She'll be in heat about 3 weeks. Check with your vet, but you should be able to get her "fixed" about a week after her heat is over, without any worry of hemmoraging or other complications. If she's not spayed this time, look forward to going through this experience again in about 6 months, or eventually having a litter of puppies you might not want, and all that love and trouble that comes with that experience. Be extra careful, especially during the middle week when she'll be most interested in getting caught by any male that's around. Until then, she'll avoid being mounted, at all costs - including play fight the male(s), sitting down, or backing herself into corners or closets. All this to the point of maybe even getting stuck somewhere. But when she's ready, about week 2, watch out! She will become VERY determined to make it happen, be CAREFUL opening your door, and ONLY take her in your own yard, ALWAYS on a leash, and NO walks during this whole time, EVER! Her whole demeanor will change and she might take off in a split second . . . I'm serious! You don't want to lose your little dog! Many years ago, I confined my "in heat" German Shepherd inside the house. I thought I only had to worry for a few weeks, about the male dogs wanting to get to her. I didn't know how desperate she would suddenly become, until the night she broke a window and took off into the night. She was found many hours and tears later, safe except her backside was sliced open about 7" from a shard of glass left hanging down in the window frame. The cut was deep and split wide open, and required an emergency vet visit to get a double row of stitches to close it up. It was a horrible experience for both of us, something that didn't need to happen to her, had I taken time to know more about my obligations as a pet owner. Yes, she got pregnant that night, but after worrying she'd get run over, or in a fight and injured (especially with that gaping wound already on her backside), or stolen, I got over it. It wasn't the plan, and too many pregnancies aren't, but it was a small litter of 4 dogs that got wonderful homes and lived long healthy lives. I'm still troubled by this experience, where an innocent animal had to suffer injury, due to the ignorance of my youth. I listed some sites for you to visit that will give you more info about your dog being in heat. Regarding spay/neuter services, though you might perfer to have your vet do it, it's safe enough that many local agencies perform assembly-line services, where you drop them off early morning and pick them up in a few hours time. This keeps the cost down to encourage people to get it done and keep their animals healthier for life. Check with your local PetCo or PetSmart for info. Also check with your local shelter, as many offer certificates for use with your own vet to help cut costs. Depending on your community, it might be either a percentage of the cost or a dollar amount towards the total for the procedure. http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_dogcare http://experts.about.com/q/Dogs-701/heat-cycle.htm http://www.talktothevet.com/ARTICLES/DOGS/Pdogsheatcycle.HTM http://www.petcaretips.net/dogs_in_heat.html http://ezinearticles.com/?10-Questions-Im-Most-Asked-about-Dogs-in-Heat&id=27237 Best of health to your precious dog. Take care to take care.