a smaller one. So, if your German Shepherd weighs 70 pounds, they wont be able to carry as many puppies as a 100-pound German Shepherd.
Caring For Male German Shepherds During The Heat Cycle
While male German Shepherds wont go through a heat cycle, they will still act very differently when they are around a female in heat. If you have a male dog, you might want to read this section to get an idea of how to deal with him as his mating instincts are on high alert.
Remember that it doesnt matter whether your male dog has been neutered or not odds are that theyve forgotten their bits dont work anymore.
Also Check: Is The Furminator Good For German Shepherds
Health Benefits Of Neutering:
According to the Animal Cancer Foundation, around 6 millioncompanion dogs are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States alone.
In addition, a study published by the Journal of Comparative Pathology in 2008 revealed that 27% of unneutered dogs develop at least one testicular tumor.
Based on the research by the National Canine Cancer Foundation, testicular tumors make up 90% of canine cancers related to the male reproductive system.
Apart from preventing testicular tumors and cancer, neutering your German Shepherd would also prevent prostate problems as he ages.
Neutering is also believed to reduce the risk of diabetes as well as perianal fistulas, a medical condition thats relatively common among German Shepherds.
When Should I Get My German Shepherd Spayed
Spay or Neuter German Shepherds: There are many different opinions on this topic.
As a new German Shepherd owner, we all have some questions. After talking to different German Shepherd owners, Some veterinarian says 6 months to 12 months, and others will say wait until they are two years. When I, ask my breed this question? My professional breeder told me not to spay or neuter at all. Heres Why,
Whether you own a female German Shepherd or a male German Shepherd you should never spay your female German Shepherd, or neuter your male German Shepherd because youre taking a risk of cause development and growth problems with the dog. If you do decide wait until after 24 months because all German Shepherds Will fully start to develop at 24 months of age and up to 36 months before they are fully mature.
Now I know different German Shepherd owners that have male German Shepherds that did neuter them after 2 years old, and they do not have any problems with them at all, and the same for females owners I have talked with too. My female dogs are not spayed, and my male dog is not neutered.
How long does it take for a German Shepherd dog to recover from being neutered?
My Male Buddy
How much does it cost to spay a female German Shepherd dog?
Whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck!
Don’t Miss: How Do German Shepherds Ears Stand Up
What Is The Fairest Way To Do That
Although it may seem unfair to have to do so much and incur so many costs to keep your male dog on track while another dog has a heat, thats just the way of life.
Most likely, the females male owner is just as annoyed as you are, even though. Its better to forget about that indignity.
This is not about fairness. Lets face it, though.
Your German Shepherd should always be your first priority when you have them.
If this happens, your male GSD may be frustrated and even aggressive.
In few months, you could have unwanted puppies at your home, as well as a large vet bill for a cesarean or, worse, a hospital bill for your dog biting someone while he was trying to reach the female in heat.
Your pride and entitlement are not enough to keep your male German Shepherd happy, healthy, and safe.
While the dog in heat might not be yours but the male who is going crazy because he cant reach her is yours. Give him the love, care, and attention he deserves.