# Pyometra In The Bitch



## Guest

In its simplest terms, pyometra is an infection of the uterus or womb. However in most cases pyometra infections are much more difficult to manage than routine infections.​Infection in the lining of the uterus is established as a result of hormonal changes. Following oestrus ("season", or "heat"), hormone levels remain elevated for 8-10 weeks to prepare the uterus for, and maintain, pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur the lining continues to increase in thickness until cysts form in the walls. This thickened cystic lining secretes fluids which are ideal for bacteria to thrive in. The wall of the uterus is also inhibited in its ability to contract and remove the cystic fluid. When infected by bacteria this fluid becomes pus. Sometimes the fluid becomes purrulent without bacteria being present.
This situation tends to become more intense as the bitch gets older, particularly if she has not been used for breeding. This explains why this condition usually effects older dogs. It can, however, occur in dogs of any age. Pyometra can be a possible complication of the use of hormonal treatments, for example when used as contraceptives, or to treat misalliance, and this is one of the main causes in younger bitches.
The cervix is the gateway to the uterus. It remains tightly closed except during a season or when giving birth. When it is open bacteria that are normally in the vagina can enter the uterus very easily. If the uterus is normal, the environment will not encourage bacterial survival, however when the uterine wall is thickened or cystic, perfect conditions exist for bacterial growth.
The typical timing for the disease is 1-2 months after your bitch has been in season.​







*Clinical Signs and Diagnosis*

The clinical signs will depend on whether or not the cervix is open. 
If open, pus will drain from the uterus through the vagina to the outside. It is often noted as a purrulent (pusy), bloody discharge on the skin and hair under the tail or on bedding and furniture where the dog has laid. It may or may not have an odour. Fever, loss of appetite and depression may or may not be present. 
If the cervix is closed, pus that forms is not able to drain to the outside. It collects in the uterus, which will cause an apparent swelling of the abdomen. The bacteria and pus in the womb release toxins, which are absorbed into the blood. These bitches will become very ill rapidly. They are off food, very listless, depressed, may vomit and have diarrhoea and will be drinking very excessively. The toxins will affect the kidney function and may cause permanent kidney failure in the bitch if the condition is not treated quickly. A blood test may be taken to estimate the damage to the kidneys before and after surgery. Efforts are made in treatment to minimize the risk of kidney damage. 
A female dog which is not spayed, drinking an increased amount of water, has had a recent season and is unwell is always suspected of having a pyometra. If confirmation is required, such as with a closed pyometra, blood tests will show signs of severe infection, an increased no of white cells in the blood and signs of kidney failure. These are present in all very serious infections however, so an x-ray is often used for confirmation. This also has the advantage of being done immediately at the surgery, and will show if your bitch has a uterus which is full of pus. If the cervix is open there may be minimal uterine enlargement and x-rays are more difficult to interpret, however in this case the discharge from the vulva is usually diagnostic.​







*Treatment*

An IV drip is used to minimize the kidney damage and to help repair dehydration. An anaesthetic will not be attempted until the risks of anaesthetic complications are made as small as possible. Usually 6-12 hours of fluids will be administered before the anaesthetic and at least 24 hours after the surgery. This will depend on the amount of kidney damage and the recovery of your bitch. She may be on a drip for several days after the surgery.
A general anaesthetic and ovario-hysterectomy, removing the ovaries and uterus of the bitch, is the preferred treatment. Antibiotics will often be given for 1-2 weeks after the surgery.
Stitches will be in for 10 days and the dog must not lick them.
There is a medical treatment for pyometra, although it is very risky. Prostaglandins are a group of hormones that reduce the blood level of progesterone hormone, relax and open the cervix and contract the uterus to expel bacteria and pus. They are not always successful and have some serious limitations.
Prostaglandins cause side effects of restlessness, panting, vomiting, diarrhoea, salivation and acute abdominal pain. These occur within 15 mins of an injection and last for several hours. Successive treatments are always required 2-3 times daily. 
There is no clinical improvement for at least 48 hours, so dogs, which are very ill at presentation at the veterinary surgery, have a very poor prognosis with this treatment. While waiting for the treatment to work, a bich can deteriorate to a level which makes surgical treatment very much less likly to succeed, and the chances of permanent damage from the toxaemia to be much more likely.
Because prostaglandins cause contraction the uterus, it is possible for the uterus to rupture and spill infection into the abdominal cavity. This is most likely to occur when the cervix is closed and is often fatal.
There are some statistics you should consider before choosing this treatment.​
The success rate for treating open cervix pyometra is at best 75%. 
​The success rate for treating closed cervix pyometra is only 25%. 
​The rate of reoccurrence of pyometra at the next season in bitches which do recover is 75%. The severity is usually increased. 
​The chances of subsequent successful breeding are at best 50%. 
For all of the above reasons we strongly advise that the best course of action for a pyometra (open or closed) is ovariohysterectomy as soon as surgical conditions are optimal for the bitch's survival.​







*Alternative Treatment?*

The chance of successful treatment without surgical or prostaglandin treatment is exceptionally low. If treatment is not given quickly the toxic effects from the bacteria will be fatal. If the cervix is closed, it is also possible for the uterus to rupture and spill the infection into the abdominal cavity causing a fatal peritonitis.
Spayed bitches do not get Pyometra. If you do not intend to breed from a bitch we strongly recommend that she is spayed when young and fit, and when surgical risks to her are minimal.

From an Original Text by Jenny King ​


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## rottiesloveragdolls

*This should be a sticky, as it is very useful information  thanx for posting this ALAN *


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## Guest

rottiesloveragdolls said:


> *This should be a sticky, as it is very useful information  thanx for posting this ALAN *


Was just thinking the same,it could be very useful for those that own entire bitches


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## ryan

Very interesting, I've never had a bitch, I've always had dogs and they've always remained entire throughout their lifes. I would have to think a little harder which way to go if I had a bitch though as it seems there are more risks with bitches. Thanks for posting, very informative.


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## Jimbob

I experienced pyometra first hand. One of ny dogs(she was 7 at the time) got it. It's not very easy to notice, she acted fine but was drinking an awful lot, then went off her food. When i felt her belly and squeezed a bit was was in a lot of pain. She had a high temperature and was closed. All the vet could do was give her high doses of antobiotics until her temperature came down. She opened after 3 days thankfully. within 36 hours her temp had dropped enough to be able to operate. She made a very good recovery, much to my amazement and the vets - given her age. She died of old age 3 years later.

I can't stress enough how serious this is. My vets opinion was that if a bitch comes in season and they're not being bred, they should be put on a course of antibiotics as a precaution - makes sense to me.


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## petmd

*Pyometra and Cystic Endometrial Hyperplasia*

The abnormal thickening (pyometra) of the uters' lining can occur in animals at any age, although it is more common in animals that are older than six years of age. Cystic endometrial hyperplasia is a medical condition characterized by the presence of a sac inside the uterus filled with fluid and pus (cyst), causing the uterus (endometrium) to be enlarged (hyperplasia). Prognosis is often positive. However, if the cervix is closed, it can be a life threatening condition requiring immediate medical attention. This is a condition that can affect both cats and dogs.

Pyometra and Cystic Endometrial Hyperplasia


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## MissD

Thanks for this - I'd never even heard of it or knew this to be a problem.


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## PrincessPoppet

nearly every bitch that walks though the door of our practice that is over 5, entire, off food/sore tummy/misrable has a full blown or early stage pyometra, and its horrid to say it but for most by the time they get to that stage it's just too late, if you aint breeding do em at 6 months, if you are plan you litters and get her spayed right after her final pups are weaned, a spay is a couple of hundred, sorting a pyo with hospitalisation and fluids could be a couple of grand!! not to metion the heart ache, if one person gets thier bitch spayed then this will be a sucess.


