Dogs can be messy during their heat periods. As such, you want keep house clean when dog is in heat to reduce or eliminate the mess and stains.
Some dogs’ heat period begins as early as six months of age and the cycle can last up to 3 to 4 weeks. Within this period, dog owners have to pay closer attention to their dog’s hygiene as well as keep the home clean.
While some dogs bleed heavily, some bleed only a small amount of discharge. Your dog will only bleed for around half of the total cycle, usually 7 to 10 days, according to the WebMD. However, there are several things you can do to keep your dog and house clean during her heat.
How to keep house clean when dog is in heat
Fur baby’s is in heat? Do the following to keep your home clean of mess:
1. Use Puppy Diapers
Puppy diapers help absorb your dog’s discharge during heat. This saves you the discomfort of dealing with a messed up house of trickled blood from your dog. You can opt for reusable dog diapers which you can wash and use again or disposable diapers which you can get rid of after it has served their purpose.
Ensure that you get the right size of diaper for your dog as a saggy diaper could be uncomfortable for your dog. Asides from that, menses could spill on the floor of your home through open gaps. In the same vein, a rather too-tight diaper might be equally discomforting for your dog.
However, disposable diapers can be expensive and can cause skin irritation on your dog.
You have to check regularly and change the diapers often before it gets too wet. Don’t let it become too wet before you replace it with a new one.
2. Contain Your Dog in a Hard-Floored Room
This could be a dog crate with a hard floor. It is easier to clean up a room with a hard floor than one with a rug. Be careful to not put your dog in a faraway location from you, lest she develops a feeling of unwantedness.
Positioning the create in locations such as the dining room, or bathroom will suffice. Consider putting a gate so your dog does not go out to make more mess.
3. Cover Your Furniture with Slipcovers
During heat, your dog may keep moving around due to restlessness and may sit on your couch with the mess. To prevent this occurrence, consider covering your furniture with waterproof slipcovers.
Next time, when your furry friend leaves some discharge on them, all you have to do is take off the cover for cleaning. That way, your couch or other furniture is protected from your dog’s mess.
4. Use Enzyme Cleaners
Enzyme cleaners are safe to use around dogs and help remove their blood stains from the floor or any other surface effectively. This is why it is a popular choice for cleaning dogs’ messes.
It is advised to allow the enzyme to work for the specified amount of time on the label. The time is needed for the enzyme to break down the stain and render it impotent before cleaning. Desist from using hot water to clean the blood stains as this could result in the stains smearing around objects in the house. It’s best to use cold water to wipe off dogs’ blood stains.
Before purchasing, check to see that the enzyme cleaner is safe to use around dogs or other pets. You can test it on small out-of-use furniture to see its effect on your furniture before you go ahead to clean in-use furniture with it.
5. Clean Her Create Frequently
During heat, your dog is likely to get everything around her stained including her space. For example, if the floor of the crate is stained with blood, it is only a matter of time before other parts of the house get stained too as your dog keeps walking around.
Regularly and frequently cleaning her space helps reduce the amount of stains she’ll be doling around the house. However, You do not want to keep your dog in her crate for long hours of the day as this will be cruel to her. Instead, consider putting her in his crate when you are going out. This helps her relax and be away from troubling mates. Your dog needs you now more than ever, you need to be patient with her and not act out of emotions when she tends to behave in certain unpleasant ways during this period.
6. Lay Old Towels on Your Dog’s Bed
Consider laying your dog’s bed with old towels if you are not bothered much about washing. Moreover, it is easier to wash a towel than to clean the entire house when your dog walks and doles stains around.
The towel will make her more comfortable and snug as well as absorb blood stains. In addition, you can line towels in strategic positions around the house. The familiar scent from the towels will help your dog relax properly.
How do i stop my dog from bleeding everywhere in heat?
The surest way to minimize your dog’s mess is by following the suggestions above. That said, there are no clear-cut ways to stop your dog’s discharge. It is a natural occurrence in dogs, just as with humans. You can’t even delay your dog’s bleeding or influence the duration of her heat period unless you want your dog to be spayed.
Introduce potty breaks during your dog’s heat period. This will help your dog feel relieved. Also
Can dogs take a bath when they have menstruation?
Yes, they can. A quick shampoo bath can leave your dog smelling nice throughout the day. Take your dog to the tub and wet her fur with warm water. Work shampoo lather on her fur thoroughly but carefully. Pay attention to her nether region to avoid hurting your dog. Afterward, dry her with an old towel.
Bathing your dog with shampoo will help keep any urine or blood odor at bay. Nevertheless, be sure to keep your dog away from her male counterparts as they’ll still smell the hormones and pheromones from quite a distance.
Some dogs can bark in protest when you make attempts to bathe them. Be on the lookout for any signs such as barks, nips, or whines, which may be an indication that your dog does not want a shower. If you find any, you might want to ditch the idea of bathing her.
Do dogs get period cramps?
No, dogs don’t get period cramps like humans. The reproduction cycle in dogs and humans is not the same; female dogs experience what is known as the estrus cycle. It happens every 6 to 7 months, that is at most twice every year.
When humans get period cramps, it’s due to the contraction of the uterus wall to shed its lining. This is not the same for dogs. Instead of shedding its lining, a dog’s body tries to reabsorb its lining. This causes the discharge of blood but does not necessarily involve muscle spasms or contractions.
When your dog whines or makes some sounds during her heat period, it could be due to various reasons such as seeking attention, a mate call, or just a result of some hormonal changes, and not necessarily a cry of cramps.
How do I know when my dogs heat cycle has ended?
The heat period usually lasts for 2 – 4 weeks. Some dogs are highly receptive to male dogs during this period and others aren’t. The duration of the period can vary among dog breeds; while some dogs’ periods may exceed the limit, some may end sooner than you expected. Visibly, you can tell that a dog’s period has ended when her vulva returns to its normal size and bleeding or discharge has stopped.
Conclusion
Your dog’s period is a restless time for her and she needs you to provide all the care she deserves. As badly as you may want to punish your dog for dribbling blood on your furniture, you might just want to turn around and stroke her instead.
Heat periods are a natural occurrence in dogs, and your dog is not being messy just to give you an extra chore to do around the house. Give her all the care you can and be patient while it lasts. It’s just a matter of time before you don’t have to worry anymore about blood stains.
