If you're a female dog owner, you've probably noticed that every now and again your canine companion behaves a little erratic. What could this be, do dogs have periods and, if so, what's the deal?

Dogs can behave a little strangely sometimes, doing unpredictable and occasionally dangerous things that are neither desirable nor adorable. What happens, though, when that erratic behavior is caused by something more biological than mental? Do dogs menstruate, do they have periods? And if they do, what can you do to help your canine companion?

Yes, dogs do have periods, and they can be quite unpleasant for them as well. That being said, a dog's period, or "heat," is a very different thing to a human period. For starters, menstruation comes for a dog when it is the most fertile rather than the least fertile.

There are two phases to a dog's period heat: The proestrus, which is when the bloody discharge is at its strongest, and the actual heat, in which the discharge contains fewer red blood cells. During this second phase, a dog's owner must exercise extra caution, as the dog is ready to mate and will become insanely desirable to male mates.

Since it's difficult to determine the exact timing of each phase, it's best to be careful throughout the entire heat period if you want to avoid a pregnancy.

A female dog will bleed every six to seven months, regardless of the season. The cycle is quite regular in most dogs, so owners have to deal with a period about twice a year. In smaller breeds, though, it is known to happen a little more often. It's also worth noting that your dog will never enter menopause and will never become incapable of getting pregnant.

A normal period will take around 18 days, including both the preliminary proestrus and the heat phase. For dogs kept mostly indoors, there are special diapers that can save you a lot of hassle with stains - there are more details on this a little later on in the article.

There are a variety of symptoms that generally appear when a female dog goes into heat, most of them quite unpleasant and a real trouble to new dog owners who haven't had the opportunity yet to get their dog neutered. For those people, though, it is good to know what to look out for and how to recognize when your dog is having its period.

Symptoms of periods in dogs include the following:

• Vaginal discharge and breeding
• Increasingly aggressive behavior
• Seemingly more receptive to male dogs
• Aggression towards female dogs
• Mounting
• Humping
• Excessive licking
• Increased grooming
• Changes in behavior
• Anxiety and stress

Ultimately, your dog will get increasingly grumpy and unpleasant to be around, and she will also experience very similar symptoms to a human period. Keep an eye out and respond appropriately.

Ultimately, the best way to look after your dog is to make sure that she is neutered properly and therefore avoids future periods and heats. This is vitally important for the health and safety of your domestic doggo, and something that absolutely must be done if you want to avoid having to look after a pregnant dog, followed by a litter of puppies.

If you find yourself in a situation where your dog is in heat and there's nothing you can yet do about it, you need to make sure that your darling doggo is kept safe and comfortable. Try to keep her away from other dogs, make sure that she has plenty of safe places to escape to, and just be an all-round great dog owner.

Here are a few things we would recommend to help make your female dog's period a little less unpleasant:

• Make sure to get yourself a high-quality dog brush to maintain her coat
• Get a gorgeous new toy to keep her happy and calm
• Get dog diapers for your darling doggo, to make things more comfortable
• Use dog wet wipes to maintain her cleanliness and comfort

Your dog deserves to be respected and looked after when it enters a period of heat. This is a natural but still an unpleasant condition, and whether you plan on getting her neutered or not, she still needs to be looked after.