Managing an unspayed female dog

[microbovine]

This is a lost dog (or dumped, too soon to tell) and she cannot get in for a spay until a certain time period has passed for the owner to claim her. We put notices up immediately both near where she was found and online. I am checking lost dog notices daily, but was told NOT to put an ad on Craigslist because of people looking for “bait” dogs (sick world). i have contacted local Lab breeders as well.

She is coming to our house from the vet’s tomorrow. I have never had an unspayed female before. What is the best way to manage her? She is very sweet and obedient, and comes when called. We have a yard secure enough for our dogs, but I don’t know if dogs in heat jump fences or try to dig out. The vet says she is not in heat now, but how can I tell if she is going into heat? If she starts to cycle before we can spay, how bad is it to manage the pad thing until she can be spayed (we have discussed options with our vet and chose to spay when she is not in heat). Do I need to move her from crate to yard on leash and back to crate?

She has already had at least one litter and is only 2-3 years old. She is a mellow, affectionate, field type, Lab. She’s a little thin, but in decent shape. No microchip. We had to give her base vaccines and she gets her heartworm test and treatment tomorrow, if no one claims her. Plus, a bath and nails trimmed. I have two members of my family that want her once she’s spayed, if no one claims her. She is going to be alright and will avoid the local pound (we checked in with them, but they were happy to have us keep her if we could).

Also, how long do people usually wait for an owner to claim before altering a found dog? So far, the local recommendation is at least about a week.

Thank you for reading this long post.

[Simkie]

Unless she’s in heat, you manage her just like any other dog. If she’s in heat, then you keep track of her and don’t leave her where an unneutered boy can get to her. Depending on your situation, that could be anything from crated with breaks to leash walking only to no changes in management. Do you have intact boys?

When she comes into heat, her vulva will get swollen, she’ll probably drip some blood. I notice the girly parts look more pronounced in my unspayed girl first–in the “I think she may be coming in” sort of sense and then the odd blood spot on the floor confirms it. I probably have 7 - 10 days of “I think she may be coming in” before I see any blood, and then she’s not in STANDING heat (where should would actually accept being bred) for another week, maybe? If you’re keeping an eye on her, you’ll have plenty of heads-up time before you’re in danger of puppies.

A lab will be “in heat” for perhaps 6 weeks a year (2 x 3 weeks) so I think your chances of spaying her before she comes in again are pretty positive

[microbovine]

Our male dog is neutered, so no problem there.

Thank you for taking the time to post.

[bits619]

Agreed. We just had a senior Hound that went into heat before she was healthy enough to have surgery, and have had several female fosters in heat before her too. Some of them act a little crazy but I’ve never had one try to escape the yard or anything (the males, even altered, definitely get amped up around them though, it’s a bit like college spring break when that happens… Lots of stupid behavior and humping of everything). Some of them don’t have much of a behavioral change, the old Hound lady didn’t (though she went from “no sir no way, eff off” to “ohhhh heyyy boyfriend” towards the males as her heat progressed… But no change in energy).

Thanks for taking her in and finding her a home!

[Credosporthorses]

Can’t comment on managing an unspayed dog but be sure to check your state/local laws on how long you have to keep a found dog before rehoming it. In my state (WA) it is 30 days.

[crosscreeksh]

She will not suddenly become a raging sex fiend!!! Just treat her the same and keep her away from unneutered male dogs!!

[Foxtrot_s]

…but intact male dogs are very, very determined and will find a way to get IN to your yard, climb up, jump over, dig under, wiggle through. It only takes a minute!

[microbovine]

[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;8654744]
…but intact male dogs are very, very determined and will find a way to get IN to your yard, climb up, jump over, dig under, wiggle through. It only takes a minute![/QUOTE]

Oh yes, we are definitely worried about that. We do have distant neighbors with intact males they fail to contain. We haven’t seen any lately, but this will bring them out. She will be outside under supervision only.

We have a spayed female we will also keep separate. I have heard a lot about not having two female dogs that weren’t raised together. She gets along with everything: other dogs, cats, farm animals, etc…, but I have heard not to trust two female dogs. That’s why we won’t be keeping her.

[microbovine]

[QUOTE=Credosporthorses;8654633]
Can’t comment on managing an unspayed dog but be sure to check your state/local laws on how long you have to keep a found dog before rehoming it. In my state (WA) it is 30 days.[/QUOTE]

Definitely not the case here. The pound gives people only three business days to claim their dog before they go up for adoption! The nice dogs never make it to public adoption kennels. Not sure where the nice dogs go. Maybe breed rescues? What if the owners were on vacation? That doesn’t seem like enough time. Our local pound has heavy volume and not enough room, so perhaps that’s why.

Anyway, I am getting the word out more than the pound would and I have notified them about her, so I’m okay as far as legalities. I don’t think 3 business days is enough time, so I am extending it to a more fair length. I think a week or ten days is good. I have gone back a month on checking old lost dog ads and posted signs and on the lost pet websites locally. I am trying to give the owners a chance to claim their dog. Of course most of us would have noticed our dog missing that night, but this may be a hunting dog or kennel kept and they may not do a head count very often. She could also belong to older person without the resources to notify anyone. She is very affectionate and sweet, so I’m not sure she is a kennel dog. She has rough spots from lying on hard ground or outside and she hasn’t been bathed in a very long time. She could have been out on her own for awhile, whcih is why I’m looking at old lost dog ads, too.

