How Long Is a Dog's Menstrual Cycle?
The female dog has a lengthy menstruation cycle, unlike that of humans. The female dog goes through four main stages of a cycle called estrous, commonly referred to as "heat," which lasts approximately 7 months.
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Stage 1
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Proestrus lasts approximately 9 days and is the first stage of the cycle marked by a bloody discharge from the vulva. The female dog will have no interest in mating with a male dog during the beginning stage of proestrus (Carlson & Giffin 2000).
Stage 2
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The estrus stage that lasts approximately 7 days; within those days the female dog allows mating. Ovulation occurs during estrus, typically around the second day of estrus (Carlson & Giffin 2000). The behavioral signs of estrous are seen by the female putting her raised tail to the side (Carlson & Giffin 2000).
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Stage 3
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Diestrus is marked by the female no longer allowing mating, the diestrus stage lasts for approximately 60 days (Carlson & Giffin 2000). If the female did become pregnant in the estrus phase she will carry her litter during this phase, gestation is typically around 63 days.
Stage 4
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Anestrus is the dormancy period that lasts approximately five months. This stage is then followed by proestrus and the entire cycle is repeated again.
Warning
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Before allowing a female to breed, she should be health tested according to her breed, especially for any canine STDs such as Brucellosis. The dog should be up to date on all vaccinations prior to breeding and no vaccinations should be administered to a pregnant female.
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