| symptoms of Pyometra
Hi everyone, I am just adding this little tidbit here and I was reading the post about the scottish terrier that she thought was pregnant and the thread is now closed but when I read it I didn't think pregnant I thought pyometra and so I wanted to add a little thing about pyometra..... I don't want to rehash the thread or open it up again... but there were alarm bells that went off when reading it.....
Pyometra is an often very dangerous if not fatal uterine infection in intact bitches. Young bitches get it as do older bitches. I know of several six month old dogs that have gotten pyometra. However, the girls that seem to be most at risk are intact girls that have not been bred, it is very dangerous to keep a girl intact beyond that first heat cycle.
Pyometra often occurs 2-3 weeks after a girl comes out of season and I have known dogs that have been bred that have gotten pyometra and required a spay to save their lives.
There are two types of pyometra open and closed. Open pyometra is when the uterus is infected but the cervix has remained open and thus there is a tomato soup colored vaginal discharge. Open pyometra is not as dangerous as the closed type and while some say that it can be treated with drugs, it is a dangerous proposition as the infection can kill your dog. In our case here, Meghan got an open pyometra and was spayed a half hour after diagnosis. I did not risk a treatment.
Closed pyometra is VERY VERY dangerous and often fatal.... again the uterus is infected and filled with blood and pus but the cervix is closed and traps the infection inside the dog.... if the uterus should rupture the infection will quickly spread inside the dog and the girl will almost always die. The only treatment for a closed pyometra is an emergency spay..... and even then there is substantial risk of death.
Symptoms of pyometra..... include
tomato soup colored vaginal discharge
EXCESSIVE DRINKING (this is what triggered alarm bells in the scottie thread) this is an attempt by the girl to get her temperature down
lethargy and depression
if you have an intact girl who is acting depressed, drinking excessively, and cleaning herself a great deal...... check to see if she has a discharge, the excessive drinking is very obvious and this was the first symptom that my husband and I noticed..... if it is 2-3 weeks post estrus that would be another indication of pyometra....
get her vet checked immediately....
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