i suspect my dog is in heat? there is a discharge, but the vulva is not swollen

[wyccad690]

Hi, My female golden retriever is in heat, well I can only assume by the discarge, my female chihuahua gets excited downstairs, and he is constantly sniffing her down there, we had taken her to a stud, and initially he was trying to mount her but I believe we had taken her too early, I took her down as soon as I noticed the symtoms, which was a mistake, we picked her up today because they were doubting she is in heat, but I cant tell if she is just going in still...like I said, she has a discharge and initially it was very dark, almost brownish and it is gradually getting clearer, it is a light pink, but her vulva is not swollen whatsoever, so my question is, because I am not entirely sure yet, is if she is in heat? and if so why is the vulva not swollen? I do not plan on getting her fixed, we would like to have one litter, and that is it, i hope you can help. thanks

Kenny

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

If she was in heat her vulva would be swollen.  Your timing may have been off slightly as can her hormones if she has never cycled before.  You don't mention how old she is.

It is also possible that your Golden could have a urinary tract infection,  vaginal, or uterine infection.  The smell of the infection could cause your male chihuahua to want to eliminate the infection by cleaning her, and occasionally,  some infections can contain hormone-like odors that could stimulate your chihuahua if he is not neutered.

A veterinarian should be consulted to rule out infection and to perform appropriate hormonal tests that can determine where she is in her cycle.

[wyccad690]

I am sorry I meant to say my male chihuahua, not female