When Do Female Puppies Start Going Through Heat?

Canine puberty comes in what seems like an instant. Our fluffy pals often reach sexual maturity when they're less than a year in age. The heat cycle is a reliable indication that a female puppy is indeed reproductively mature -- and as a result physically able to produce a litter of tiny young ones of her own.

  1. Age

    • All puppies are different and it's impossible to pinpoint an exact time frame for any first heat cycle. However, female puppies generally start going into heat when they're somewhere in the ballpark of 6 months to 2 years in age. Bigger female puppies usually bloom at a later age than tinier ones. A female Great Dane might take the full 2 years to go into her initial heat cycle, while it might take a mere 6 months for a young female Pomeranian, for example. Note, though, that it's always a case-by-case scenario.

    Indications of Heat

    • Identifying that your female puppy is in heat is a piece of cake when you know what the typical signs are. If your cutie is in heat, you might notice her urinating a lot more than usual -- a way of using scent to lure in doggies of the opposite sex. The urine often only appears in tiny dribbles. She might behave slightly differently, and seem less focused on you and at the same time more attentive to the outside world. She might even seem a little testy and truculent around you, even if she's typically sweet as cherry pie. Genital discharge also signifies the arrival of the heat cycle. This discharge usually starts out slightly bloody. As the cycle progresses, however, it usually changes to light yellow in coloration. You might even observe your doggie attempting to bring upon mating encounters with males, often by tightening up her hind limbs and pushing her backside up conspicuously.

    Frequency

    • Once a female puppy is sexually mature, you can expect her to go into heat -- and therefore display all of its classic signs -- roughly two times each year, with "down time" periods of around 6 months. No two canines are exactly the same however, and one dog might go into heat a lot more frequently than another. As far as duration, dogs are usually in heat for between 2 and 3 weeks at a time.

    Spaying

    • If you get your puppy spayed, she won't go into heat, period. Many young puppies get fixed prior to the age of reproductive maturity and therefore bypass their first heat cycles -- and all heat cycles, for that matter -- entirely. Talk to your veterinarian in order to figure out when to set up your puppy's surgery. Not only does spaying totally eliminate the possibility of canine pregnancy, it also nips heat in the bud, along with all of the discomfort and frustration so often associated with it.