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Information on the reproductive cycles of bitches, the risks of unwanted pregnancies, and precautions to take when a bitch is in season. Topics include the length of seasons, fertility periods, and options for delaying or terminating unwanted pregnancies. It also discusses the use of delvosteron injections for season delay and the risks and costs associated with their use.
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Mismating in dogs Bitches usually come into season every 6 months, although the exact cycle length can vary between dogs. A season usually begins with approximately 10 days of bleeding, after which the bitch is willing to be mated and can become pregnant. Most bitches are at their most fertile 10-14 days after the first day of bleeding, but because all dogs are different you should assume that your bitch is at risk of becoming pregnant at any time during the three weeks from the first day of bleeding. I have an entire bitch and dog in the same house - what should I do when my bitch comes into season? If you do not wish to breed from your bitch we would always recommend spaying your bitch so that this situation does not arise. If you do wish to breed from your bitch in the future, but do not want to breed from your male dog, it would be sensible to castrate the male dog at least 6 weeks before your bitch is likely to come into season. If you do not want to or are unable to neuter either your female or male dog, then we would strongly recommend that you make alternative living arrangements for your male dog during the three week period that your bitch is in season. This could be a boarding kennels or living with a friend. It is not a good idea to keep both in the same house and try to keep the two apart. Dogs will have a very strong desire to mate and may knock down baby gates and open doors to get to each other. Even if the dogs physically cannot reach each other, male dogs can become very frustrated and distressed if they are close to a bitch in season but cannot mate - this can result in howling, loss of appetite, urination inside the house and destructive behaviour. Is it possible to delay my bitch's season? Sometimes clients know that they want to breed from their bitch in the future, but not at the present time, and ask us to prescribe medication to delay the unwanted season. This may be to avoid unwanted mating in the home or because the dog is about to go to a show or competition or on holiday where being in season would be a nuisance. Our recommendation is that you do not use medication to delay a season. The safest thing for your dog is to allow the season to happen and take precautions to keep the bitch safe at home so that she does not get mated accidentally. However, there is one licensed medical option for temporary delaying a season. This is an injection known as delvosteron. To prevent seasons occurring the delvosteron injection is given before the bitch comes into season and is repeated every 3- 5 months to prevent future seasons (second injection after 3 months, third injection 4 months later, then subsequent injections every 5 months). The
injection takes around 5 days to work so needs to be given well before the season starts, (or can be given right at the start of a season as long as the bitch is kept isolated from male dogs for a week after the injection). The disadvantages to using delvosteron are: