You should then consider your dog to be in-season or in-heat, for 21 days, just to be safe. Add an extra day or so, at the end just to be very safe. Always, watch males reactions to her, and her reactions to them.

 7 days coming into heat -  Proestrus 

Mark the date of the first signs, on your calendar or in your diary. Consider that your breeding window might be around 10 days from this day. 

Mark the day, the Proestrus starts. Now mark a day 21 days ahead, when it should be finished and Dormus starts. Mark a day 150 days ahead AFTER the 21 day date. This will remind you that she is coming up to this period again. Mark 10 days a head from here, or 160 days from when she finished, as this day should be very close to when she starts again.

7 days in heat - The actual Estrus, where the bitch is more receptive to mating and her body is more likely to get pregnant, due to the female-egg's placement in the womb. If you are breeding more than one mating will increase the possibility of pregnancy AND possibly a greater number of puppies. Arrange, if you can, with the stud owner, that any deal includes up to three visits.

Puppies numbers for small dogs, number anything from 2 to 5. For larger dogs, 8 is possible, but 12 - 15 is not unheard of.

7 days going out. Though conception is most likely during the middle of the 7 days, Mother Nature does not always follow the rules. If NOT breeding, confine your dog for the entire 3 weeks, if you do not want a pregnancy, or the dog is under 24 months.

The time when your dog is just like a male, and can act just like any other dog with no disabilities or hormones to worry about, is called Dormus. Dormus lasts for about 160 days after the end of the in-season period; then it starts all over again. Note how you female is influenced when she is in-heat, as the signs might be important to you.

When she finishes the 21 days or so. Mark your calendar or diary, on a date 150 days ahead. This will remind you that she is due to be on-heat again soon. Around 10 days from here it will starts all over again.

Remember that the above information is general. Not all females follow these patterns. Consult with the vet if your dog does not seem typical. Sometimes, cycling problems can be an early warning of more serious problems, and the sooner they are dealt with, the better. Stress or trauma can influence the timing of heat-cycles.

  TERMS

Reasons for spaying your dog

Spaying - ovarian hysterectomy - is a procedure that involves surgical removal of your dog's ovaries and uterus, by a vet. 

This surgery may be performed at any age after the dog has usually reached SIX months. But the preferable age is between 9 - 12 months. There is NO medical evidence to suggest that your dog will benefit in any way from going through a heat-cycle, or having a litter prior to being spayed. In fact the opposite might apply.

Spaying Benefits

• It eradicates the heat-cycles and therefore eliminates the bloody discharges The discharge during estrus and the odors associated with being in-heat OR in-season. It stops male dogs from being attracted to your dog because of the estrus and the associated scent that she will give off.

• When performed before the first or second heat, spaying greatly reduces the risk of mammary cancer, to less than 1%. A common cancer of female dogs.

• Generally, eradicates the risk of future ovarian and uterine cancer.

• Generally eradicates the risk of pyometra - pus-filled uterus, a serious uterine infection, common in older female dogs, which usually requires emergency surgery. 

• Generally eradicates the problems of false-pregnancy experienced by many female dogs. This can be a normal occurrence in female dogs following a heat-cycle. This condition mimics pregnancy, complete with mammary development and milk production.   Generally helps control the unwanted-pet population crisis by avoiding unwanted pregnancies. Millions of unwanted pets are destroyed in animal homes every year across the world.