Advise!

[Kelsey]

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Hi, we have a very lovely healthy 7 month girl named Luna. We've been quite lucky she's really well behaved and a pleasure. Last few days she seems to be really unsettled and restless, and weed in the house (which isn't like her) all the symptoms point towards her coming into her first season but for a whippet his seems quite young.. could it be that or is there something else that could be wrong? 

 

[leashedForLife]

Why would 7-MO seem unusually young, for a 1st estrus? - not quizzing U, a genuine question. Given her weight [under 40#, generally], she seems to be on schedule.

I'm not hugely familiar with Whippets, i've met a few & worked with a few, over the decades, as clients' pets, but 6-MO to 7-MO is bang on the average for a 1st estrus, outside of bitches who are in the Large to Extra-Large to Queen-sized categories - from 80 to 90#, 90 to 125#, & over 125# - who respectively tend to have their 1st heat later, with 8 to 9-mos being common, & a few Giantesses put it off until they are 10 to 12-MO.

If her only apparent symptoms are unusual anxiety & even-more unusual peeing in the house, U might check she hasn't picked up a UTI - they are much, much more likely just before, thru-out & following estrus, than at any other time in a F's life. The 90-days post-estrus is an especially hot period for both UTIs & the dreaded Pyometra, which if closed is hard to detect, & very dangerous, indeed.
[an open-Pyo is draining, & the discharge is an immediate clue.]

If the behaviors continue, i'd want a urine culture grown out, to see if she's got anything subclinical breeding internally. // THere's a nasty strain of multiply-resistant microbe that has gone global, which can cause a chronic come-&-go UTI that flares up, is treated, goes quiet, & comes roaring back. To treat it effectively, the vet needs to I-D the strain & what it's susceptible to.

Hopefully, it's just a perfectly normal young F entering her 1st estrus.   Is she a potential dam?
 - terry

 

[gypsysmum2]

I know that Whippets do differ from other breeds by being late to come in season and every bitch will vary in its season cycle so she could well be coming into season. Do you meet any dogs on your walks. They usually know before anyone else does!

In the mean time just keep a very close eye on her general behaviour to see if she shows any other symptoms. It may be that she has a bladder infection or that she has become nervous of something.

Urinating causes a dog to feel "relief". Sometimes, if they are experiencing anxiety, they will wee in order to experience that feeling of relief. Something else to watch out for

 

[Kelsey]

Potentially we would like to breed her yes, reading a lot about whippets it seems that their first season is around 1 year onwards. I'll keep an eye out and possibly get her checked for UTI  

 

[leashedForLife]

If U take her in as a possible UTI, be sure the vet does a urine culture - the subclinical chronic ones are a right pain!     :angry:   Getting them treated with an effective med is key to knocking them down, if not 'out'.

From reading on a Whippets-only forum, a few Fs come in at 6 to 7-MO, many bitches seem to have 1st estrus at 8-MO, some 9 to 10-MO, & a few at a year or 14-MO, so quite a range; one F held off till she was 24-MO for her 1st heat, & her dotter was 18-MO when she had 1st estrus, so i'd ask the breeder what age her mum became fertile, or her litter-sisters.
 - terry

 

[dogmatize]

Hello kelsey. I just can't resist saying what a beautiful girl you have there! My first whippet- a boy was a black and white parti colour so it has a special place in my heart. I have a bitch of the same age and am expecting her to come on heat any time from now. Every bitch is different.

 

[leashedForLife]

@Kelsey - 
any Dx from the vet, or was she just unsettled for a few days? -- Hope she's back to her usual sweet, biddable self.

 - terry

 

[Kelsey]

She seems back to her normal self now Terry, thank you  

 

[leashedForLife]

Great.   When that estrus finally arrives, watch her carefully for any signs of UTI or especially for Pyo - which can be sneaky.

my Akita bitch only vomited a few ounces of bile, one morning, but she wasn't acting like herself - not hungry for brekkie, not eager for a walk - & my elder sis scoffed that i was being ridiculous when i left for the vets'.  Moon had a closed Pyo, but we caught it early, & after 14-days on antibiotics, she was OK. //  I had just moved from Pennsy to VA, & God only knows how i'd have ever paid for an emergency spay - so we were both lucky, myself & the dog.
- terry