Question:
My daughter's chihauhua appeared to go into heat at around 6 months. It has been over 2 months now and although she is not bleeding the area is still swollen (not as much as before) and she is licking herself alot. She is scheduled to be spayed on Friday. Does heat last that long? Will the vet say she is in heat, then need to charge more?

Answer:
It's not out of the range of normal...I would call your vet. Different ones have different policies - there are vets that will spay dogs while in heat (it is riskier, personally I try to avoid it) and there are others who will tell you to wait anywhere up to 3 months. If her vulva are still swollen, chances are the internal reproductive organs are probably still somewhat too, which is what makes spays at this time more risky (everything is engorged and swollen - you can get a hemorrhage horror show!).

She is definitely not pregnant, I'm assuming? :P

Answer:
Oh, I hope she's not pregnant.

I know a dog who had an infection that resulted in a swollen vulva too, so that might be something to ask the vet about. I hope, regardless, that you go ahead with the spay. It'll save you so much trouble in the long run.

Answer:
Phone the vet to discuss, in the event it is an infection the may want to treat with antibiotics before doing the spay, to minimize risks or complications

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