Unless you plan to spay your female beagle, it is important to learn all about its heat cycle before your friend begins hers.
Indeed, there is a lot of information circulating on the internet on dogs’ heat cycle and yet, many new dog owners are often worried about what to expect and what they ought to do.
A female Beagle who has not been spayed will typically face a variety of physical and behavioral changes throughout her lifetime. Let’s get into the details.
How Long Does A Beagle Stay In Heat?
Most Beagle heat cycles will last between 2 and 3 weeks. Beagles have heat cycles every 5 to 7 months, so this averages out to twice per year. Unless and until a female is spayed, she can continue to have this for the rest of her life.
What Does Heat Cycle Mean?
Heat is the period in your female beagle’s life when “menstruation” begins. This is when your dog’s fertility begins. Your dog can be said to e in season and is medically known as estrus. At this point, your dog can become pregnant.
Your Beagle will often experience her first cycle at around 6 months of age. Each dog is different in this regard, though. Some start getting pregnant at 4 months, while others wait until 15 months.
Many dog owners think it’s too early, but it can start at a young age, so they need to know what will happen and how to keep their dogs safe.
Your Beagle needs a thorough vet examination if she is over 15 months old and has not yet experienced her first heat cycle.
How Often Will My Beagle Go Into Heat?
Between 6 and 8 months, your female beagle will enter its first heat, i.e., if you have not spayed it. After the first heat cycle is over, expect your beagle’s next cycle in 6 months’ time. Most beagles go into heat twice a year.
For the first year or two, the cycle could be sporadic, yet you should later notice her reproductive cycle being more patterned.
Between regular cycles, your beagle friend may show signs of going into heat, yet it will be infertile at this stage.
From age 6, your beagle’s reproductive abilities will start to slow down. Fertility will continue on a downward slope until around age 10 when it will be impossible for your female beagle to conceive.
Subsequently, your will continue to show signs of going into heat all her life, yet she will not be fertile on all those occasions.
Signs That Your Beagle Is In Heat
The following signs would tell you your beagle’s cycle has started:
1. Swollen Vulva
One of the most noticeable signs of heat in dogs is the swelling of the vulva. The swell could be medium to large sized and leads to the cells of her uterine wall expanding during the proestrus stage.
Take note of the shape of your dog’s vulva when she is not in heat, so you can be able to tell the difference when she is in heat.
2. Discharge from the Vulva
Another way to tell if a woman is in heat is by the color of the discharge coming from her vulva. Another name for the red discharge is spotting. The discharge’s color can range from pale pink to deep red.
Throughout the heating cycle, the color may also alter. The mixing of the blood with other fluids is the cause of it.
Female beagles frequently excrete a quantity that collects on the floor, the bed, or other surfaces. Many beagle owners decide to use a doggie diaper or canine panty at these times.
3. Attracting Male Suitors
During this period, the scent of your dog’s pheromone goes farther beyond your home. This is her way of letting male suitors know she wants to mate. Male dogs can detect the scent within a 3-mile radius.
Thus, you may notice stray dogs coming around your house a lot, and other dogs at the park trying to get closer to your dog.
If you do not seek to breed your dog, you should keep it away from other dogs during this stage to avoid unwanted pregnancy.
4. Excessive Mounting Behavior
If you notice some changes like mounting on her toys, you need to understand that she is in her Estrus phase.
5. Increased Appetite
Their body yearns for more energy, which causes an increase in appetite. During their “in heat” phase, certain beagles may become less active. Your Beagle may experience a diminished appetite in such circumstances.
6. Licking Her Genitals
It is yet another crucial element that is apparent. To clean any waste coming from her vulva, she might have been licking those places.
7. Increased Urination
She uses pheromones to indicate her territory by urinating frequently. She tries to let the male canines know she is in heat by signaling or alerting them.
Dehydration can result from frequent urination. Veterinarians advise giving your dog water during these times.
What Are The Stages Of A Beagle’s Heat Cycle?
During your dog’s heat cycle, she will go through four distinct phases. Proestrus, Estrus, Diestrus, and Anestrus are their common names.
1. Proestrus Stage
It marks the start of a dog’s heat season because it is the time when her body begins preparing for mating.
She may exhibit aggressive behavior against male dogs, a swollen vulva, excessive licking, and other symptoms. Your Beagle will start to hold her tail close to her body as estrogen levels start to rise.
2. Estrus Stage
The mate making stage is also known as estrus. Your female beagle starts to welcome visits from male canines. Her body’s estrogen levels are at their highest. She will ovulate during this time and show signs of frequent urine.
3. Diestrus Stage
Diestrus is the stage that immediately follows the “in heat” stage. Your female Beagle won’t be able to become pregnant during this phase. Progesterone levels rise as estrogen levels fall. Her vulva enlarges to its previous size.
4. Anestrus Stage
When your female Beagle exhibits no signs of sexual or hormonal behaviors, this is known as the inactive phase or anestrus phase. At this stage, your dog’s body is readying itself for the next heat cycle.
Preparing For Your Beagle’s Heat Cycle
It’s time to prepare now that you know how frequently and for how long your Beagle will be heated.
By doing this, you can prevent your girl from becoming pregnant unexpectedly, leaving splatters of blood on the floor, and even potential behavioral changes like hostility.
1. Monitor her Heat Cycles
Make a note on your calendar for the day your Beagle begins her heat cycle. Use the calendar on your phone to mark the first day, and then add a reminder that it might happen again in six months.
Set the reminder one week before the 6-month mark, so you have time to make another preparation.
2. Obtain Pet Diapers
Blood stains and a mess will be left on her bedding and the floor by a dog in heat. By utilizing specialized dog diapers, you can lessen this.
Human baby diapers can be used instead if you don’t want to spend the money, but you will need to cut a hole in the rear for the tail to pass through.
3. Consider the security
During their heat cycle, some dogs will try to flee and may even become aggressive. If this describes your Beagle, consider utilizing door gates to keep her contained, or simply be extra cautious than normal. Perhaps an off-leash stroll isn’t a smart idea during this time.
Final Thoughts
Always keep in mind that an ovulating female beagle likes to sleep and be noticed. Try to meet her needs and be there for her anytime she calls. Two to three weeks pass between heat cycles.
Six months is the typical age for a female Beagle to experience her first heat cycle. But it can start four months after birth or wait until 16 months.
A beagle can experience two heat cycles on average per year. There is a six-month delay between the two heat cycles.
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