If you have a Miniature Pinscher girl that hasn’t been spayed yet you will certainly go through her heat cycle. Knowing as much as possible about the heat cycle in Min Pins, symptoms, behavioral patterns, how long it will last, and what is your role in all this, will help you both go through this tricky period more smoothly. Miniature Pinscher females will go into heat most probably twice a year. The heat cycle usually lasts for 3 weeks during which your dog would need special care.
Miniature Pinscher in heat may become clingy and require more of your attention and time. Some Min Pins in heat will show nesting behavior, feeling more sleepy than usual, so provide a calm and safe zone to have a nap whenever she feels the need to. Min Pin in heat can be exhausted so don’t exaggerate with daily exercise although she needs to go out on daily basis. Keep her on a short leash and away from any male dogs. Lack of appetite is quite common during the heat cycle so offer her tastier cuts of meat, food toppings, and her favorite treat more often the usual.
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How Do I Comfort (Care) My Miniature Pinscher While in Heat?
The heat period is rather a special one for your Min Pin as she will feel significantly different due to hormonal level changes.
Give Your Min Pin Extra Attention
During her heat cycle, your Min Pin girl may become more attached to you, needy, quite snuggly but also nervous sometimes. Take a little more time than usual to cuddle her. She really needs that.
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 focus on something else, a new, interesting toy or some safe chew toys would be perfect.
Provide Safe and Calm Area for Min Pin girl to rest
Miniature Pinschers in heat may be tired and sleepy. Provide a safe, calm, and children-free zone, where she can rest as much as she wants.
Use Doggy Diapers
During the first stage of the heat cycle, called Proestrus, your Min Pin girl will have a vaginal bloody discharge.
Besides bloody discharge female dogs urinate more frequently so they can make additional mess unintentionally
To reduce the mess you can use doggy diapers that are very practical in this period especially if your Min Pin stays alone at home for several hours.
Even though dogs are able to clean themselves, it can happen that your Min Pin leaves some mess on the floor.
In that case, don’t yell at her, don’t scold her, just comfort her gently while you clean the mess.
Visit A Vet
If you are first time owner or you are especially concerned, the best thing to do is visit a vet. Even though the heat cycle is normal for female dogs, a veterinarian is the best person to ask for advice.
How To Walk My Miniature Pinscher While In Heat?
Some people are under the misconception that dogs in heat shouldn’t be taken outside due to various reasons – lack of energy encounters with male dogs … But on contrary, dogs in heat do require some physical activity. Maybe they have lower energy but still, they need to go out.
When you walk your Min Pin while in heat, you need to take precautions to avoid any unpleasant situations like unwanted breeding and potential pregnancy.
First, make sure that the ID tag and microchip information are up to date. Dogs in heat usually have a strong impulse to escape so they can find a mate so this way you will find your Min Pin easier if she runs away.
Another thing, you can invest in a GPS tracker for even better results.
Another thing- never leave your Min Pin unsupervised while outside, no matter how secured the yard you have. You won’t believe what males are capable of when they feel the female in heat.
It’s recommended to walk your Min Pin very early in the morning and late in the evening to reduce the possibility of running into other dogs.
Keep away from dog parks, dog shows, or public events where you think other dogs will show up. It’s better to go to a less crowded place/park/path for a walk where you won’t be meeting other dogs.
It’s a good idea to mask the scent of your female in heat. 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.
Dogs hate menthol scent 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.
Giving your dog Chlorophyll tablets may also reduce the odor but you should consult the vet about the exact dosage. Never give any medicine to your dog before consulting the vet.
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. Plus, males are attracted to females while they are even in the first phase of the heat cycle( then females are still not receptive to males, can be rather aggressive towards males)
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.
If you take a car ride from your home to the place where you will walk with your dog and then ride back home, males will have no chance to track your girl.
Don’t forget though that you should keep your Min Pin always on the leash when you are 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 close to her.
How To Keep My Min Pin Clean While In Heat?
As you know, the dog shouldn’t be bathed too often. Frequent baths are not good for their skin and fur. The general rule of thumb for Miniature Pinscher is one bath per 1-6 weeks depending on your dog’s lifestyle.
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 Min Pins dogs like other breeds keep their back area very clean, lick themselves intensively, they might need your help in order to keep a good level of cleanliness.
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 will make no trouble to your Min Pin’s 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 reduce the scent.
Many Min Pin owners use either disposable or washable diapers for dogs in heat. Doggy diapers usage may 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.
You can also place disposable absorbent pads on the place where your pet sleeps. You can also use washable pee pads.
What To Do If My Miniature Pinscher In Heat Won’t Eat?
Lack of appetite during the heat cycle is quite common for all dog breeds, and Min Pins are not an exception. You Min Pin won’t be so interested in food especially during the second phase ( Estrus). Your dog 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 but still, you have to do your best so your Min Pin 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 tastier cuts of meat.
- Put some delicious topping over her regular food. That can be a healthy and tasty 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 improve its dry food taste.
- Treat her with some tasty fruits like blueberries, strawberries, or bananas.
Always make sure your Min Pin 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 Min Pin won’t be so interested in food during the first and especially during the second phase of her heat cycle ( around 2 weeks ). If her appetite doesn’t recover and gets back on track after the heat cycle symptoms are over, you should consult the vet.
Conclusion
Your Min Pin will go into heat every 6-8 months or so, she will stay in heat for approximately 2- 4 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 take care properly of your Min Pin female in heat.
