My 7-month-old puppy has been in her first heat since (at least) October 14th.
Prior to this, for a long time, she could sleep all night in her crate, uninterrupted.
Now, she is constantly crying and scratching to get out. I will let her out and bring her outside to potty every 1–2 hours. As a girly with bad periods myself, I understand she is confused, irritable, and in pain.
Before this, ever since she was able to prove that she could hold her bladder reliably, we changed our routine to crating overnight on weeknights, and sleeping in bed with us on weekends. She seemed to understand this routine fine, until now.
Currently, when she sleeps in bed with us, she has no need to get up and go potty. She basically sleeps the whole night away. Bladder? Hardly know ‘er.
In her crate, she wakes up so frequently to cry now. During the day she is also so much more clingy, hopping into my lap or sleeping at my feet most of the day as I work.
I am struggling so hard to decide on what is best for her during her heat.
Is it a bad idea to give in and let her sleep in bed with us every night while she goes through her cycle? I’m trying so hard to be comforting and understanding, but I so badly want to keep our boundaries intact. I’m back in the same room with her in her crate overnight, but it feels like caring for an 8-week-old all over again. I’m just so desperate to sleep, as I’m sure she is, too.
All this to say, what did you guys do when your pup was in heat? Did you make any temporary changes that you were able to reverse once the cycle was over? Or did you power through crating even with the crying? I’d love to hear your experiences! Thank you 🙏
submitted by /u/CaptainNoDad
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