vulva swelling going down

I have a bitch that I first noticed bleeding heavy and swelling on the 8th. Her bleeding went away on 14th and the swelling has gone down drastically. Today would be the 10th day and I'm afraid I might have missed the first few days. I wish I was prepared for it all with the progesterone test kit. The bitch was flagging on the 7th day already but I'm not sure if she was doing it simply because her hormones are acting and she is familiar and submissive to me.

Does anyone know the appearance of the vulva when they are ready to stick and take? I have always been told by my mentor to start on the 12th, and do every other day if progesterone testing has not been done. Any advice/experience?

Stop counting days, and go by the signs!

I would be breeding her right now if I were you ... good luck!

Yeah all these signs are having me freaking out a bit. The stud is out of state and won't be possible till Wednesday 1.5 days from now. I hope Wednesday the 20th will still work and I'm catching the end of her ovulation period at worst. Has anyone seen a bitch flag as early as 6th-7th day and close up sooner than that?

Thanks for the reply Jack. I would do that exact same thing if I had the stud now. Fingers crossed.

Little Secret horny like her brother SuperStar will flag ASAP as her heat comes in. She even flag after her heat is done too. Those two just seem to enjoy doing it. But anyway the bitch should still be in heat all this week as long as she's flagging. And you don't need to breed her every other day. One time should be good enough. Good luck

That is a good point, OGdogg, sometimes you can't even rely on the signs.

Progesterone kit is the second-best way to pinpoint a dog's heat cycle ... but (no kidding) I have found that the very best way is with a well-socialized, experienced stud dog who can smell when they're ready :)

Jack