Novice, Please help - Page 1

I mated my female four weeks ago for the first time. She is now 5 years old. I have not been in the country all the time so I was unable to mate her before. A week ago she seemed lethargic and did not eat too much. The vet suspected pyometra but said that she could also be having another infection so they treated her with anti-biotics but made sure they were ones that would not harm the uppies, if she was pregnant. Its now been a week and her white blood count is rising but she eats normally, is not lethargic and has a normal temp. The vet palpated my female's abdomen today and said that she could feel consistent lumps but she cannot be sure if the lumps are the puppies or something due to the pyometra. They were going to take the womb out tomorrow morning but they wanted to do one more blood test and see if she is responding to the new anti-biotic. I honestly don't know what to do. I have read that pyometra can be cured without surgery? Is this true? I just want my dog to be ok. oh yea, she had some discharge two days ago. till then she had no discharge. The night before she had the dischrage, she chased after a cat and I was wondering if this could have caused any damage? What should i do concerning her treatment? is there any way she can be treated without surgery? if so please help me? thanks again. sorry for the long message, i'm just so worried

Some pyometra can be cured without surgery.. usually an open one, where you see a discharge.. vs a closed one. Although I know it has happened, I think this is pretty early for a pyometra.. what was the discharge like 2 days ago?? Is she losing weight?? I have seen dogs with pyo and they are sick..... no doubt about it Chasing the cat shouldn't have caused anything..that would affect her WBC..what about her other values.. kidney, liver??? I have seen pregnant dogs get lethargic and have some sickness 2 - 3 weeks into their pregnancy..... Very few vets, unless they are experienced and have the feel for it can truly palpate to determine pregnancy. Can she be ultrasounded??? I don't know what to tell you.. I'm sorry, wish I could be more helpful.....

thanks for the reply, i really appreciate it. She's not losing weight and her stomach looks bigger but they said it could be because of the pyometra as well. She's also become a bit slower when climbing the stairs for example, but she still wants to play and stuff but i don't allow her to run around because i know she finds it difficult. I don't know if this is due to the pyometra or if she is pregnant. they did a urine test but it was normal. the only results that the vet keeps checking is the wbc, hasn't said anything about the liver to me. should i ask them to get some values for the liver. i don't think they can do an ultrasound but i will check with them. she seems normal but as i said before, she is slower when climbing the stairs. the discharge was light brown in color. thanks so much for replying to me, helps a lot

where are you?? in the US, you should be able to find someone who can ultrasound and that will help to solve the puzzle.... I would want to know what the rest of her bloodwork looks like All the pyo dogs I have seen or heard of could not keep anything down(if they could even eat) and lost weight rapidly, they looked awful and most infection especially such a huge one is accompanied by a fever... Make no mistake, pyometra is life threatening.... And in the end, I am not a vet, I have tech'd for a couple vets and have bred for over 20 years so I have seen and been thru a lot... I would guess in the end, if there are no other diagnostics available, no other vet you would want to consult with and if her health were declining, then it would be surgery time for me.. if they opened her up and found she was just pregnant and everything looked normal, then I'd have them close her and bring her out and take my chances... Good luck and please keep us posted

I think I would have an ultra sound done before anything else.

have the vets confirmed pyometra? There is closed pyo, where there is no discharge - she would be VERY sick if this were the problem, and would need serious vet treatment to save her life. Open pyo there would be a discharge, this can be treated with aggressive drugs - either way if she has pyo she's not pregnant, or not going to remain pregnant. You don't have to spay her with the open pyo - if that's the problem - but she would have to be treated aggressively. Sounds like your vet is very wishy-washy. Why hasn't he confirmed the pregnancy or not? Why hasn't he confirmed that it is pyo or not???? Take her to another vet, get her ultrasounded to confirm if she's pregnant or not, and that vet should be able to tell you if the problem is pyo, and what to do about it. Spay is always the easiest treatment for pyo. But with pyo you can't "wait and see" because she will get very ill and possibly fatally. 5 years old is not too old to breed your dog, but you need to find out if she's pregnant or not, and if she has pyo or not. Do that asap. molly

how high is the white count? To me it doesn't sound like pyometra but I am not a vet. Like was mentioned before,they usually act alot sicker if they have pyo. At the very least try to get an ultrasound if you can. Did the vet even listen with a stethescope to listen for heartbeats? At 4 weeks they can be heard very clearly to a skilled ear. {not every vet is good at that} The heart rate should be around 180 or so. Another thought, if the white count is going up ,another antibiotic may need to be added, a broad spectrum one. What antibiotic is she on? Did she ever have a fever with this or has it always been normal? A high white count in and of itself would not drive me to surgery on my dog. I would also like to see the rest of her bloodwork.

Thanks everyone for the responses. Sorry I haven't been able to reply sooner but was busy taking my dog to vet and back. The vet did an ultrasound and confirmed that it is pyometra. Since she has a discharge it is open pyometra. Her white blood count is 66,000 but her kidneys and liver are ok for now. The vet believes that surgery is the best option. I would like to breed her and i was hoping that this could be cured without surgery, please let me know if it can. At the same time i don't want my dog ro suffer so i will do anything to make her better. I am not in the US and that is why i had difficulty finding a vet that could do the ultrasound. Is there anything else I can do or is surgery the only option?

surgury is not the only option - she could be treated with Lutilase (sp?) - hormone treatments that are very expensive, and very hard on the dog - she would need to go to a vet that offered that treatment and stay at the vet - my dog who received this treatment stayed 10 days during the treatment. However, you may have waited too long. It is a serious infection, it needs to be treated immediately, waiting will only make it worse and possibly put your dog in danger. Spaying is indeed the best solution, and might now be your only option if it is too late for the treatment to be successful, or if your dog is now in danger - or if your vet does not offer the treatment. Do what's right for your dog. Not every dog should be bred. molly

One of the first surgeries I witnessed while working for a vet involved a pregnant bitch with pyo. The uterus had actually developed holes in it, and was leaking pus into the abdominal cavity. It is NOT always a good idea to try to save the utuerus in a case of pyometria. The owner was sad about losing the pups. HELL, he SHOULD have been overjoyed he didn't lose his bitch. Oh, yeah, get this: the dog was just a mutt, too!