Gundog Training Forum

Need advice.
I would like to take a litter from my springer bitch this year but there's a problem.
I can't tell when she's in season.
She will be 2 years old in the summer, and to be honest I don't know if she has ever broke down. If she has she has never shown any signs.
Is there any thing else that can tell me when she's going to break

Hmmm, difficult. She may not have had a season yet (a few bitches are over 2years when they have their first one). Some have very quiet first seasons without much swelling or bleeding.
If you have a group of bitches you may see behaviour changes and humping and obviously if you have males about they will show more interest.
There is little a GP vet can do to tell you if she's normal. Some are able to do good enough ultrasound examinations to identify teh ovaries and uterus but this doesn't tell you a lot about whether they will function! A specialist repro vet could tell you more, but at a cost.

I got a better idea...get a dog to tell you! You must have a friend with a dog he will be interested if she is ready

I think Teal is in her first season but I am not sure, we noticed 3 spots on my wife’s jeans 4 days ago after Teal had been on her lap but have seen nothing since. Have been giving her a wipe with a tissue but still not showing anything, She does not appear to be particularly swollen but a visit to my daughters house yesterday had her castrated JR trying it on. So I am going by this as he has never tried before.

I've wondered this a few times with my Lily but today there is noticeable blood, so I can officially say she's in her first heat. It can definitely be tricky to tell, I'm sure its really hard with a longer haired dog.

Well harper finally bled.
And after doin fern tests under the microscope we were able to pinpoint the right time to mate her.
So after driving for 4 hours from Belfast to Waterford city we mated her with FTCH Hollydrive Kurt. So hopefully we will get a nice litter.