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## cab486

Hi
My Goldie 6 years has just had emergency surgery to be spayed because of suspected Pyometra.

I will explain her symptoms. She finished her season on 10th July and was fine and mixed with other dogs, no problem. She started licking excessively on Wednesday 15th and nibbling her front legs. Thought it was a bit odd but she seemed well in herself apart from this.

On Thursday 16th I took her a local walk where there are lots of dogs. Nuetered and un nutuered dogs would not leave her alone and were constantly trying to mount her. When I got her home I looked at her vulva and for a second saw some greenish pus. She had been drinking slightly more but not unduly so.

I phoned the vet and got an appt for Friday. The vet diagnosed Pyometra and kept her in for the op. She advised that if the womb was badly infected then the op would be more complicated becuase of the risk of the infection spreading. I was mortified.

I rang the vets Friday afternoon and they said that there was no infection in her womb but there was a change which would have resulted in Pyo. and it had been caught before it had fully developed.

She is home and doing fine.

I just wanted to let everyone know with entire bitches to look out for these symptons as the discharge produced has the same effect as being on heat and attracts males.

Just to say also that I am recovering from hysterectomy op!

Best wishes

Chris x


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## jowalshy

My dog had pyometra back in 2004 and had to undergo an emergency hysterectomy.

Recently, after breaking her leg, she got stump pyometra. This was caused (according to my vet) from an infection on a remaining piece of uterus left behind after the hysterectomy. Hopefully this has cleared up after a strong course of antibiotics.

It is very strange that both times she got pyometra, she had damaged a leg. The first time she ripped a tendon in her back leg and the operation to fix this had to be put on hold until she had fully recovered from the hysterectomy. This time she has broken her front leg.


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## BeesBella

I did work experience at a vets for 2 weeks and in that short amount of time we saw about 4 pyos. I watched the hysterectomies and the uterus is so much bigger in a bitch with pyo than a bitch without, and I know it's gross but it was full of puss.


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## Paula C

Thank you so much for this thread!!! it really is such an important topic I cannot emphasize it enough!! It could save your dogs life!

This is why!!!

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-heal...etra-sticky-thread-saved-my-doggies-life.html


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## sparkles288

If only i seen this!

My girl may not be fighting for her life tomor morning!

please keep her in your thoughts and please please please follow advice on the bitch... Get her Spayed if not breeding:confused5::frown2:.. This is heart breaking


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## ad_1980

AJ said:


> In its simplest terms, pyometra is an infection of the uterus or womb. However in most cases pyometra infections are much more difficult to manage than routine infections.​Infection in the lining of the uterus is established as a result of hormonal changes. Following oestrus ("season", or "heat"), hormone levels remain elevated for 8-10 weeks to prepare the uterus for, and maintain, pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur the lining continues to increase in thickness until cysts form in the walls. This thickened cystic lining secretes fluids which are ideal for bacteria to thrive in. The wall of the uterus is also inhibited in its ability to contract and remove the cystic fluid. When infected by bacteria this fluid becomes pus. Sometimes the fluid becomes purrulent without bacteria being present.
> This situation tends to become more intense as the bitch gets older, particularly if she has not been used for breeding. This explains why this condition usually effects older dogs. It can, however, occur in dogs of any age. Pyometra can be a possible complication of the use of hormonal treatments, for example when used as contraceptives, or to treat misalliance, and this is one of the main causes in younger bitches.
> The cervix is the gateway to the uterus. It remains tightly closed except during a season or when giving birth. When it is open bacteria that are normally in the vagina can enter the uterus very easily. If the uterus is normal, the environment will not encourage bacterial survival, however when the uterine wall is thickened or cystic, perfect conditions exist for bacterial growth.
> The typical timing for the disease is 1-2 months after your bitch has been in season.​
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Clinical Signs and Diagnosis*
> 
> The clinical signs will depend on whether or not the cervix is open.
> If open, pus will drain from the uterus through the vagina to the outside. It is often noted as a purrulent (pusy), bloody discharge on the skin and hair under the tail or on bedding and furniture where the dog has laid. It may or may not have an odour. Fever, loss of appetite and depression may or may not be present.
> If the cervix is closed, pus that forms is not able to drain to the outside. It collects in the uterus, which will cause an apparent swelling of the abdomen. The bacteria and pus in the womb release toxins, which are absorbed into the blood. These bitches will become very ill rapidly. They are off food, very listless, depressed, may vomit and have diarrhoea and will be drinking very excessively. The toxins will affect the kidney function and may cause permanent kidney failure in the bitch if the condition is not treated quickly. A blood test may be taken to estimate the damage to the kidneys before and after surgery. Efforts are made in treatment to minimize the risk of kidney damage.
> A female dog which is not spayed, drinking an increased amount of water, has had a recent season and is unwell is always suspected of having a pyometra. If confirmation is required, such as with a closed pyometra, blood tests will show signs of severe infection, an increased no of white cells in the blood and signs of kidney failure. These are present in all very serious infections however, so an x-ray is often used for confirmation. This also has the advantage of being done immediately at the surgery, and will show if your bitch has a uterus which is full of pus. If the cervix is open there may be minimal uterine enlargement and x-rays are more difficult to interpret, however in this case the discharge from the vulva is usually diagnostic.​
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Treatment*
> 
> An IV drip is used to minimize the kidney damage and to help repair dehydration. An anaesthetic will not be attempted until the risks of anaesthetic complications are made as small as possible. Usually 6-12 hours of fluids will be administered before the anaesthetic and at least 24 hours after the surgery. This will depend on the amount of kidney damage and the recovery of your bitch. She may be on a drip for several days after the surgery.
> A general anaesthetic and ovario-hysterectomy, removing the ovaries and uterus of the bitch, is the preferred treatment. Antibiotics will often be given for 1-2 weeks after the surgery.
> Stitches will be in for 10 days and the dog must not lick them.
> There is a medical treatment for pyometra, although it is very risky. Prostaglandins are a group of hormones that reduce the blood level of progesterone hormone, relax and open the cervix and contract the uterus to expel bacteria and pus. They are not always successful and have some serious limitations.
> Prostaglandins cause side effects of restlessness, panting, vomiting, diarrhoea, salivation and acute abdominal pain. These occur within 15 mins of an injection and last for several hours. Successive treatments are always required 2-3 times daily.
> There is no clinical improvement for at least 48 hours, so dogs, which are very ill at presentation at the veterinary surgery, have a very poor prognosis with this treatment. While waiting for the treatment to work, a bich can deteriorate to a level which makes surgical treatment very much less likly to succeed, and the chances of permanent damage from the toxaemia to be much more likely.
> Because prostaglandins cause contraction the uterus, it is possible for the uterus to rupture and spill infection into the abdominal cavity. This is most likely to occur when the cervix is closed and is often fatal.
> There are some statistics you should consider before choosing this treatment.​
> The success rate for treating open cervix pyometra is at best 75%.
> ​The success rate for treating closed cervix pyometra is only 25%.
> ​The rate of reoccurrence of pyometra at the next season in bitches which do recover is 75%. The severity is usually increased.
> ​The chances of subsequent successful breeding are at best 50%.
> For all of the above reasons we strongly advise that the best course of action for a pyometra (open or closed) is ovariohysterectomy as soon as surgical conditions are optimal for the bitch's survival.​
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Alternative Treatment?*
> 
> The chance of successful treatment without surgical or prostaglandin treatment is exceptionally low. If treatment is not given quickly the toxic effects from the bacteria will be fatal. If the cervix is closed, it is also possible for the uterus to rupture and spill the infection into the abdominal cavity causing a fatal peritonitis.
> Spayed bitches do not get Pyometra. If you do not intend to breed from a bitch we strongly recommend that she is spayed when young and fit, and when surgical risks to her are minimal.
> 
> From an Original Text by Jenny King ​


I have alwyays wanted to know what pyo was exactly. This has been very informative. Thanks OP


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## rosie75

My staffy girl also had pulled tendon in her leg when she got Pyo, she suffers with a pulled tendon every now and again
After next doors dog got in our garden and humped our Staffy, we took her straight to the vets for morning after injection (for want of a better phrase)
Then she started acting like she had a pulled tendon again, we let her have lots of rest and booked the vets appointment for the next day, by the next morning she was seriously ill, got her straight to vets and she was (in vets words), minutes from death
She had hysterectomy and made a full recovery.


