She is set for her snip snip appointment on Monday (Dec.3). I've read that there are earlier symptoms of a dog going into heat, including tiredness, bloddshot eyes, and yelping.

She has no visible swelling, no smell, or blood as of yet.

But the thing that made this question arise was I had her on my lap and was petting her, for about twenty minutes, all of a sudden, she looked up and started growling at me. She NEVER growls. Never. She wasn't showing teeth or being aggressive, just making a growling sound.

I'm curious as to what may be going on, I fully intend to ask the vet on Mond. But I come here to see if there is anymore insight before then.

Thank you.

In warnings about females coming in heat, I often suggest flaky behavior as an early sign. Several of my Labs came into heat at about 8 months, so it is quite possible. A lot can happen in 2 days, she may or may not be too far along for the vet to go ahead. You could be stuck with having to go through the heat cycle. The 2 things to remember are to watch her very careful of her and don't bathe her. The flaky behavior will focus on getting to a male. Given a chance, she will be between your legs and out the door and gone. An unwanted litter is one of the lesser concerns resulting from such a escapade. Such a small dog has the additional risk of being injured by a much larger male. She could also get infected. Traffic is a great danger. A bath or a swim can lead to infections too.

You can buy Seasonals, a doggy sanitary garment, to contain the mess. For a one time use, some people make do with a child's training pants, the tail comes out the fly. For a Chi, perhaps doll clothes, or even a sock with holes cut in it

Thanks for the help.