Delaying a season in bitches

[Jacquie]

Does anyone have any experience of using medication to delay a season in a bitch?

[pontbeck]

I wouldn`t recommend it. It can alter the regularity of the future seasons and possibly the fertility of the bitch from my own and friends experiences.

Bill

[DesO'Neile]

Other than myself, and I had the assistance of arguably the most knowledgeable canine vet in the whole of Ireland I don't know of anybody who has altered a bitche's season and not suffered some form of payback down the line. However I used Duratestrone to great effect. For a while it was, and maybe still is, the only system approved by greyhound racing authorities as it is considered performance neutral. My understanding that its main purpose is not the delaying of seasons but to help prevent the downturn in form that some bitches suffer after their season and up to what would have been their nine week puppy time.

[Sgurr]

I haven't used any medication for this but just wanted to comment that unless your bitch already has a very regular, established interval between seasons, she may not come in when you expect her too anyway. My young bitch was due in season late Sept 2010 - she came in, February 2011 so it can be anytime that suits her!

Sgurr

[manannan]

ive used med to delay season with my bitch and regret it.after jab last year she come in season 3 times and had a phantom ,not good.messed my whole summer up.dont mess with nature.

[Canburne]

I would absolutley NOT recommend it all and if you hear the word delvesterone mentioned run away. I have had problems with two bitches, which apart from being the same breed were completely unrelated, and would never condiser it again.

[vicky payne]

Vets don't have any choice but to use delvosterone as it is the product licenced for delaying/ suppressing seasons in bitches. To use other substances would be in breach of the cascade. I'm very suprised durateston is allow in racing greyhound....being that's it's a testosterone analogue! But greyhound racing is a funny old game.
Using these chemicals is risky; most bitched return to cycling and fertility just fine (no-one says much about them) but some don't. A few never cycle again and no-one can know which ones. My advice would be not to use these products if you plan to breed in the future. I only find them useful if for some reason a bitch can't be spayed right then but the owners plan to neuter in the future.

[DesO'Neile]

Vicky,
I made the point that I did this under a vet's supervision. Although I believe Duratestrone to be a perscription only drug it appears to be easily obtained without one. I get the impression that quite a lot of people do this sort of thing themselves and without the advice and guidance of their vet.

[vicky payne]

Des, you are 100% right, lots of people do lots of things without veterinary guidance! There's a big blackmarket in animal drugs.
A greyhound vet may need to make different choices to a 'normal' vet if the 'correct' product is banned under the rules of greyhound racing. I only wanted to make it clear that despite the comment "if delvosterone is mentioned run away" that this is the product most vets will be forced to use.

[Jacquie]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful feedback and personal experiences.
Jacquie