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## sparkles288

For the Record - My girl made it the other day  Xxx thanks for posting this


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## Jrtz_rock

Just posted a thread about my girl having this.

Rushed in this morning with an awful discharge but other than that entirely happy with herself Didnt know what to expect as never heard of it before......Going from just getting her 'checked out to be on the safe side' to be taken out of my arms for an emergency hystericetomy(sp) was so hard to take. Going back later to collect her the vet told us she could not believe what she was looking at was her uterus it was that big. We were told she was very lucky. I wish id known this info earlier!!!

She is recovering well im glad to say!


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## Jrtz_rock

Just a quick question...Will be seeing the vet tomorrow anyway but to put myself at ease for tonight......

Yesterday as already mentioned my dog had an op to remove this awful disease. Today, We noticed twice she had passed a clear snot like substance. Does anyone know what this is? Its not very much...As if someone had sneezed! If anyone has anyidea please let me know to put my mind at ease!


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## sarybeagle

His thread, I believed help save bella from full blown pyometra. 

She had a horrendous 1st season, got an infection during this season. 2 weeks after her season ended I came home to her hiding under the table (not usual behaviour at all) and as she stood up what I can only describe as clear discharge which looked like egg White. She only passed a small amount (size of 5p) and was soon running round in her usual nutty self. She'd been eating and drinking normally and no change at all in her character. 

Rang vet and she was seen that evening and started on antibiotics and booked in for a spay 4 days later  

On opening her up uterus was abnormal and v enlarged. Without doubt she would of died if she'd not displayed any further signs/symptoms. 

Contrary to belief pyo can occur so soon after a season but is rarer. 

If you notice anything unusual after a season please check with your vet xx


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## Boudicca1959

Boudicca had her pups,followed by her first season ,a few weeks after that her whole character changed ,one by one she developed the various symptons connected with pyometra.
The vet admitted her the following evening she was operated on and her womb was infected with pus .
The vet did the best thing strayed her,and she made a remarkable recovery.
Just suffers now with stress incontinence but we deal with that.
We didnt realise how bad she was at the time it"s only now when we look back and we realise we nearly lost her.


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## wooliewoo

Lockets only sign of pyo was 4 weeks of bleeding during season ----even the vets thought she was having a long season due to her steriod treatment. The blood loss did increase and became thicker (but didnt change colour) which is when vet scanned her.
She was at the begining stages of pyo. (waiting to bring her home after her op which went well)

Just be aware of any changes during a season as well as the weeks after


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## SmokeyRabbit

I also have experience of this first Hand its not nice and not something i would wish on fellow dog owners to experience first hand, we got our golden retriever bitch at 4 and she never ever bleed, vet thinks she had silent seasons, anyway back in march 2010 we noticed she was drinking alot more than usual,being finicky with her food and even bringing some food back up and reluctant to go out for walks as her rear limbs playing up,nothing unusual with limbs as had medication controlled arthritis since the age of 8, but anyway we took her to the vets who sent her home with medicine for an upset tummy with talk by vet saying if didnt improve would check kidneys etc, anyway after a few days when we felt symtoms weren't improving and she was getting worse not better now chucking up mucus, mum had a doctors appointment and afterwards called in vets who sent an £30 emergency ambulance to our house within a short period of mum being home which was within 15-30 minutes, they took her into the local vets, did scans and had her on tubes mum got a phonecall to say it was pyometra and she
was too weak to operate on that evening so they would hold her overnight whilst treating the symptoms and do an emergency hysto the next morning, anyway after a sleepless night the vets rang in tears and said if she had the operation at her age it would be a long recovery which may never happen so in tears they told mum the kindest thing she could do was let her go, As the whole family was ill in bed with a sickness bug unable to get up besides my sister who was 22 at the time she went and sat with her and held her paw when she was pts at 3 pm on 30th March 2010, even now people dont know what pyometra is the knowledge is not out there, if you have a bitch your not planning to show or breed from i plead with you please get it spayed and even if you are planning to bred or show please get her spayed at the earliest opportunity the younger the better!

R.I.P Sasha 1st July 1998-30th March 2010 11yrs 8 months


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## Petitepuppet

Thank you for making this post. I have a female rat who has pyometra and is being spayed on friday. This post has help make everything a lot clearer. Thanks x


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## devilskiss

thanks so much for this advice, i thought she might ov been pregnant. but after reading this earlier we took her to emergancy vets and found out it is pyometra. with a bit ov luck she will have her operation tomorrow and soon be home driving me mad again. thanks again i feel without this info my baby girl would ov died. anyone reading this please if your girl is showing any ov the signs take her vets. sat here with fingers crossed we caught it in time, thanks x


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## devilskiss

devilskiss said:


> thanks so much for this advice, i thought she might ov been pregnant. but after reading this earlier we took her to emergancy vets and found out it is pyometra. with a bit ov luck she will have her operation tomorrow and soon be home driving me mad again. thanks again i feel without this info my baby girl would ov died. anyone reading this please if your girl is showing any ov the signs take her vets. sat here with fingers crossed we caught it in time, thanks x


just had call off vets, saying she is a lot worst this morning :sad: doing some blood tests. but might not be anything they can do! :crying:


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## Colo

My 10 year old Border Collie could hardly walk on her back leg this morning. She dug her way under the fence, so I assumed she damaged it so took her to the vet.

I was shocked to learn they suspect she has pyrometra. She suffers from phantom pregnany frequently, we have told this to the vet previously but had no idea it could lead to this.

She had a brown discharge from her vagina and teets.

They have told us its very serious, which I see from reading this it is. They have put her on antibiotics this evening and will monitor her. Tomorrow morning she will have x-rays and then they will operate.

I am praying its been caught in time.


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## Guest

Colo said:


> My 10 year old Border Collie could hardly walk on her back leg this morning. She dug her way under the fence, so I assumed she damaged it so took her to the vet.
> 
> I was shocked to learn they suspect she has pyrometra. She suffers from phantom pregnany frequently, we have told this to the vet previously but had no idea it could lead to this.
> 
> She had a brown discharge from her vagina and teets.
> 
> They have told us its very serious, which I see from reading this it is. They have put her on antibiotics this evening and will monitor her. Tomorrow morning she will have x-rays and then they will operate.
> 
> I am praying its been caught in time.


Hope you have caught it in time


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## Colo

rona said:


> Hope you have caught it in time


Thanks, its really upsetting. I just wish I had known the risks of a phantom pregnancy before. I think I'm currently in a state of shock, I really never expected this outcome from our visit today.

We love her so much, its totally out of the blue and rather devastating.


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## Guest

My heart goes out to you, please let us know the outcome


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## Colo

rona said:


> My heart goes out to you, please let us know the outcome


I will for sure. I have just spent the last few hours reading the forum and peoples experience of this horrible infection. I gather its open as there is discharge but Im even more worried now as its coming from her teets as well.

