# Do dogs have periods?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 23, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436 "2005-11-23T16:41:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/1 "2005-11-23T16:41:23Z")
I’ve had female dogs for a few years and never found patched of blood laying all around the house. Do dogs suffer from PMS?
---
### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/2 "2005-11-23T16:45:30Z")
Has she been spayed?
If so then she won’t be having periods for the rest of her life.
---
### Author:  [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/3 "2005-11-23T16:48:49Z")
[Good link on the topic:](http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_false_pregnancy.html)
> [@](#):
>
> In fact, the menstrual cycle is a primate phenomenon; dogs have an estrus cycle which includes a period of false pregnancy …
>
> The female dog comes into season approximately every 6 to 8 months, though this period becomes more erratic with age and is somewhat irregular when cycles first begin. The exception to the every 6-8 month rule are African breeds (Basenji, Rhodesian Ridgeback) who cycle once a year. When female dogs get older (say, age seven or older) they do not stop cycling (there is nothing similar to menopause).
>
> The first phase of the cycle is called “Proestrus” and is characterized by a swollen vulva, a bloody vaginal discharge, attraction of male dogs. She flirts with the male but will not allow him to mount. The bloody vaginal discharge is what seems to lead to the misconception that the dog is menstruating. In fact, the blood comes directly from the walls of the vagina rather than the sloughing of the uterine lining as occurs in menstruation.
---
### Author:  [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/4 "2005-11-23T16:53:00Z")
Well, then why isn’t there blood around the house?
---
### Author:  [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/5 "2005-11-23T16:54:02Z")
Dogs have tongues that they use for cleansing.
---
### Author:  [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/6 "2005-11-23T16:56:01Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> Well, then why isn’t there blood around the house?
Maybe the amounf of discharge varies by the individual dog. I’ve seem some folks put “diapers” on female dogs in heat.
Also, perhaps female dogs can clean off this area of their body by licking?
---
### Author:  [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/7 "2005-11-23T17:04:15Z")
Not that I was planning to eat dinner tonight or anything, but why do they lick the blood off? What do they care if they bleed around the house…
---
### Author:  [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/8 "2005-11-23T17:05:37Z")
> [@bordelond](#):
>
> I’ve seem some folks put “diapers” on female dogs in heat.
Are you sure those are not chastity belts? 🙂
---
### Author:  [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/9 "2005-11-23T17:09:12Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> Well, then why isn’t there blood around the house?
> [@bordelond](#):
>
> Also, perhaps female dogs can clean off this area of their body by licking?
This was exactly what my dog used to do, she even licked up drops on the floor. Maybe your dog does the same thing? If so this is why you don’t see drops around the house. Especially if your dog spends most of her time outside where unlicked drops would be less visible.
---
### Author:  [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/10 "2005-11-23T17:09:40Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> Not that I was planning to eat dinner tonight or anything, but why do they lick the blood off? What do they care if they bleed around the house…
They do not care, however dogs loooove the taste of blood.
---
### Author:  [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/11 "2005-11-23T17:14:06Z")
We didn’t have our ‘bitch’ spayed for years (until the depression and phantom pregnancies set in) I remember seeing a wee bit of blood round her rear end once or twice only and a couple of times noticed a smear of blood in her bed or somewhere she’d been lying for a long time.
---
### Author:  [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/12 "2005-11-23T17:19:10Z")
This strawberry yogurt that I was about to have for dessert has somehow lost all of its appeal.
---
### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/13 "2005-11-23T23:55:58Z")
> [@plnnr](#):
>
> This strawberry yogurt that I was about to have for dessert has somehow lost all of its appeal.
Humans menstruate too you know… (about half of them)
---
### Author:  [@lab\_rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lab_rat)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/14 "2005-11-24T00:02:50Z")
Yes They do. My friends female German Shepard hopped into the back seat of my car, with white vinyl interior, while she was in heat. Well anyway he had a lot of red stuff to clean up. Thank God it was vinyl.
---
### Author:  [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/15 "2005-11-24T00:28:48Z")
> [@vetbridge](#):
>
> They do not care, however dogs loooove the taste of blood.
I beg to differ. Leaving a trail of blood the leads directly to you is what people usually refer to as a "bad thing"™ in the wilderness. Too easy to track for larger predators, who might assume it’s a wounded animal and track it leading to an unpleasant encounter.
---
### Author:  [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/16 "2005-11-24T02:07:54Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> Well, then why isn’t there blood around the house?
You haven’t answered whether she’s sapyed or not. If she’s spayed then she won’t go into heat and won’t bleed.
---
### Author:  [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/17 "2005-11-24T02:15:42Z")
That’s what I was going to postulate. Wouldn’t it be instinctive to clean yourself of any blood so as not to leave a scent that indicates you are injured prey?
---
### Author:  [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/18 "2005-11-24T04:16:51Z")
What purpose does it serve the female dog to bleed from the walls of her vagina? I googled this and all I got were sites that said yep, it comes from the vagina, but not WHY.
---
### Author:  [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/19 "2005-11-24T05:42:25Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> Not that I was planning to eat dinner tonight or anything, but why do they lick the blood off? What do they care if they bleed around the house…
Dogs are also known for their indiscriminate tastes in everything. If I don’t stop my terriers, they’ll eat from my cat’s litterbox.
---
### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2005, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dogs-have-periods/332436/20 "2005-11-24T08:12:46Z")
> [@AWB](#):
>
> If I don’t stop my terriers, they’ll eat from my cat’s litterbox.
“Hey, Rex! Look! He put the tootsie rolls out again!”