When the signs of a bitch in heat like behavioral change, vaginal bleeding or swollen vulva etc are absent or are not pronounced for the breeder to notice, the phenomenon is referred to as silent heat. It is a heat cycle that may go unnoticed to even the most experienced dog breeders. If a bitch has not gone into heat for a very long time, the bitch might have undergone a silent heat. Knowing more about the silent heat in female dogs may be beneficial to you as a dog breeder or owner, especially if you want to breed your dog or you want to prevent accidental mating or mismating.
A bitch that is in silent heat can litter if mated just like a bitch with normal heat. Whether normal or silent heat, if a bitch proceeds to ovulation during heat and get mated, it may result in a litter. Both bitch in normal or silent heat can experience anovulation. Anovulation is a condition whereby your bitch comes in heat, but it does not proceed to ovulate.
Silent heat is not a reproductive issue since it does not affect reproduction. This means that it does not require treatment and can resolve on its own. Most bitches that have silent heat in their first season will proceed to have normal heat in subsequent seasons. However, a silent heat may go undetected by the breeder. Many times, we say a bitch of about 2 years has not experienced her first heat. Sometimes, we say the interestrous intervals of our bitches are abnormal. The issue may be silent heat. The bitches may be cycling normally, but undergo silent heat without us knowing. Absence of heat may be due to hormonal imbalance and other conditions that require fertility treatments, those bitches may be far from health issues and are cycling normally without us detecting. Suffice to say that it may not be absence of heat, but a silent heat.
We came across a device for detecting ovulation which can help us determine if a bitch is in season even if no outward signs of heat. The device is called Breeders’ Secret Digital Ovulation Detector. It has calibrations to show when a bitch is considered not in season even if there are outward signs of heat and also the various conditions of ovulation different bitches can present. Each bitch is unique in her own way.
Watch the video of how the detection of silent heat is demonstrated below. Please leave your comments and you may also reach us via the following methods: E-mail: info@euniversalstarskennels.com, Instagram: @euniversalstars, Facebook: @euniversalstars and Twitter: @euniversalstars. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: YouTube.
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