My parents are elderly so she is with the PDSA, sadly you can't call them to find out how she is. I just read they can go downhill pretty quickly. I never even gave her a proper goodbye. It's only reading here that I see the enormity of the situation.

My mum said that the dog is her life and is really upset. Im wondering now if I should have taken her somewhere they would have done the operation tonight instead of waiting.

Sorry to go on. Its difficult to talk to friends about, unless you are a dog lover its really not appreciated how awful this can be.


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## Guest

Are you sure it's not just congealed milk coming from her teats?
Open Pyo is far less dangerous than closed Pyo, still an emergency though


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## Colo

rona said:


> Are you sure it's not just congealed milk coming from her teats?
> Open Pyo is far less dangerous than closed Pyo, still an emergency though


The vet was initially concerned when he saw the fluid from her teats. It was redish brown and lots of it.


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## Guest

It might be worth you starting your own thread, I've not experienced PYO but there must be some here who have that can give you support


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## dodigna

I don't know anything about Pyo, but really hope you caught it in time.
She is being monitored and hopefully the AB will keep the infection at bay.
Don't know really what to say except will keep my fingers crossed for good news in the morning.


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## wooliewoo

When my girl had pyo they gave her anti biotics and she went for the scan the next morning and had the op. They like to give a few doses of anti biotics if they can before op so it starts to work on the infection. My girl didnt have teet loss but she did have brown mucus from lady bits. She did well after the op and is a different dog now.....so much happier


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## Colo

wooliewoo said:


> When my girl had pyo they gave her anti biotics and she went for the scan the next morning and had the op. They like to give a few doses of anti biotics if they can before op so it starts to work on the infection. My girl didnt have teet loss but she did have brown mucus from lady bits. She did well after the op and is a different dog now.....so much happier


Thanks so much for the replies. I do appreciate it.

I just got off the phone from the vet and they carried out scans. They have now discovered a mass on her liver. I can't believe this is happening.

They are going to decide at 10am if she has the operation. I wonder as its the PDSA that they won't do a costly operation if they feel she has cancer.


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## Guest

Oh no!!!
Fingers crossed for you


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## dodigna

Colo said:


> Thanks so much for the replies. I do appreciate it.
> 
> I just got off the phone from the vet and they carried out scans. They have now discovered a mass on her liver. I can't believe this is happening.
> 
> They are going to decide at 10am if she has the operation. I wonder as its the PDSA that they won't do a costly operation if they feel she has cancer.


Sorry to hear this, hope everything has gone well.
We all wait for an update on your girl.


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## wooliewoo

Oh no sorry to hear that. im sure PDSA will do whats best for your dog and if they feel an op will benefit her they will do it xx


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## Colo

The PDSA called and she had a massive tumor in her liver, they said the kindest thing was to leave her asleep. I reluctantly agreed, I didnt know what to say or do but now she has gone.

I am in total shock, even typing this I can't believe it. I don't understand how she was so sick but was so full of life, she was so happy. Even two days ago she was running around like a crazy dog.

I can't believe she is gone. My mum is totally devastated, sobbing her heart out. She never got to say goodbye, none of us did and we didnt realise this would be the outcome.


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## Guest

So so sorry, it's bad enough when it's expected, but to lose a dog like that is devastating.
Please stay around and chat if you feel it will help. Nearly all of us have lost a pet at some time and truly know what you and your mum are going through.


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## dodigna

I am so very sorry...
the only consolation is should you have gotten the chance to say good bye to her it would have meant she would have been in pain. It is, in a strange sort of way, so much better for her that her last few days where lived to the full and she didn't know the horrid pain of the tumor.

Of course for you and you family it is simply unbearable, hopefully in time you will see you have been the kindest to her by letting her go with dignity and without any pain.

Big hugs to all the family as we all know at one point in our life we experience the same sorrow as you are experiencing now and it takes a fellow dog person to truly appreciate how strong that pain is.


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## Guest

oh i am so sorry have been following this thread and your story, i just read the outcome and have had goosebumps all through me when i read that she has gone. :crying:

am always here if you need a chat 

xxx


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## wooliewoo

Oh im sorry but my heart sank when you said liver tumor as we lost our girl to the condition a few yrs back. I know when my friends dog passed while at vets they were allowed to say goodbye later that day and they said although he had already gone it helped them come to terms. 
We all here if you need a chat x


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## Colo

Thanks so much, your posts are a great help, set me off crying again but thats not difficult to do. 

It's such a shock, I really can't believe it. I just arrived home and she wasnt there and I just want her back so much. I have always had dogs and this is always difficult but this time it feels extremely painful.

I am thinking about a private cremation so we can scatter the ashes as a way to say goodbye.


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## Guest

That may help you all to come to terms with it, especially your mum


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## Colo

rona said:


> That may help you all to come to terms with it, especially your mum


Yes that's what I was thinking but I feel a bit guilty paying out that money when I could donate that amount to the PDSA. Although I feel putting her to sleep was the right thing I know the PDSA don't have ultra sound. I wonder with Ultrasound if they could have seen the mass and she wouldnt of needed the surgery. But my head is filled with what ifs at the moment.

The PDSA told me to contact Sunnyfields Pet Crematorium - Home for the cremation.

Has anyone else used this type of service?


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## wooliewoo

Our first dog was cremated and so was our cat last year. Box sat in front of me at the moment in their caskets........havent been able to actually scatter their ashes yet but i will when times right.
We had poems and plaques provided when ashes returned home to us which was nice and comforting.

Please dont sit asking what if etc as you will tear yourself apart, you have done the best thing for her and more importently provided her a loving home for the time she was on loan to you from the angels above xxxxxxxxxx


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## Colo

Thanks Wooliewoo, it's so good to talk to people that understand. I have been talking about her all night with my parents but it's weird because I get embaressed that other people don't appreciate the emotions involved when loosing a pet. But thats just an assumption.

But you are right, I have to think that I did what I was right and I feel honoured to have had her in my life. Funny enough I always feel it was a mutual selection, when I got her she pushed her head through a bundle of puppies, squeezed out and sat there yapping at me. 

Im dreading tomorrow morning, I think thats when it will really hit home.


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## HollyJoy

Hey My 12 year old Labrador has just been spayed due to Pyo, she's reacted amazingly well in fact she's been happier than I have seen her in quite along time. However she had her last dose of antibiotics this morning and seems to have deteriorated through out the day, she's very tired, isn't responding to attention, her breathing has become a bit heavier and her eyes are red again (as they were before the op). I'm wondering if anyone has any advice, is it a usual reaction to coming off the antibiotics or should I be worried that the Pyometra is still prominent in her blood stream?


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## deb53

deleted



Marcelus said:


> My dog had a pyometra last year and he suffered greatly after the operation, but with God's help he has recovered and he's very healthy now, which i wish to your dogs !


Marcelus, Pyometra is an infection of the womb and not what boy dogs get luckily.

EDIT: oops just read date of Hollyjoys post. Anyhow Marcelus Pyo still only happens to girl dogs and not boy dogs.


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## akira12

jowalshy said:


> My dog had pyometra back in 2004 and had to undergo an emergency hysterectomy.
> 
> Recently, after breaking her leg, she got stump pyometra. This was caused (according to my vet) from an infection on a remaining piece of uterus left behind after the hysterectomy. Hopefully this has cleared up after a strong course of antibiotics.
> 
> It is very strange that both times she got pyometra, she had damaged a leg. The first time she ripped a tendon in her back leg and the operation to fix this had to be put on hold until she had fully recovered from the hysterectomy. This time she has broken her front leg.


I did work experience at a vets for 2 weeks and in that short amount of time we saw about 4 pyos. I watched the hysterectomies and the uterus is so much bigger in a bitch with pyo than a bitch without, and I know it's gross but it was full of puss


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## Rache

My chihuahua has been diagnosed with open pyo today. She's had a strong antibiotic jab and is going in to be spayed tomorrow morning. Thankfully we have caught it early.


