Pyometra, especially closed, can be very difficult to diagnose. My best advice to you is KNOW YOUR DOG! Sabrina was NOT "classic" and knowing her nuances probably saved her life.
A week ago Sunday, 6/14, Sabrina was "under the weather". Just "blah"... not her usual perky self. We thought it was a relapse of Lyme disease so I put her on doxicycline. With Lyme, even though they need the doxy for a month, they rebound in a day or two. Which she did… but then this past Sunday, 6/21, she was very uncomfy again and lethargic. She wouldn't jump on our bed and when we tried to lift her, her abdomen felt tight and you could tell that touching it hurt. There was NO DISCHARGE. During all of this Sabrina still had her appetite, even eating breakfast Monday morning before I brought her to the vet. She was dehydrated.
Pyo usually occurs in older bitches, 2-3 months after they come in season. Sabrina is 6 years old and never had regular heat cycles. I have been waiting for her to come in season. She was due in March. Most of April was I was out of the house between staying with a friend and traveling to and from the National. Our nephew house sat during the week and Leonard was home on the weekends. During this time I did not leave an intact male at home as I did not need an accidental breeding to happen. A good move on my part as Leonard caught Chloe coming in season while I was away, but not Sabrina. Maybe Sabrina had a silent heat at the same time? One usually brings in others.
For diagnostics, blood work is one of the firsts tests done. The infection becomes wide spread that the white blood cell count sky rockets. Sabrina’s blood work was fine but she was also on the doxy for a week. Having her on the doxy probably kept the infection in check.
BTW she did test negative for Lyme. One less thing to worry about!
Open pyo, where the cervix is open and the pus is draining from the vulva, can be treated with prostoglandens so you can breed your bitch the next season, but not closed pyo. And I prefer to spay rather than go that route so I do not have to worry about it reocurring, which it usually does.
Sabrina's show career is over, I truly wanted to finish her, but as long as I have her I don't care! She is the champion of my heart, and that's what matters! Sabrina is the dam of some very special pups out there and they will carry on.
2 comments:
Thank you for posting. It's giving me the motivation to get a couple of my older girls spayed. I usually do when their career is over.
Thank you SO much for explaining what exactly Pyo is, in both forms! So sorry it happened to Sabrina, but she is VERY lucky to have had a mom as on top of it as you were! :) *hugs* to you both!
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