My 4 year old German Shepherd came on heat a few of weeks ago. She stopped bleeding and then went through the whole 'I want to be mated' palava, but was not allowed to. She is now not interested in male dogs and has become really withdrawn, which I remember as being normal for her past seasons. However, she has now started spotting again. Is that normal? She's had her other seasons without this second bout of spotting.

Bitches can have a pyometra after a season, so I would have her checked by a Vet.

thank you, I will do!

Vet diesn't think it's pyometra (phew!) but suspects she may have a cyst on her ovaries. We're going to 'observe' her for a week, and see what develops. Either way, she'll be spayed (either in an emergency if her condition deteriorates or in a couple of weeks when things settle).

Thanks for your advice!

Dont let people panic you with a pyo.... this term is used willy nilly....  This could be a 'split season'.... vets usually say a cystic ovary when they have no clue.... it could be nothing.... but maybe a Cyst. 

"Dont let people panic you with a pyo.... this term is used willy nilly.... "

I take it willy nilly means lightly.
In that case, I'd say better have your bitch checked by a vet when in doubt once too often, than not at all. A split season isn't a big thing to "miss", a pyo is.
Too many bitches die or have expensive and dangerous emergency operations, because their owners didn't spot the symthoms.
I don't think anyone on CD wants to "scare" others, just give sound advice to someone needing it.
Karen

I agree 100% but Pyo is often banded about!   And Pyo symptoms are not just spotting!!!  I was trying to say dont run to your vets demanding pyo when it isnt! Pyo is more than spotting and obvious when it is onset.... if we all rushed to the vets if our dog had a minor illness they would be over run... all I was saying is this could be a split season and not serious! 

Actually no. My bitch finished her season and 2 weeks later I saw blood spotting, however as it was dark I took her straight to the Vets. It was a Pyo. I was not trying to panic anyone. I was just pointing out that that can be one of the causes of bleeding after a season. I would rather take my dog and pay for a consultation fee to have it checked out than have her die of Septicaemia which is one of the reasons for the death of a dog with an untreated Pyo. Thankfully the OPs dog is fine but I bet she is glad that she checked it out.  Where did I say demand a Pyo, but there again I don't mind paying for my Vets expertise.

To be honest, I am glad I did have her checked out. If it's not Pyo or cysts it may be something else (vet suggested possibly cystitis...and asked me to get a urine sample - somehow!). Even if it's absolutely nothing, it was probably worth her having a check-up anyway as she never has to go to the vets between her vaccs.

On a more sombre note, we had another dog (northern inuit) who was feeling a 'bit under the weather' one weekend at the end of august. Symptoms came about on friday, and for one reason and another (mainly work and vets opening hours) we decided to take him to the vets first thing monday morning. I worked a night shift on the sunday, and was phoned up at work at 5am monday morning by my partner, telling me he had died. We have never forgiven ourselves for that, and I'm sure anyone else who has anything like that experience will always err on the side of caution. For the sake of a £20 consult fee I'd much rather walk out of the vets feeling a bit silly but still have my dog.

HOWEVER! I do agree that we shouldn't panic over evry little symptom our dog may show. If it was just the 'under the weather' feeling, I would have been more inclined to wait and see as this is normal for her post-season. However, she has never had this second bout of bleeding which made me concerned enough to see the vet.

Thanks for all your advice...lets just hope it is nothing, and something we can put down to experience!

Sorry to hear about your other dog.

A tip for urine sample. I always use tin foil and make an elongated collecting vessel by pinching the sides up (and of course the back otherwise you will have wet fingers)!!! Then I transfer it into a scalded bottle.

Ok, so i managed to collect her urine (in a tupperware tub and then transferred it into the bottle the vet gave me. I only just read the suggestion about tin foil!).

However, it looked decidedly green. I have to admit, I don't normally take note of the colour, but have definitely seen it more clear or yellow in the past. This was definitely more green than yellow. What could green suggest? My partner's dropped it off at the vet on his way to work, but I'll have to wait for them to call me back...!

p.s her food hasn't changed, and the food she's on doesn't have any added artificial colours etc. She doesn't usually get any extra treats, except for a bonio every couple of days. She hasn't got into the bin without our knowledge (we keep it locked away so it is physically impossible for her to!)

TBH I have no idea, but the Vets don't take long testing so you should have your answer pretty quickly and hopefully allay any fears that you may have. Has she been weeing more than normal as I usually find it to be the case with cystitis. Anyway hope you have an answer soon.

Just got back from the vets with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory/pain relief. Vet says they've found crystals in her urine, which means the ph isn't right. She's on a prescription diet for a month, and if the antibiotics etc remove her other sympoms in 5 days then it was cystitis, aggravated by these crystals.

However, if there is no change in 5 days that means the bleeding is not coming from her bladder, but from her uterus, which points to pyo or ovarian cysts.

If her condition worsens, then she'll need to be taken in for an emergency spay   :-(   Either way, she'll be spayed, but obviously I would rather it be done under normal circumstances, not with infection running through her body :-(

It's going to be a long 5 days... One thing I'm glad of though is that I did decide to take her in!

> agree 100% but Pyo is often banded about!   And Pyo symptoms are not just spotting!!!  I was trying to say dont run to your vets demanding pyo when it isnt! Pyo is more than spotting and obvious when it is onset.... if we all rushed to the vets if our dog had a minor illness they would be over run... all I was saying is this could be a split season and not serious

of course it could be, no one said it was a pyo but having lost a bitch during an emergency spay for a closed pyo its a scary thing and surely worth checking. better safe with these things.

The one good thing is that if it is a Pyo then it is an open Pyo which is not as life threatening  as closed one as you can see from the above post. Keeping my fingers crossed that she is okay. If the Vet was very concerned then he wouldn't be waiting until next week. Good luck

Thanks AG... I'll let you know how she gets on!

:-)

Can your vet not do an ultrasound scan to check for Pyo?  Just a thought, that is how one of mine was diagnosed.

The saga concludes...!

Went back to the vet the next day as she had projectile vomited all over the living room carpet during the night!! Vet scanned her and everything inside looked normal  :-)  (I wish they had done that to start with like you suggested!!). It looks like the food didn't agree with her, and now she won't be in the same room as it. She has NEVER not eaten what was put in front of her in 4 1/2 years, but she won't touch this stuff anymore!

She's pretty much 100%, and two days after the projectile vomit she came to wake me up in the morning and started 'talking' to us again (her litle howly/talking thing she does). I can't tell you how nice it was to wake up after a week of it to see her sitting down next to the bed, watching me! I woke my partner up and said 'Trin's feeling bettter!' and she went 'ow wow woo' and jumped up on the bed for cuddles (which she isn't normally allowed to do!).

The long and the short of it is that she's got struvite crystals in her urine. They may never have been noticed if she hadn't been taken in for the bleeding, which may or may not be related. Apparently they can go unnoticed in female dogs for a while, and sometimes don't even cause any problems. However, if the crystals start to stick together, they can form stones, which if left can be potentially life threatening. She's now on a different prescription diet for a month which acidifies her urine, to make these crystals dissolve. After that, it's a case of monitoring her urine to keep the ph balance right. I've read some stuff online about how to do this naturally, so we'll be going down that route. It may just be a case of finding a more acidic dog food (if there's a way to tell!) and adding a cranberry capsule to it.

Thanks for everyone's concern and advice   :-)

Thank Goodness they are sorting her out!  :)  You sound so much happier in this last post!  :)