When Do Female Dogs Stop Going Into Heat?

Getting yourself a dog surely feels like having a ball of sunshine and cuteness at your place. But, with all this fun and cuteness, being a dog parent comes with a lot of serious responsibilities, the most important one being keeping yourself updated with what is up with your dog’s health and body. While you might not know this, a dog’s body goes through as many changes as we humans surpass in different stages of our lives. In the case of owning a female dog, having the right kind of information about the changes in your pet’s body and how to handle them is surely a vital part of being a good and careful owner.

If you are a first-time dog owner, we strongly suggest you get yourself some knowledge about dogs’ biology, their reproductive system, and most importantly, their heat cycles. We understand that gaining all such knowledge means a lot of time and energy invested and not everyone can make room for that. However, today we have compiled a guide on dog’s heat cycle and answered the most important questions regarding it, i.e., when does a female dog stop going into heat.

So, read on and educate yourself to be better able to take care of your new pet.

Time For Female Dog’s Heat Cycle to End

Many people think that there is some certain age limit after which the dog’s stop going into heat period and do not bleed. Well, we hate to break it to you if you are one such person but dogs usually never stop going into heat. In other words, a dog’s heat cycle never ends no matter what. The only time a dog might stop going into heat would be in cases where the dogs have been made to undergo the procedure that gets them spayed. Another case when the dogs do not go into the heat cycle is when they are pregnant. Other than these two conditions, the female dogs keep up with their regular heat cycle and keep going in it as per schedule till death.

However, an important point that you need to consider here is that as the dogs age, the gaps between their heat cycles might increase and they might show weakly patterned and very less intense heat cycles which is totally find considering their feeble age and the weaknesses that they might have.

At What Age The Dog’s Heat Cycles Start?

The time for a dog’s heats cycle to start varies from breed to breed and also has some sort of connection with the dog’s physical health, diet, and some other internal conditions. In most cases, you can expect your dog to enter their puberty phase and thus go into heat cycles anywhere from the time they are around at least 6 months old or are about to hit their first birthday. If the dog is not entering the heat phase after this, you might want to get it checked from a professional veterinarian who can better help you understand whether it is normal or not. This heat cycle that starts at this time then continues every year for the rest of your pup’s life unless you get it spayed.

What Does a Heat Cycle Mean?

If you cannot tell by now, we thought it would be a good idea to give you some idea about what a heat cycle in the dogs means and what are the symptoms shown by a dog when this cycle begins. Well, heat cycle in female dogs indicates that they are reproductively mature enough to mate and thus bear pups. Dogs go into heat cycles about two times a year and this is the best time for them to get pregnant and produce babies.

You can easily tell when your female dog’s heat cycle has begun by the effects on her that are induced due to intense hormonal changes in her body. During the time your dog is ready to mate, her vulva swells up and she gets her period, i.e., a condition characterized by a discharge of blood from her body. The dog will also show an enhanced interest in male dogs and will present herself to them by holding her tail at a side in front of them.

How Long is a Heat Cycle in Dogs?

The length of a heat cycle again depends on the dog’s breed and dog’s health and hence, there is no absolute answer to this. The length also has a lot to do with the dog’s age as well as her chances of being pregnant and her reproductive health.

However, in most cases, the dogs stay in their heat cycles for a minimum of 2 weeks and maximum of 4 weeks. Right when the cycle begins, it is often so feeble and unnoticeable that even the dog might not be receptive to make dogs. However, as the days pass, it keeps on getting intense. However, it is also normal if your dog’s heat cycle starts in a full swing, and it is very eager to mating in the very first days.

Generally, the ending of a cycle is marked by the vulva’s swelling ending and the vulva coming back to its normal size and shape. The ending of blood discharge is another major factor that you must look out for if you want to stay aware of the dog’s heat cycle’s ending. The dog can get pregnant during all the time when the heat cycle is on however, the chances are at their highest during the middle 8 days.

Conclusion

This is not all that you need to know about the heat cycle and reproductive system of your dog. However, having this knowledge will surely help you get better at taking care of your pet and make a well-informed decision on when to get it mated and whether or not you want to get it spayed. We hope this guide is helpful and we also hope that your dog is doing great!