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## kittens

AJ said:


> In its simplest terms, pyometra is an infection of the uterus or womb. However in most cases pyometra infections are much more difficult to manage than routine infections.​Infection in the lining of the uterus is established as a result of hormonal changes. Following oestrus ("season", or "heat"), hormone levels remain elevated for 8-10 weeks to prepare the uterus for, and maintain, pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur the lining continues to increase in thickness until cysts form in the walls. This thickened cystic lining secretes fluids which are ideal for bacteria to thrive in. The wall of the uterus is also inhibited in its ability to contract and remove the cystic fluid. When infected by bacteria this fluid becomes pus. Sometimes the fluid becomes purrulent without bacteria being present.
> This situation tends to become more intense as the bitch gets older, particularly if she has not been used for breeding. This explains why this condition usually effects older dogs. It can, however, occur in dogs of any age. Pyometra can be a possible complication of the use of hormonal treatments, for example when used as contraceptives, or to treat misalliance, and this is one of the main causes in younger bitches.
> The cervix is the gateway to the uterus. It remains tightly closed except during a season or when giving birth. When it is open bacteria that are normally in the vagina can enter the uterus very easily. If the uterus is normal, the environment will not encourage bacterial survival, however when the uterine wall is thickened or cystic, perfect conditions exist for bacterial growth.
> The typical timing for the disease is 1-2 months after your bitch has been in season.​
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Clinical Signs and Diagnosis*
> 
> The clinical signs will depend on whether or not the cervix is open.
> If open, pus will drain from the uterus through the vagina to the outside. It is often noted as a purrulent (pusy), bloody discharge on the skin and hair under the tail or on bedding and furniture where the dog has laid. It may or may not have an odour. Fever, loss of appetite and depression may or may not be present.
> If the cervix is closed, pus that forms is not able to drain to the outside. It collects in the uterus, which will cause an apparent swelling of the abdomen. The bacteria and pus in the womb release toxins, which are absorbed into the blood. These bitches will become very ill rapidly. They are off food, very listless, depressed, may vomit and have diarrhoea and will be drinking very excessively. The toxins will affect the kidney function and may cause permanent kidney failure in the bitch if the condition is not treated quickly. A blood test may be taken to estimate the damage to the kidneys before and after surgery. Efforts are made in treatment to minimize the risk of kidney damage.
> A female dog which is not spayed, drinking an increased amount of water, has had a recent season and is unwell is always suspected of having a pyometra. If confirmation is required, such as with a closed pyometra, blood tests will show signs of severe infection, an increased no of white cells in the blood and signs of kidney failure. These are present in all very serious infections however, so an x-ray is often used for confirmation. This also has the advantage of being done immediately at the surgery, and will show if your bitch has a uterus which is full of pus. If the cervix is open there may be minimal uterine enlargement and x-rays are more difficult to interpret, however in this case the discharge from the vulva is usually diagnostic.​
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Treatment*
> 
> An IV drip is used to minimize the kidney damage and to help repair dehydration. An anaesthetic will not be attempted until the risks of anaesthetic complications are made as small as possible. Usually 6-12 hours of fluids will be administered before the anaesthetic and at least 24 hours after the surgery. This will depend on the amount of kidney damage and the recovery of your bitch. She may be on a drip for several days after the surgery.
> A general anaesthetic and ovario-hysterectomy, removing the ovaries and uterus of the bitch, is the preferred treatment. Antibiotics will often be given for 1-2 weeks after the surgery.
> Stitches will be in for 10 days and the dog must not lick them.
> There is a medical treatment for pyometra, although it is very risky. Prostaglandins are a group of hormones that reduce the blood level of progesterone hormone, relax and open the cervix and contract the uterus to expel bacteria and pus. They are not always successful and have some serious limitations.
> Prostaglandins cause side effects of restlessness, panting, vomiting, diarrhoea, salivation and acute abdominal pain. These occur within 15 mins of an injection and last for several hours. Successive treatments are always required 2-3 times daily.
> There is no clinical improvement for at least 48 hours, so dogs, which are very ill at presentation at the veterinary surgery, have a very poor prognosis with this treatment. While waiting for the treatment to work, a bich can deteriorate to a level which makes surgical treatment very much less likly to succeed, and the chances of permanent damage from the toxaemia to be much more likely.
> Because prostaglandins cause contraction the uterus, it is possible for the uterus to rupture and spill infection into the abdominal cavity. This is most likely to occur when the cervix is closed and is often fatal.
> There are some statistics you should consider before choosing this treatment.​
> The success rate for treating open cervix pyometra is at best 75%.
> ​The success rate for treating closed cervix pyometra is only 25%.
> ​The rate of reoccurrence of pyometra at the next season in bitches which do recover is 75%. The severity is usually increased.
> ​The chances of subsequent successful breeding are at best 50%.
> For all of the above reasons we strongly advise that the best course of action for a pyometra (open or closed) is ovariohysterectomy as soon as surgical conditions are optimal for the bitch's survival.​
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Alternative Treatment?*
> 
> The chance of successful treatment without surgical or prostaglandin treatment is exceptionally low. If treatment is not given quickly the toxic effects from the bacteria will be fatal. If the cervix is closed, it is also possible for the uterus to rupture and spill the infection into the abdominal cavity causing a fatal peritonitis.
> Spayed bitches do not get Pyometra. If you do not intend to breed from a bitch we strongly recommend that she is spayed when young and fit, and when surgical risks to her are minimal.
> 
> From an Original Text by Jenny King ​


Thank you very much for the article.


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## mistysmom

Yes thank you for this article.
It's amazing that there are many people who still don't know about Pyometra.
My dog got this last year. She had been fine and well as usual, then in the morning after breakfast she looked odd, and refused a tiny treat about 2 hours later. She kept straining to "do her business" too. I let her rest, thinking she just had an upset tummy.
But then I noticed there were contractions in her belly as she was lying down, and when I massaged her belly, she had vaginal discharge. This discharge was not bad smelling, just looked like catarrh.
I whipped her straight to the vet because I was 99% sure it was Pyometra!

The vet put her on IV fluids and antibiotics immediately, and said she was already "toxic", and that it was a great thing I knew about Pyometra because he said bringing her in so fast may well have saved her life -or her kidneys. (as the main complication of all that infection reaching the bloodstream is that the kidneys get overwhelmed)

As it was, he gave her a 50/50 chance of survival because she's not young.
But she responded well to the fluids and antibiotics, and they did her surgery the next morning.
She wowed them all by recovering quickly and really well. It took her about a week to start really running around again, but that was understandable. (I remember how abdo. surgery makes you feel!)
So the main thing is be Pyometra-wise!

It was amazing though, that when I was at the vet's.....3 people came in with entire bitches, and NONE of them had even heard of this deadly illness!


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## rustykdr

Your information is really nice and very useful for the all kind of pet owner..Really very new information i read in your post,This is the most common problem in dog and cats..Pyometra is a disease of the uterus most commonly seen in female dogs, but also seen in female cats (queens), rabbits, ferrets, rats and guinea pigs.


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## phuonguyen05

I watched the hysterectomies and the uterus is so much bigger in a bitch with pyo than a bitch without, and I know it's gross but it was full of puss:thumbup1::mad2:


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## Donna3939

I knew what pyometra was, I had my girl booked in for a spay this morning HOWEVER for the past few days she had been off her food, drinking more, not interested in anyone or anything and generally a lot quieter than her usual boisterous self.

I was worried so I took her to the vets yesterday. After examination he said her tummy felt very tight and swept her away for a quick ultrasound. When he came back he said she had a closed pyometra and would need surgery that afternoon.

