Also I feel like horrible I guess live and learn, next time I will get my girl doggies spayed by 5 months.. I just always thought 6months was a safe spay/neuter age.

 

Why the rush to spay her? I would at least wait until after she gone out of season.

 

I would wait until she's completely done with her cycle--a 3-4 weeks after. So long as you keep her confined/out of males' reaches, you should be fine. No need to take the added risk while she's in heat.

 

I'm in the late fixing camp, so I suggest waiting it out. Like Crock said, just keep her confined or supervised. If your girl isn't keeping herself clean, you can get doggy panties, or modify a diaper.

Bern's going through this right now (with an extra long heat cycle to boot - week 7 and she's finally coming out of it, I think.) so I understand the stress. She's also my first girl since moving into the late-fixing camp.

It's def not the end of the world and it doesn't make you any less of a spay/neuter person. Some dogs are just early bloomers - in one of our club's puppy obedience classes, a dog went into heat at 3 months. I wouldn't let this one incident change your opinion about getting it done earlier than 6 months.

 

You guys are making me feel better, I felt like such a bad owner when I noticed. Our spay neuter place is pretty booked up and they want me to just leave it for the 11th and see where we are at in her cycle then.. I can have her spayed if I am comfortable with it or move it back.. but we may be a month out if I have to move it. She isn't messy about it, just swollen and and spotting and Bentley really is interested in what is going on between her legs, and she is very willing to let her sniff.. if she wasn't keeping herself clean down there he would handle it for her no problem.

 

My sister's Rat Terrier did the same thing, was booked for a spay at 6 months and came in season the week before. Our Vet will not spay them when they are in season as there is too much blood loss and is really hard on them. My sister waited three months and had her booked in as she should not have been back in season for approximately 6 months but she came back in season again. This time she only waited one month and she is now spayed and doing great.

 

Most veterinarians will recommend waiting to spay a female dog who is currently in heat because the risk of hemorrhage is much higher when dog's are in heat.

Whether to spay before the first heat, or later in life is controversial and many different people have differing opinions. There are certainly pros and cons in each scenario... The big argument for spaying before the first heat is it virtually eliminates the chances of your dog getting mammary cancer later in life, and it eliminates the chances of your dog getting ovarian or uterine cancer. The flip side to that argument is that spaying dogs early can delay closure of the growth plates in their long bones thus potentially predisposing them to orthopedic disease. Unfortunately there is no 'perfect' time to do this procedure.

 

There's really no harm in waiting now that she's already gone into heat as long as you can keep her secure and prevent intact male dogs from accessing her. Having her go through a heat cycle is not the end of the world and you have no reason to feel bad.

6 months is the standard age to spay and most vets won't do it prior. Clinics are a different story, and many do not provide a dog with as good of care as a personal vet. The goal of clinics is to get dogs vaccinated and fixed asap to prevent disease spread and litters. The health of your personal dog isn't always as much of a priority. Also, many clinics are not equipped to handle complications during the spay procedure.

I personally would wait until she's finished. Having her spayed while she's in heat creates a lot of risks that you really don't need to put her through. The ONLY time I would choose to spay a dog in heat is if she tied with a male. It would be an emergency spay to prevent puppies.

If you are concerned about the mess, you can buy diapers specifically made for bitches in heat. Alternatively, you can take a pair of boys' briefs, stick a female menstrual pad in it, and put it on her backwards so her tail goes through the fly. Just make sure you keep her secured and never let her outside unattended.

 

Wait for a month after the bleeding stops and then have her spayed ASAP. Don't do it during, it's not worth it. She's really not going to have any ill effects from going through one heat cycle.