Intact female Akita will go into heat most probably every 6 months. The heat cycle usually lasts for -4 weeks during which your Akita girl may need a special care
Spend more time and pay more attention to your Akita during her heat cycle (she might become more affectionate and demanding). Prevent any contact of your Akita with male dogs especially during walks. Walk your dog on a leash only. Offer her more apeling food since she may suffer from appetite loss. Keep all areas in your home as clean as possible.
If you want to get more details and tips about taking care of your Akita during the heat cycle keep reading this article.
Table of Contents
How Do I Comfort (Care) My Akita While in Heat?
The heat period is really a special one and your Akita may start behaving differently due to hormonal level changes.
While some Akitas may become more clingy during the heat period – which is super odd since these dogs are not classic velcro dogs, others will get miserable and moody, ready to ”argue” with you if they don’t do it like they want to.
During her heat cycle, your Akita may become needy and rather snuggly but also tense sometimes. Take a little more time than usual to cuddle her. She really needs that.
Other behavioral changes are also possible. Your Akita may become even more protective, she may start barking more at strange people and sounds.
Your Akita may become emotionally unstable, experiencing sudden changes in mood. Some days will be better than others. The best thing is that this period will come to an end and you will get your lovely puppy back! Just hang on
Distract her by providing some new toys
During her second phase called Estrus, she will have only one thought on her mind- to mate! In order to distract her and make her concentrate on something else, a new, interesting toy or some safe chew toys would be perfect.
Akita in heat may feel exhausted and sleepy. Provide a cozy and calm place, where she can rest as much as she wants.
During the first stage of the heat cycle, called Proestrus, your Akita girl will have vaginal bloody discharge.
Dogs usually lick themselves intensively during these days so most probably you won’t find any mess on your flooring but still, if you do, don’t yell at her, don’t scold her, just comfort her gently while you clean the mess.
How To Walk My Akita While In Heat?
Some people are convinced that Akitas in heat shouldn’t go out regularly. On contrary, dogs in heat do require some physical exercise. Normally Akitas do need up to two hours of daily walks and exercise. While in heat, Akitas may feel tired but they still need to go out on regular basis.
When you walk your Akita girl while in heat, you need to take certain steps in order to avoid any unpleasant situations like unwanted litter.
Did you know that Akita that was bred earlier may hold the semen for up 5 days and wait for ovulation? That means that you need to be very careful and attentive right from the beginning of the heat cycle, not only during the most fertile phase (Estrus)
Although the most fertile period is when the discharge changes from bloody red to a more transparent color, you have to take protect your Akita girl before that.
First, make sure that the ID tag and microchip information are up to date. Dogs in heat usually have a strong desire to escape so they can find a mate so this way you will find your Akita easier if she runs away.
Another thing, you can invest in a GPS tracker for even better results.
Never leave your Akita girl unsupervised when outside. No matter you have a large, fenced yard. You won’t believe what males are capable of when they feel that a female in heat is in the vicinity.
It’s recommended to walk your dog either very early in the morning or late in the evening to minimize the possibility of encounters with other dogs.
Avoid any public dog events and even dog parks where a lot of other dogs will show up. Pick some less busy place/park/path for a walk where you won’t be meeting other dogs.
It’s a good idea to cover up the scent of your female in heat. One of the most common and popular solutions is to put some Chlorophyll liquid solution in your pet’s drinking water. It’s said to minimize the smell of Akita in heat. It seems that the urine of female canines in heat smells less intensive if this solution is used.
Giving your dog Chlorophyll tablets may also reduce the smell but you should consult the vet about the exact dosage. Never give any medicine to your Akita before consulting the vet.
Some dog owners apply a tiny amount of Vicks VapoRub cream on the tip of her tail that should keep the males away from her but cause.
Dogs find menthol scent disgusting but you should be careful and do not let her lick the area you applied the cream as this product contains menthol and camphor among others and these are toxic to dogs.
Another solution is to use diluted essential oils that are safe for dogs, like tea tree oil or citrus, or cinnamon. If you don’t have diluted tea tree oil you can make it by yourself. Every one drop of essential oil has to be diluted with 12 drops of carrier oil.