Anyways, I picked her up this morning, she's a lot brighter than she had been for days although still quiet (which is understandable considering she's just had major surgery) - she's eating now which is a relief as in a matter of a few days she lost weight so much you can see her hip bones and feel her spine - poor thing 

The ironic thing was, like I said, she was booked in for spaying today but circumstances dictated otherwise and she had to have an even more invasive procedure.

She'll be 8 in October so is in the prime age bracket of risk of pyometra.

I can only second what everyone previous has said and get your girls spayed asap to prevent this horrible condition. x


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## leelika08

MissD said:


> Thanks for this - I'd never even heard of it or knew this to be a problem.


nearly every bitch that walks though the door of our practice that is over 5, entire, off food/sore tummy/misrable has a full blown or early stage pyometra, and its horrid to say it but for most by the time they get to that stage it's just too late, if you aint breeding do em at 6 months, if you are plan you litters and get her spayed right after her final pups are weaned, a spay is a couple of hundred, sorting a pyo with hospitalisation and fluids could be a couple of grand!! not to metion the heart ache, if one person gets thier bitch spayed then this will be a sucess.


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## luckya123

It is very strange that both times she got pyometra, she had damaged a leg. The first time she ripped a tendon in her back leg and the operation to fix this had to be put on hold until she had fully recovered from the hysterectomy. This time she has broken her front leg.


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## amymay01

my staff cookie has just been kept in at our vets with early stage pyometra this morning!
Im so lucky I took her as she was just a tiny bit quieter than usual and a bit off her food.
She was due to be spayed in January as shes only just finished a season 3 weeks ago .
Just a warning that it is common and with some dogs the signs are so little it can be easily missed and then be to late 
Im so worried about her !!!!!! the vets are ringing me a 4ish so fingers crossed


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## absycats

my dog had a pyo 3yrs ago she was 10 we took her on the monday as shed been taken ill on the sunday just drinkin off her food etc she started wat we thought was passin water everywhere till i noticed the colour i stayed up all night took her 1st thing mond they booked her in 4 tuesday she was passin soooo much pus was quite ill by tues again stayed up all night they let us wait with her till it was time 4 theatre and we were told theyd ring 1 way or the other ie if we lost her they rang to say she was fine had warned us shed prob b kept in but she bounced back was able to fetch 3 or 4 more nights i stayed up and shes still going strong, we had a sprollie 12months ago from dogs trust she was spayed just b4 we had and was more ill from the spay than the older 1 was from pyo she had stitch abscesses infection was on antibiotics for weeks and the collar on so ive seen both sides x


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## AskieAmerEskimo

Is pyometra a common infection? Can spayed dogs get this infection?


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## absycats

its quite common in unspayed bitches as its an infection of the womb it can be open or closed ie pus draining is open and not draining is closed the vet wondered if molly had it a few months b4 it really started so we arent sure how long she did but shes been fine since x


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## bustercollie

Hi, i'm new to the website and wish i'd seen this post weeks ago! I'm just wanting some advice really.

A few weeks before Christmas we had our bitch to the vets as she'd started having accidents (No1!) in the house - totally out of character and she seemed a bit down at times. She was examined but all seemed fine. However, the vet took her in the next day for blood tests as he suspected possible pyometra. Blood tests found her red cell count a little low and her white cell count a little high. She was given a course of antibiotics. She'd perked up a lot during/after these and was seen again at the end of the course. The vet and ourselves decided, as she seemed ok in herself again, to just play it by ear. Some days she's been totally fine and other days she can seem really down and i've spoken to the vet over the phone regarding her progress but again decided to play it by ear. However, on Friday night she took a turn for the worst. she'd no strength to hold herself up, didn't want to go out etc. We had her at the vets first thing Saturday morning and saw a different vet to our usual one. An ultrasound was done straight away and a sizeable pyometra found! 

She is at this point too weak to be operated on so is receiving alternative treatment with everything we can possibly cross, crossed! We are due back at the vets in the morning. 

My wonder is, why weren't we offered ultrasound/x-rays all those weeks ago when we first visited? Our vet did suspect pyometra but only did blood tests. I'm not a vet but had the ultrasound been done then when she was a huge amount stronger than she is now, the pyo would have been smaller and they'd have been able to operate? I don't want to fall out with my vet but feel as though we've been let down somewhat. Just wondered what everyone's thoughts were. 

Our dog does seem much brighter today so we've just to keep everything crossed that we can get her through this but she's not out of the woods yet. 

Thanks in advance.:confused1:


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## Rolyforever74

amymay01 said:


> my staff cookie has just been kept in at our vets with early stage pyometra this morning!
> Im so lucky I took her as she was just a tiny bit quieter than usual and a bit off her food.
> She was due to be spayed in January as shes only just finished a season 3 weeks ago .
> Just a warning that it is common and with some dogs the signs are so little it can be easily missed and then be to late
> Im so worried about her !!!!!! the vets are ringing me a 4ish so fingers crossed


I am taking my dog Izzie in on Monday as she has been in season 3 times and she is only 7 months!I have a separate thread on this under Dog Chat please read that for more background info.Now reading the threads on here and also been advised from a fellow member to read them I thinking i will get her checked out and alos mention this.I'm also quite worried as I love her so much and she doesn't seem to be in any pain.Thanks for this post really valuable.


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## bustercollie

Rolyforever74 said:


> I am taking my dog Izzie in on Monday as she has been in season 3 times and she is only 7 months!I have a separate thread on this under Dog Chat please read that for more background info.Now reading the threads on here and also been advised from a fellow member to read them I thinking i will get her checked out and alos mention this.I'm also quite worried as I love her so much and she doesn't seem to be in any pain.Thanks for this post really valuable.


Hi, please see my post above. We unfortunately lost our girl on the 11th. I feel had we been offered an ultrasound scan sooner she may still be here. They suspected pyometra from our first visit but never confirmed it & we trusted their advice. If it's not offered, ask them to x ray or ultrasound. This was eventually done four days before she died but it was too late for her then. The pyometra could be clearly seen on the scan. Will keep my fingers crossed for you & hope it all goes well.


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## noushka05

bustercollie said:


> Hi, please see my post above. We unfortunately lost our girl on the 11th. I feel had we been offered an ultrasound scan sooner she may still be here. They suspected pyometra from our first visit but never confirmed it & we trusted their advice. If it's not offered, ask them to x ray or ultrasound. This was eventually done four days before she died but it was too late for her then. The pyometra could be clearly seen on the scan. Will keep my fingers crossed for you & hope it all goes well.


ive just read your previous post and feel so bad that i didnt notice it straight away because i would have advised you to insist on a scan or take her to a different vet, pyo is so common that your vet really should have given her scan to rule it out...ive now had to have 2 of my bitches spayed due to pyo, my 1st bitch had vary vague symptoms so my vet scanned her to be sure, she was given an emergency spay , both bitches fully recovered, im so so sorry you lost your poor girl xx


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## bustercollie

noushka05 said:


> ive just read your previous post and feel so bad that i didnt notice it straight away because i would have advised you to insist on a scan or take her to a different vet, pyo is so common that your vet really should have given her scan to rule it out...ive now had to have 2 of my bitches spayed due to pyo, my 1st bitch had vary vague symptoms so my vet scanned her to be sure, she was given an emergency spay , both bitches fully recovered, im so so sorry you lost your poor girl xx


Hi, thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, by the time they did the ultrasound I think we all knew it was too late for her. :sad:

I have written a letter of dissatisfaction to them at the end of last week as I feel like they failed us miserably and we've lost a member of our family because of that. I'll await their reply but i'm really not sure how far I can take this. I can imagine the reply will be something along the lines of the pyo not showing up so early on a scan or something like that. It was 6 weeks ago when we first took her to the vet but when they eventually did the scan on the 7th Jan, it looked huge to me so I'm even more sure it would have shown up had they done the scan sooner. When we first took her on the 12th December she was pretty much herself and still strong. They did the blood tests on the 13th and had they done the scan then we'd have given the emergency spay a go. I think she would have survived it then. She just wasn't strong enough when they did discover the pyo.

