Newfoundland dog heat cycle is a challenging period for both your dog and you. It’s really important to know what to expect and how to handle your dog, providing the best care for her during her period.
The things you should do during your Newfoundland dog heat cycle
- Provide extra attention
- Keep a close eye on your dog all the time, never letting her alone outside
- Don’t walk her off -leash
- No dog parks, dog shows or any other group events
- Keep any male dog away from her
- Try to mask the scent of your dog
- Get GPS tracker or at lease make sure ID tag and microchip information are up to date
- Provide extra enrichments ( toys and chews) to distract her
- Let her rest more, don’t insist on physical activity
- Feed your dog with more appealing food
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Provide Extra Attention for Your Newfoundland Dogs In Heat?
Do Newfoundland dogs crave more attention when in heat? Your Newfie girl will most probably become very clingy, seeking more of your time and attention.
This is completely normal and you should be more affectionate to her during her period.
Hormonal changes cause many physical and mental changes your Newfie girl will undergo, that is why her behavior is slightly different than usual. Therefore you should provide a lot of attention and playtime to her during the heat cycle.
Never Let Your Newfoundland Dog Alone Outside During Heat Cycle
During her heat cycle (especially during the Estrus phase) your dog has only one thing on her mind – to find a male and breed.
During the second phase ( Estrus ) of the heat cycle, your Newfie girl becomes receptive to males and will try to find the way to get what she needs.
That means that she might want to go out more often than usual ( in order to find a male ).
Don’t let her outside without your supervision not even for a minute. Not even if you have a nice yard with a good fence. You won’t believe how males can be clever when it comes to females in heat and how to reach them.
Can I Walk My Newfoundland Dog When In Heat?
This is something that confuses people a lot. Of course, you can and you should walk your Newfie girl when she is in heat but you have to take some precautions.
The most important thing is that you should never walk your dog off-leash. No matter how well she is trained, how many obedience trainings she went through, natural instincts are above any training and your commands.
So to avoid any unpleasant situation keep your dog on leash all the time when you are outside.
Avoid Dog Parks, Dogs Shows and Other Group Events
This is crucial. Even if you walk your Newfie on the leash, don’t tempt her with going to the area with a lot of other dogs.
It’s recommended to walk her in less sociable hours like very early in the morning or late in the evening and to use less crowded areas where chances for meeting other dogs are slim.
Keep any Male Dogs Away From Your Dog in Heat
This is something you know for sure. Don’t let her play with the male neighbor dog or ask your friend not to come with a male dog if your Newfie is in heat.
If you have two or more dogs in your household and some of them are males, you need to separate them.
This might be rather hard to handle so you should consider asking your breeder to allow your dog to stay there during heat or some other local facility ( doggy care facility ) and even your vet.
For a certain fee, you will surely find a suitable place to accommodate your Newfie girl far from potential threat for a couple of days or a week.
Try to Mask The Scent of Your Newfoundland While In Heat
This is also very important especially when you walk your dog. Female dogs in heat send a strong ‘scent message’ to any male in the vicinity so it might be challenging for you to cope with this and avoid all that males.
What you can do is to use Vicks VapoRub and apply some tiny amount on the tip of your dog’s tail. Dogs dislike menthol so the males won’t be interested In coming closer.
Just be careful, some ingredients like camphor and menthol are toxic to dogs so make sure your dog doesn’t lick the area where you applied the cream.
Another thing you can do to prevent males dog to track your Newfie girl scent all the way to your home is to trick them.
Put her in the car and drive to the place where you want to go for a walk. On the way back you will also use the car to go home, so the males won’t be able to track the odor and annoy you and your dog at your home.
Get GPS Tracker
Your Newfie girl has a strong urge to escape and find a male to mate. That’s why it is recommended to get her a GPS tracker so you can find her if she disappears.
If you don’t purchase a GPS tracker, at least make sure the ID tag and microchip information are up to date.
How To Distract Newfoundland Dog While In Heat?
Since your Newfie girl has only one thought during her period and that is to go out and mate, you need to think out how to distract her.
Some dogs become more attached to one particular toy, playing with It all the time, hiding it. Actually, they behave like that toy is their baby. Ok, let your dog do that. But also make sure you offer some interesting toys for mental stimulation ( puzzle toys, hidden treats …). Chew toys also can help keep her mind occupied.
Allow your Newfoundland Dog to Rest While In Heat
Some dogs in heat feel a lack of energy and they tend to sleep more than usual. If this is the case, do provide some nice and calm place for your Newfie girl so she can rest.
On the other hand, some Newfies have a lot of pent-up energy so extra physical activity would help them to feel better. You just need to observe your dog and figure out what’s best for her.
What To Do If My Newfoundland Dog Won’t Eat While in Heat?
It might happen that your Newfie girl doesn’t show much interest in food during her heat, especially during the Estrus phase when she is most fertile.
Naturally, she has more important things to do and food is not high on her priority list.
If you have a dog that doesn’t want to eat during heat and eat less than usual, you should know that this phase doesn’t last long, maybe a couple of days and your Newfie won’t be hurt if loses some pounds.
On the other hand, you should put extra effort and make the food for your dog more appealing as many dogs in heat become picky eaters.
For example, you can encourage her to eat by serving tastier cuts of meat, delicious fats like fish or coconut oil, tasty fruit like blueberry, banana, or strawberry.
If your dog is used to dry food, now you can soak the kibbles in delicious warm unsalted chicken broth to make different textures and get better flavor.
You can also mix kibble with wet food. Another idea is to add some treats to her regular food, this should motivate her to eat. If she has her favorite food, this is the right time to allow her to eat it more than usual.
Should I Bathe My Newfoundled While in Heat?
There is no reason why you shouldn’t bathe your Newfie when in heat. What you can do extra is to wipe her intimate area once or twice a day during her first two phases of a heat cycle.
This will keep her even cleaner, although she will be licking herself intensively but also will reduce the odor that comes from a vaginal discharge.
In case you want to learn more about Newfoundland heat cycle, symptoms and frequency you can read our article ‘ Newfoundland dog in heat ( first heat, frequency and symptoms) ‘