This is the safest proportion. If you have never used diluted essential oils, apply a tiny amount on your Akita’s body and observe if it’s going to be any reaction/irritation. If not, you can use it carefully the same a Vicks Vapo Rub cream to mask the scent of the dog in heat.
You should also prevent male dogs to track her scent all the way from the park or some other spot to your home.
Males can detect the scent of a female in heat up to 3 miles. So they know that there is some female in heat even if they don’t see her.
They can track her smell all the way to your home and then hang around trying to get to her. This is a possibly dangerous situation that should be prevented.
Instead of walking, take your Akita and go by car to the place where you usually let your dog run. This way you will disable males to track your Akita’s scent.
Don’t forget though that your Akita in heat should be always on a leash while outside. No matter how trained she is, how obedient she is, her natural instincts would win in this situation, so keep her tight and never let any intact male come near her.
How To Keep Clean My Akita While In Heat?
As you know, the dog should have several baths during one year. The general rule of thumb for Akitas is one bath in 3-5 weeks unless your dog gets really dirty so you are forced to bathe her.
Like we said in the beginning, the heat period is a bit different than anything else so different rules apply when it comes to hygiene as well.
Even though Akitas like other breeds clean their intimate area very well, licking themselves more than usual, they might need your help in order to keep a good level of neatness.
During the first phase ( around 7 days ) of the heat cycle, you might be able to see the bloody discharge. The amount of discharge varies from dog to dog but still, it can make a mess.
So some extra baths won’t lead to any problem for skin and fur. If you don’t feel the need to bathe your dog you can only wipe her intimate area on daily basis. This will keep her clean and will minimize the scent.
Many Akita owners use either disposable or washable diapers for dogs in heat. This can prevent a mess but never consider these items as contraception for dogs ( as some owners do) as males will easily find the way even if a female wears diapers or heat pants. Note that excessive use of doggy diapers may lead to infection since they stop the normal airflow.
You can also place disposable absorbent pads on the place where your pet sleeps. Other options are light-colored blankets that are easy to wash and bleach. You would need a couple of them, since you may need to change them 2-3 times a day. You can also use washable pee pads.
What To Do If My Akita In Heat Won’t Eat?
This is an entirely normal thing. Especially for the second phase ( Estrus). Your female canine friend has only one job to do and that is to find the mate and breed. Nothing else matters, not even the food.
Luckily the appetite loss during heat doesn’t last long enough to harm your dog’s health but still, you have to do your best so your Akita gets all the nutritive elements she needs.
No matter how well she usually eats, during those days she may become a fussy eater. That means that she likes one food today but totally dislikes it tomorrow. As a good dog parent, you have to cope with it.
- Offer her favorite food more often than you usually do.
- Bribe her with some tasty treats.
- Give her more delicious parts of meat
- Put some tasty topping over her regular food. For this purpose you can use fish or coconut oil or even peanut butter. You can always purchase ready- to use toppers or cook a delicious unsalted chicken broth and soak her kibbles in it. It will give her a different texture and intensify the taste.
- Treat her with some tasty fruits like blueberries, strawberries, or bananas.
- If she used to kibbles, mix them with some wet food
Always make sure your Akita drinks enough water to keep her hydrated.
If she refuses to eat, try hand-feeding, in some cases, it helps since she needs more of your attention and affection.
Your Akita girl won’t be so interested in food during the first and second phase of her heat cycle ( around 2 weeks ) If her appetite doesn’t recover and get back on track after the heat cycle symptoms are over, you should consult the vet.
Conclusion
Your Akita will go into heat every 6 months or so, will stay in heat for approximately 3 weeks, and during that period she will require special care and attention.
The most important thing you need to do is to give her more cuddles and more of your time if she asks for them.
Another equally important thing is to keep her away from an intact male. This means that you should seal up your house, don’t let any intact male come in, always supervise your girl while outside, walk her on a leash and never let her go near males.
I really do hope that you find this article helpful and that you will find some tips on how to handle and properly take care of your Akita female in heat.