I won’t assume she was dumped, but she was stopping traffic on a busy rural road and checking every passing car with a wagging tail. She wasn’t chasing, but more looking for someone. We let her in our car before she could get hit. She jumped right in and licked our chins.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=microbovine;8654768]
Oh yes, we are definitely worried about that. We do have distant neighbors with intact males they fail to contain. We haven’t seen any lately, but this will bring them out. She will be outside under supervision only.

We have a spayed female we will also keep separate. I have heard a lot about not having two female dogs that weren’t raised together. She gets along with everything: other dogs, cats, farm animals, etc…, but I have heard not to trust two female dogs. That’s why we won’t be keeping her.[/QUOTE]

Well, I think all new dogs should be supervised around existing dogs until you see how they get along; but I would not assume that the two females wouldn’t get along because they are female. That’s not really typical. Many people I know own all females or all males, so that they can be bred but not live in a mixed gender household. Some of my friends have 2-5 females with no problems. One of my friends just lost his oldest GSP but used to have all 5 in bed with him and his wife.

If she goes into heat before she can be spayed, I would just supervise her outside if you have unneutered males that could be loose in the neighborhood; particularly when she is in standing heat. Certainly she should not be kenneled outside or left in the yard when you are not home - just keeping her in the house would be more than sufficient protection. It’s unlikely that packs of dogs will show up, but always best to be careful.

Agree with the others - aside from that, she’s just a normal dog.

[Highflyer]

Did you ask the pound about state laws? Ours is 4 days if the animal goes to the county humane society, but 30 days if it doesn’t. To be honest I feel no guilt or anxiety at all about altering the average cat or mixed breed dog even if it’s owner were to turn up, but in this case since the dog appears to be purebred and used for breeding I would wait a little longer.

[hoopoe]

but if she was a quality pure breeder she would have a microchip or other id and sure and shooting the owners would be seeking her

[MsM]

Unfortunately, the looking into cars behavior is typical of abandoned dogs. Might be due family situations, etc. or may be that she was bred (not to a lab!)

[corgif]

When in heat, the female’s hindquarters can be extra sensitive (sort of like when women have menstrual cramps). They may act protective of the area, so handle gently.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=hoopoe;8654886]
but if she was a quality pure breeder she would have a microchip or other id and sure and shooting the owners would be seeking her[/QUOTE]

Maybe. Not to mention, microchips can migrate. One of my dogs has two now, because even though I knew she had one when I got her, the vet couldn’t find it and gave her another. Then when she went in for a surgery they checked her again and found one of the chips near her elbow.

It’s not that hard to keep an unspayed bitch safe for a couple of weeks while you try to find the owners. Just because the owners haven’t been found in 3 days doesn’t mean they aren’t looking for her, either. She could have been lost while hunting, or while on the road, or while the owners were away and the dog was in someone else’s care…

What’s so hard about waiting for more than a couple of days? Sheesh.

[microbovine]

I agree about three business days being too short. I do feel funny altering a found dog. I want to wait a week or ten days for the owner. Should I give them two weeks? Is the dog purebred? Not sure. She was a whip tail rather than shorter a stumper, but some of the American Labs look like her, I think. She is probably a cross, but mostly Lab. She had two collars on but no ID.

i’ll try to post a picture.

[Foxtrot_s]

I wonder she’s already pregnant? Obviously you have checked for a spaying scar.

Grr - wish people would get on the spay/neuter mindset. Just irresponsible.

[yaya]

[QUOTE=microbovine;8654768]

We have a spayed female we will also keep separate. I have heard a lot about not having two female dogs that weren’t raised together. She gets along with everything: other dogs, cats, farm animals, etc…, but I have heard not to trust two female dogs. That’s why we won’t be keeping her.[/QUOTE]

That depends on the breed an individual dogs in question. Until recently, I have always had only female dogs, usually 2-4 at a time, none raised together, a variety of breeds all obtained at different times, and never had any aggression problems. Not even when I would babysit one of my brothers’ female dogs who they had never met before. Throughout all the various combinations over the years, always one big happy bunch of girls.

[microbovine]

Thank you all for advice and suggestions.

During the introduction to our spaniel, the Lab was dominant, but never growled or barked. Our spaniel had her tail down and they seemed to be okay. But I don’t want to disrupt the peace if the Lab is only staying for a short time, so I think it would be better to rotate yard time. Our dogs are inside with us or outside during chores. The Lab will sleep inside in a crate, but in the same room as everyone else.

Report from the vet is that she was very well behaved over the weekend. Just waiting on heartworm results.

[microbovine]

Bad news. Vet called and she is positive for heartworm. We suspected she might be. Heart and lungs sound good. We discussed slow kill method with the vet already. We’ll get more info this afternoon.

I’m thinking she was dumped. I’ll still give her owner time to claim her, but poor dog.