I'm gutted we weren't made more aware of the facts regarding spaying and pyo and feel that this information should be more readily available for owners. Our dog had a litter of pups in 2005 and even when she went for check ups after, spaying and pyometra was never mentioned by the vet. Had we known the risks then we'd have had her spayed at that point.

Thanks for your reply though and don't feel bad. At the point of writing my first post I was clutching at straws anyway I think. She's free from her pain now. xx


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## matrixx611

I just had my dog have the Pyometra surgery. It's been a week now since she had surgery and now recovery slowly. Her appetite is back and for the first time she urinated without the catheter. My problem is now is she is still unable to walk. She cant stand on her hind legs. Would she able to walk again??? She is still on antibiotics.


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## noushka05

bustercollie said:


> Hi, thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, by the time they did the ultrasound I think we all knew it was too late for her. :sad:
> 
> I have written a letter of dissatisfaction to them at the end of last week as I feel like they failed us miserably and we've lost a member of our family because of that. I'll await their reply but i'm really not sure how far I can take this. I can imagine the reply will be something along the lines of the pyo not showing up so early on a scan or something like that. It was 6 weeks ago when we first took her to the vet but when they eventually did the scan on the 7th Jan, it looked huge to me so I'm even more sure it would have shown up had they done the scan sooner. When we first took her on the 12th December she was pretty much herself and still strong. They did the blood tests on the 13th and had they done the scan then we'd have given the emergency spay a go. I think she would have survived it then. She just wasn't strong enough when they did discover the pyo.
> 
> I'm gutted we weren't made more aware of the facts regarding spaying and pyo and feel that this information should be more readily available for owners. Our dog had a litter of pups in 2005 and even when she went for check ups after, spaying and pyometra was never mentioned by the vet. Had we known the risks then we'd have had her spayed at that point.
> 
> Thanks for your reply though and don't feel bad. At the point of writing my first post I was clutching at straws anyway I think. She's free from her pain now. xx


you wernt to know so try not to beat yourself up... you put your trust in the vet and they tragically failed your dog and i too would write them a letter if i were you, i'd also write a letter of complaint to RCVS...Complaints - RCVS ....i really do feel for you xx



matrixx611 said:


> I just had my dog have the Pyometra surgery. It's been a week now since she had surgery and now recovery slowly. Her appetite is back and for the first time she urinated without the catheter. My problem is now is she is still unable to walk. She cant stand on her hind legs. Would she able to walk again??? She is still on antibiotics.


yes she should have been able to walk as soon as she came around from the aneasthetic, please take her back to the vets as soon as possible...best of luck with her x


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## matrixx611

noushka05 said:


> you wernt to know so try not to beat yourself up... you put your trust in the vet and they tragically failed your dog and i too would write them a letter if i were you, i'd also write a letter of complaint to RCVS...Complaints - RCVS ....i really do feel for you xx
> 
> yes she should have been able to walk as soon as she came around from the aneasthetic, please take her back to the vets as soon as possible...best of luck with her x


Aneasthetic? So that's still in her system after 8 days after surgery? How long should we keep her on antibiotics?

Thanks again!!


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## matrixx611

The vet said she could of pinch a nerve thats why she cant stand up, but that was 2 days after the surgery


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## Superash

Excellent sticky i have been through this with my gsd bitch, didnt know what it was but gotcher to the vets in time to be treated and spayed thank god i believe it is quite common but have to say it was the scariest time of my life and i am just thankful she is still here


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## Aaisha

Okay so my husky is a six year old female. She has been on heat and has mated with my male. They stopped mating about 2 weeks ago. For the past week she has been lethargic and anti-social.. which is extremely abnormal for her. For the past 2 days she's had a loss of appetite. The vet told me that she has pyometra but did not go into detail about it, just told me that they are performing surgery tomorrow and are removing her uterus. I've been looking at the symptoms of pyometra and the symptoms of pregnancy and she only shows the common symptoms between the two... I haven't seen any abnormal discharge, she is not dehydrated and the vet told me this morning that her blood is normal. An x-ray was taken and the vet showed it to me and said that there was "something there in the uterus"... This is a public vet and they have posters everywhere saying that every animal they treat WILL BE STERILIZED. We cannot afford a private vet for a second opinion. I don't want to kill any puppies but at the same time I don't want to take the chance of my girl really being sick. I need advice on what to do before surgery tomorrow ??? HELP!!!!


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## rahika

Hi...i am a new member here..

I need some advice on open pyometra on dogs..my dog she is a mongrel...10years5mnth old
She is havin pyometra bt right i am given amoxilin antibiotic as been given by d vet.
I only cn bring her next week to d vet as i am having financial prob
Yesterday i brought my cat to d vet n she had the pyometra surgery tht cost 600dollars
Dogs as i hv enquired it will come to 1k plus..she is healthy its just i am scared will it be k for me to bring next week...plz someone help..i didnt knw till my cat had it..


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## Newfinch

PrincessPoppet said:


> nearly every bitch that walks though the door of our practice that is over 5, entire, off food/sore tummy/misrable has a full blown or early stage pyometra, and its horrid to say it but for most by the time they get to that stage it's just too late, if you aint breeding do em at 6 months, if you are plan you litters and get her spayed right after her final pups are weaned, a spay is a couple of hundred, sorting a pyo with hospitalisation and fluids could be a couple of grand!! not to metion the heart ache, if one person gets thier bitch spayed then this will be a sucess.


Please DO NOT spay a bitch at 6 months if it is one of the giant breeds. You should always wait until they are at least 12 and preferably 18 months old


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## alfiedog

Our beloved Labrador had this disease, but had the op and recovered well and had a hysterectomy last January. For a few short months she seemed fine, then after a few days of sickness in August, she was diagnosed with inoperable Pancreatic cancer and had to be put to sleep. We are still devastated.


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## victoria171168

we resued Jessie when she was less than 9 months old to find out she was pregnant. She was a walking skeleton when we found her and poorly.we thought she was coming into season but our vets warned us to get her home asap as she was near a miscarry. 

two weeks later we had eight puppies but she developed pyometra and had a constant discharge , due to the pups we couldnt spay initially but once the pups were weaned she had an emergency hysterectomy as she wasnt responding to antibiotics at all.

not an easy operation but with a lot of love and attention she pulled through, she could walk straight away .

7 years on and she is fit and healthy but we know if we had left her at the place we found her another day it might have been a different story.


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## Christy27

This is definitely a great read. Should be a sticky. I've never experienced these with my dogs.


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## Sara1991

One of our bitches kady had pyometra last year. She was acting off for months but still eating/drinking getting excited for walks so I just put it down to old age (she is a 10 year old English bull terrier) one morning we woke up and there was blood every where so naturally we rushed her too the vet and they got her straight in for surgery luckily she pulled through and is now better than she had been for a long time. She also had a mammory tumour which was due to be taken away months ago but the pyometra operation was a priority then once she recovered from that she developed a nasty cough, again just before the mammory strip removal was due so that delayed it further. She finally had the mammory strip removal last week and is recovering well. I strongly feel that all these problems were caused by an injection she was given to prevent pregnancy about 7 years ago when someone broke into the house and let her out, someone saw her mating whilst she was missing. I don't know for sure but after that injection she never came on season again and now all this I can't help but feel its linked.


