Heat prevention

Anyone who has a dog, had to choose between a male or a female. Factors that play a role in this choice are among others: personal preference, the will to breed or not, and (alleged) differences in behavior and character between male and female.
Who has chosen a bitch, is, in the long run, confronted with the estrous cycle of the animal. Most females are for the first time in heat at an age between 6 and 14 months. On average estrous cycle lasts about 14 days. The last days, when the flow is less clear, are the fertile days. Paying attention for unwanted mating is precisely what is necessary!

If you are not going to breed with your dog, and you do not want the hassle of the estrous cycle, you can choose the contraceptive injection or sterilisation as heat prevention. The injection is given 2 times a year, the sterilisation is obviously a one-time surgery. For a lot of people, the choice is not easy because they (rightly) have a lot of questions about the risks of both treatments. That’s why we want to clarify everything.

For the record: in a sterilisation, the ovaries and sometimes the uterus are removed. Actually, it is better to talk about castration. In a real sterilisation, the ovaries are left. This is never done in dogs.