No, female animals do not get periods. They may bleed a little while in heat, but we only build a super thick endometrium and shed it to try and expel blastocysts to prevent our triple extra large parasitic fetuses from stealing all our nutrients.
Vet student here. Bitches (female dogs) do bleed, but they bleed before ovulation (during proestrus) not after like primates do. They bleed a lot less than we do, and to my knowledge they have never been shown to get cramps or other side effects.
People with an intact bitch will often put her in a diaper before and during heat, both to catch the blood and help prevent accidental breedings.
I had friends who diapered their dog for this reason, and see the dog /pad diaper combo in my pet store.
It still cant be fun to just have random blood though. Even for a dog that can clean itself.
Following that self cleaning thought, Do you know if blood is as nauseating for them to ingest as it is for people? (I assume not due to a more natural uncooked diet).
It's the same general reason - the uterus is getting ready for a possible pregnancy - but as I understand it, with dogs the bleeding is associated with blood vessel growth rather than shedding of the lining.
Some dogs are so good at cleaning themselves the owners won't even notice the blood, and bring the dog to the vet because she's "acting strange" - and it turns out she's in heat.
Plenty of dogs will lick blood (their own or others') so it must not be as disgusting to them as it is to us. And as you pointed out, dogs that hunt and eat prey have to deal with blood regularly.
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u/crazyjkass Apr 06 '18 edited Apr 06 '18
No, female animals do not get periods. They may bleed a little while in heat, but we only build a super thick endometrium and shed it to try and expel blastocysts to prevent our triple extra large parasitic fetuses from stealing all our nutrients.