Hi all -

I absolutely understand and support spaying and neutering. All of my animals over the years have been "fixed" and I would have it no other way.

I adopted a small (9 lb) female mix 8 months ago. The shelter didn't know if she was spayed or not. I took her immediately to my vet and he couldn't tell (no discernable scar) for sure. As she was estimated to be a bit over a year old, and as he knew she would not have an opportunity to mate, he suggested that, rather than do unnecessary surgery, we wait to see if she starts to come into heat.

She has not done. However, at the vet (different vet, same practice) last week for an overall checkup, the vet checked again. Said her vulva seems slightly swollen, but not much; may be just the way she is.

Since then, my dog has started licking herself there occasionally (a couple of times a day); she never did before that I noticed. Now I'm wondering .... could she, in fact, be intact and coming into heat at this point? I sure hope not, but if so, she will be spayed asap.

My question - if not spayed, wouldn't she have come into heat sometime within the 8 months I've had her, and the month she was in the shelter? I thought that a dog would come into heat somewhere around every 6 months (although variable).

To reiterate, if she does go into heat, there is zero chance of her being impregnated.

What do you think?