Puppies first season General Chat

Hi All,

Our young Westie bitch 'Loula' has come in to season at about 8 months old, complicated by the fact that our 13 year old Westie 'Alfie' has not been neutered. I would estimate she has been in season for about 10 days, the bleeding seems to have stopped but her genitalia is still enlarged.

So far we have thus far successfully kept them apart and Alfie has coped without howling or behaving oddly, maybe he is too old for all of that kind of business. : )

Could anyone tell me how long a season is likely to last in a typical Westie?

Many thanks

A normal season typically lasts 21 days. However, not all bitches have read the book, and I have heard of matings taking place as late as 28 days. The very swollen part of the season is less likely to be fertile than the days that follow! A further complication is that first seasons can occasionally start, stop, and then start again.
You have done well keeping them apart so far, and I would carry on doing this for another two weeks - and even then, check carefully that she has not had a split season before reintroducing your boy. I think the fact that he is young and inexperienced should help you out this time, but you will need to decide whether to neuter either or both of them in approx. three months time. (I would neuter the bitch, as this has the greater health benefit, but this is a personal opinion).

I do not know about Westies but when I used to breed Griffons it was always wait until their genitalia had gone down after they stopped bleeding when they were ready for mating.

First seasons are always difficult to calculate timing, but of course I never bred my girls until they were at least 18 months old. As I never kept a male dog I had no problems but as Carole has just said, not all bitches have read the book. And they can so easily fool you. My old girl, who had not had a season for about four years, surprised me one day when I had been looking after one of my male puppies while his owners were away for a week.

And when I went to let the girls out one morning I heard a baby.

My female JRT's first season last roughly 6 weeks they had a normal 3 weeks season then came back into season for roughly 18 more days.

oh my... i've been waiting for our dog to start going mental then have arranged for the parents to look after him until we think it is safe. I genuinely hope it doesn't last that long in this case : (

Thanks for the info folks

That is a good plan.