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## Lynch05

My dog Sam just went through this. We were never told that this could happen and were never really encouraged to get her spayed. She goes to the vet for regular check ups and even at her last check up, they suspected pyometra but never mentioned it to us. (We found this out when she had to have emergency surgery.) She began bleeding heavily and we brought her to the vet. She ended up having surgery that day. It has now been a month since then and she is doing fine. Needless to say, the surgery was expensive for us at this time due to circumstances out of our control. Now we have the bill that we cannot afford. I have set up a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe to raise the money. Any little bit will help. See our story here: Help with Sam's medical bills by Michelle Lynch - GoFundMe I hope to someday be able to pay it forward to someone else need. Thanks for taking the time to read. :biggrin:


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## truvas

Good article thanks for info. I think we have to go a vet


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## wallp

We had a young gsd bitch who had to have an emergency operation ,pyrometra can be life threatening.for a couple of weeks before she started to get fussy with her food but we didn't know this can be a sign , one morning she started bleeding heavily and had to rush her to the vets where she had emergency surgery ,the vet confirmed pyrometra.the fussy eating can be a sign of pyrometra.


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## SarahBee

Lottie has been fussy with her food for the last two days and finished her first season about a month ago.

Thanks to this thread I'm taking her to the vet as soon as possible.

Hopefully she's just being fussy.


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## Ceiling Kitty

Aw I hope she's okay - let us know xxx


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## SarahBee

Shoshannah said:


> Aw I hope she's okay - let us know xxx


She's only ten months old so it seems extremely unlikely, but she's really not being herself. Her meal has been down an hour tonight and she's not touching it. Before yesterday I never saw her leave food for longer than 30 seconds, even in an anti gulp bowl, so we resort to giving her most of her meals in a wobbler.


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## Ceiling Kitty

Aw bless, pyo would be unlikely in a baby but there must be something upsetting her, so it's great you're getting her checked out. xxx


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## SarahBee

She's just eaten some salmon I cooked for her instead, with some goats yogurt on the side, so hopefully she's just being a madam. 

She's going to the vet tomorrow regardless though. I'd rather be paranoid.


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## SarahBee

Apparently Lottie is all around perfect and healthy.

Size, weight, nail length, muscle tone, etc are all spot on.

So she's booked in for a spay in a couple of months and I think we'll just move her off James Wellbeloved and on to something else!

Looks like it's time to browse the nutrition threads.


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## susie sweet86

Never use antibiotics when a dog comes into season as a precaution, this is appaulling advice!!!


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## Ceiling Kitty

susie sweet86 said:


> Never use antibiotics when a dog comes into season as a precaution, this is appaulling advice!!!


Who suggested that?


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## susie sweet86

Jimbob said:


> I experienced pyometra first hand. One of ny dogs(she was 7 at the time) got it. It's not very easy to notice, she acted fine but was drinking an awful lot, then went off her food. When i felt her belly and squeezed a bit was was in a lot of pain. She had a high temperature and was closed. All the vet could do was give her high doses of antobiotics until her temperature came down. She opened after 3 days thankfully. within 36 hours her temp had dropped enough to be able to operate. She made a very good recovery, much to my amazement and the vets - given her age. She died of old age 3 years later.
> 
> I can't stress enough how serious this is. My vets opinion was that if a bitch comes in season and they're not being bred, they should be put on a course of antibiotics as a precaution - makes sense to me.


The vet in here... Dear Jim Bob... Not one part of the final sentence makes sense, you should be embarrassed


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## Ceiling Kitty

susie sweet86 said:


> The vet in here... Dear Jim Bob... Not one part of the final sentence makes sense, you should be embarrassed


Oh. Yeah, I can't agree with giving antibiotics under such circumstances, personally.


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## SueP19

HELP

We have GSD who is 8, she had an emergency straight forward pyometra operation on 11th April................recovered fine

21st April temperature shot up and she became lethargic and off food, vets next day and were given 7 day course of 500mg synulox tablets............temp went down and was fine

3rd May (5 days after tablets finished) went up a little but not too bad, during next 12 days continued to go up and down but generally increasing

15th May temp shot up and resulted in a 3rd visit to vets we were given a different lots of antibiotics (for deep infection) I now know this was for dirty wound infections which it wasn't

17th May temp shot upto 41.1, 4th vet visit and we were given an anti inflammatory injection and more synulox and anti inflammatory pills

On Sunday her temp peaked at 41.8!!! since then she has fluctuated am at about 39.7 and evening 40.7. We are not eating as off today and have developed a cough.....................WHY even the vet is at a loss xx


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## Ceiling Kitty

Oh dear, I'm sorry your bitch isn't recovering so well from her surgery. Usually, once they've come through the op and the badness is out, they do great.

It's strange that her temperature is remaining so high despite antibiotics and anti-inflammatories (I'm assuming these are something like Metacam or Rimadyl?). Sorry, I didn't quite understand the part of your post about dirty wound infections?

Has she been scanned for any signs of fluid in her abdomen, which could suggest peritonitis? That might be a next step if not. In some cases the only way forward is to repeat surgery to make sure everything is all okay in the abdomen following the previous operation.

Stump pyometras can occur/persist following spays, and this may also be visible on a scan, but TBH I would have expected this to settle with antibiotics.

There is also a chance that her current fever is nothing at all to do with the op - whether or not the cough is related or not is difficult to say - and that something else is going on. Working-up a PUO (pyrexia of unknown origin) can be baffling and expensive as so many tests may need doing to find the cause of the fever.

I hope she recovers soon xxxx


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## SueP19

Thanks Shoshannah

We went back this morning and did blood work.

The great news is everything apart from white cell count was normal, so kidneys etc are fine.

We are booked in tomorrow for Xray, scan and a needle in the abdomen (can't remember the name) plus possible re-open

I was very pleased as the young vets I saw before had thought to refer me to the senior practise vet because it was baffling.

Will keep you posted x


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## SueP19

Just a quick update, the vet has diagnosed aspirational pneumonia x


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## sweetsfudge23sweets

Hi my girl is 4 years old and just had surgery 11 days ago. I know this could have been prevented but every time we booked her in for a spey something else went medical wrong with her. She had two TPLO DONE ON BOTh LEGS. 
She started showing symptoms at tge tail end of her season. It started to bleed very heavy the season was on its 4th week. She was sitting very carefully. Drinking a lot more. Off her food for being a lab this was a big sign all was not well. I took my girl to tge vets 5 days in a row. Each time they told me could be a UTI and gave her anti biotics. By day 5 I was going mad telling tge vet I want bloods or something done. 
My girl has finish her post op antibotics but she still has puss coming from her. I have had her at tge vet since with this they said cervix still open she should be fine. I am scared now I feel this is not right. What do you think thanks


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## Ceiling Kitty

sweetsfudge23sweets said:


> Hi my girl is 4 years old and just had surgery 11 days ago. I know this could have been prevented but every time we booked her in for a spey something else went medical wrong with her. She had two TPLO DONE ON BOTh LEGS.
> She started showing symptoms at tge tail end of her season. It started to bleed very heavy the season was on its 4th week. She was sitting very carefully. Drinking a lot more. Off her food for being a lab this was a big sign all was not well. I took my girl to tge vets 5 days in a row. Each time they told me could be a UTI and gave her anti biotics. By day 5 I was going mad telling tge vet I want bloods or something done.
> My girl has finish her post op antibotics but she still has puss coming from her. I have had her at tge vet since with this they said cervix still open she should be fine. I am scared now I feel this is not right. What do you think thanks


Generally spaying would be the treatment of choice.

If you're unhappy with what the vet is telling you, you are free to seek a second opinion elsewhere.


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