Breeding is not for the faint at heart

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anoki

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I'm well aware that breeding, whether it's dog, horses, what have you, is not always sunshine and roses, but the past couple of weeks have been rather trying.

Back in Feb, I headed out to Davenport, IA (10 hour drive one way) to breed one of my dogs. The weather cooperated, and it was a decent drive out and back. I had a wonderful time visiting with friends and fellow breeders while I was there...even got some herding in too!

Two weeks ago, while I was starting to do the 'is she or isn't she' debate, she got me up in the middle of the night-she HAD to go out. Ok, not a big deal, perhaps she is expecting and not feeling the greatest. Next night, she gets me up again! Only this time, I notice she stops at the water bowl on the way out. Third night, she gets me up twice..and she had urinated on the carpet the evening before. Ok, that's not normal. But she has no temp, and nothing else seems wrong, and it's now Saturday...I decide to call the clinic Monday to see about getting an appointment. Sunday morning, she comes in from outside and starts vomiting. NOW I'm worried....still no temp, but something's up. Call the clinic and head out (which is a 40 min drive one way) for an emergency call. Blood test and urine test show nothing out of the ordinary. The vet I see there tells me that she would do an ultrasound next...but she is upfront and tells me she is not that good at reading them, and she would rather the vet I normally see do it. Fair enough, we discuss it a bit, as I can't get in to see that vet until Wednesday, and since everything looks 'ok' that should be fine.

Anyone who breeds dogs knows the biggest risk in having intact females is pyometra (infection of the uterus), and if you are breeding dogs and don't know what it is, you better start doing your research! THIS is what I was concerned about! If you have an intact female, and have NO plans to breed her, please, PLEASE have her spayed. This is the #1 (well, ok #2 only next to unexpected pregnancies) that females should be spayed. They can get this whether they ARE or ARE NOT bred!!!! It is very serious and often deadly to the dog!

In the meantime, while discussing it with a fellow breeder up here, I'm told, 'sounds like a normal expectant bitch' and basically get asked 'you went to the vets on an emergency call for THAT?!?'

Wednesday morning comes and the ultrasound shows a possible fetus (got a heart beat once, but couldn't confirm it), and 'something' else. Pulled another blood test to check if anything had changed, but since there was the possibility of a viable fetus, the vet was reluctant to start any type of treatment. He suggested we wait until Fri or Sat, re-ultrasound and see what is happening. He called me first thing Thurs morning to tell me he did not like the looks of the blood work, and he would be in the clinic at 3 or 4 the following day-he'd call. There are still no other symptoms from my dog....no temp, no discharge, nothing....other than excessive drinking and urinating.

Friday morning comes, and now I know it is not good....NOW she has a temp-103.9! I call the clinic right away to let the vet know (and see if I can get in earlier...which I did).

This ultrasound showed no life, A LOT of fluid in the uterus, and decaying 'matter'.
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Now, though, I am not upset about the loss of the pregnancy, I am terrified about the outcome with my girl. I have heard too many stories of people losing their dogs to this.

We started her on prostaglandin treatments and antibiotics, and today-2 FULL weeks-from the first symptom I noticed, she is back to her normal self.
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This ended well, at least it seems to be heading in the right direction. I know there are several people on here that breed dogs as well....just please be aware and KNOW your dogs!

~kathryn
 
I'm so sorry to hear about you and your beloved girls problem, but also happy to hear she is improving. Did they need to perform a hysterectomy as well?
 
No, at least not at this point. She seems to be responding well to the prostaglandin treatment, so at this stage it is wait and see.

I was amazed at how quickly she went downhill, and how quickly she started to rebound once treatment started!

She will be bred on the next cycle....with hopefully a better outcome, then I will re-evaluate the situation.

~kathryn
 
Thank goodness you know your girl and when to get immediate help, sounds like you and the vet caught it in time to save her and her future litters. Hope she continues to improve.
 
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So glad that you caught it so quickly. Many years ago when I used to breed Chihuahuas I nearly lost a bitch to Pyometra. The only way I knew something wasd up, was because she was off her food, and she was normally a PIG! In her case, they ended up having to do an emergency spay in order to save her life! So glad treatment is working for your girl.
 
We had a cat years ago that had pyometra. She was pregnant, too; one day I noticed what I can only describe as a rose cream sauce oozing out of her vagina... She had no other obvious symptoms than that. She was fine after her spay and antibiotics. Is it more dangerous for dogs? I thought they always spayed when that happened....

Good luck with your girl xo
 
Matt,

Spaying is the treatment of 'choice' when pyometra is involved. However, there have been studies done and treatment with prostaglandin injections have proven effective. That being said, the bitch is at a high risk to get pyometra again, so the course of action, from the reading I've done, is breed on the next cycle (after the pyometra) THEN spay.

I have heard of many people losing dogs to pyo....but there are also 2 different forms-open and closed. Closed pyo, where there is no discharge, is far more serious.

~kathryn
 
Oh...great info. Thanks. On a light note, I can't make my vodka cream pasta sauce after Kevin saw that discharge (it looked exactly like that) lol Ewwwwwww.....
 
Glad you were on top of it Kathryn. I know how much your dogs mean to you. I agree when you say breeding is not for the faint of heart.
 
Glad to hear about a good outcome and thanks for educating us.

A friend of mine just had a litter or Great Dane pups a month ago, nine total. The female had a uterine infection, emergency spay was preformed and all said and done over a $4,000 vet bill.

I like my spayed females :) Even have an appointment in a week to get my doxie puppy spayed.
 
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