You will notice that the dogs begin to act like a bunch of young adolescence madly in love (or so they think). The male dog will begin to follow the female dog like a detective following flies to poop. The male dog will have his tongue sticking out and have a peculiar looking grin on his face as if to say "Am getting some."
The male dogs will also get quite competitive and may exhibit more aggression towards each other as a way to deter the other dog from being alpha male in the pack.
1. The Vulva looks swollen.
If you are wondering what the heck is a vulva it is the opening area of the vaginal passage of a bitch. (Female dog). When your female dog is in heat, it creates a natural chemical reaction which sends more hormones to the Vulva area making it enlarge so males can know that they are ready to do their thing.
2. Vaginal Bleeding
You may notice drops of blood t areas where your dog may lie or probably been standing for a while. Female dogs bleed when they are in heat. Female dogs have a cycle of six months on average meaning they can be in heat twice a year. During this stage, one may notice some bleeding from the vulva of the dog.
3. More Dogs Hanging Around
If you have a female dog and it's doggy mating season, you will definitely see a tonne of male dogs bring flowers and chocolate to your gate trying to serenade your little pooch. Male dogs will lock in on the female in heat and each will want to have a say in who gets to her first. If you take a look and see a bunch of stray dogs outside and 1000 males are running behind a single female, you know its dog mating season.
4. Continuous Vaginal Licks
Your dog will also be licking herself much more than normal. Those licks are basically, how should I put this without sounding rude? Those licks are basically a soother until she is relieved of her ever growing tendency to mate. She may also lick herself profusely when she bleeds to keep clean.
5. The Female Flags Her Tail
The female dog will move her tail to onside as a way to let the male dog have better access to her vagina. You will notice as the male dog approaches her she will quite often do this.
6. The Female Dog Will Hump The Male Dog
If the male dog is stubborn and simply does not get it in his thick skull that it is dog mating time, after the female dog exhibits all signs of mating and the male is totally out of it. She may even go further as to go behind the male dog and do that same humping action he should do to her. This is her way of simply spelling it out.
Don't worry, pretty soon the heatings will be all over and you can go back to just cleaning up poop. Dogs will stay in heat up to 21 days. So you may have up to 3 weeks of watching your dogs getting itched.
Can You Prevent Your Dog From Going In Heat?
Yes, all you have to do is spay the dog and it's heating days are over.