Still no heat.........

[MoonandBean]

I agree as well. That would be tomorrow, right?

Oops...Tuesday morning I guess I meant 9/9/08.
Thanks for all the advice...I guess Tuesday it is. Does anyone have any good tranquilizers for me? HaHa...just kiddin.

[AllAmericanPUP]

definately get her spayed before her first heat.
don't know what studies your aunt and those people are reading but chances of cancer are lessened if spayed before the first heat

[Freedom]

I've also always done it before the first heat; that is what my vet always advises.

Yup, it is hard on mom as well! You won't need tranqs, you have all of us to lend support. Sunny will be fine.

[lizbud]

Oops...Tuesday morning I guess I meant 9/9/08.
Thanks for all the advice...I guess Tuesday it is. Does anyone have any good tranquilizers for me? HaHa...just kiddin.

Best of luck on Tuesday then. I'm sure Sonny & you will do just fine.

[luvofallhorses]

You most definately need to get her fixed BEFORE she has her heat cyle. It's not good for the dog IMO to go through, they are so miserable, plus you have the risk of her sneaking out the door and getting pregnant, so I would spay her BEFORE she has her heat cycle. If she goes into heat, it can risk her health by getting mammory gland cancer and that isn't something you want to mess with. So I would get her done as soon as you can.

I hope she does well on Tuesday. Best wishes to sweet Sunny AND you. I will be thinking of you both on Tuesday. let us know how it goes.

Don't worry if she isn't herself for a couple days, she'll be back to normal soon. and make sure you follow the vets orders after she is spayed which I am sure you will. sometimes they keep the females overnight to monitor them, it just depends on the vets.

[MoonandBean]

Sunny wrote this poem last night in preparation for her big day...

Ode to my uterus...

I haven't known you very long, I'm really still a pup. We won't let you get full grown, your breeding days are up.

So many doggies need good homes; it really is so sad. Mom says to bring more pups would be really really bad.

I won't have to suffer Heat and have howling at my door. I get to be a spoiled pup and won't act like a whore.

[MoonandBean]

Well...the vet called. Sunny has an under-developed vulva and it is tucked inside. The vet said to spay her now would prevent it from developing and she will probably always have vaginal/urinary problems and would probably need a corrective surgery later in life. She said if we wait until she goes through heat, chances are good (about 80%) that the vulva will grow and come out like it should and then we can spay her. If the problem still doesn't correct after her first heat, then we will go ahead with the spay and she still may need corrective surgery. The vet said if it were her dog, she would wait. Sigh....... I guess we will wait. The vet said the chance of mammary gland cancer increases from almost 0% to 8% with waiting but she would still recommend waiting.

[Emeraldgreen]

I'm sorry to hear that Sunny's surgery has been cancelled but it does sound like it will be in her best interest to wait. I hope her development will continue normally so she will not need the corrective surgery later on and will only need to be spayed afterward.
I'm sure glad she went to a good PT home because who knows if she would have gotten the wonderful care that you provide for her if she were with someone else.
Prayers going out that she will not need corrective surgery and that she will grow up to be a strong healthy dog.
p.s. I thought your poem was great!

[MoonandBean]

Thanks, Lara!

[Freedom]

Oh Sunny, your poem has me in stitches, over here in RI!!!

Aw, sorry to hear the surgery has been postponed; but all in a good cause.

[Karen]

Aww, poor Sunny. I hope her first heat goes off without any complications and her body corrects itself, but it is good to know that there is a surgical option if it doesn't.

[MoonandBean]

I took Sunny to the vet today. She is still not in heat. She has another UTI due to her structural problem. This little Miss sunshine is definitely going to be unique. So...another week of antibiotics and then she may go on prophylactic antibiotics to prevent UTI's until this problem corrects itself (hopefully!) or with corrective surgery.

[Karen]

Hang in there, I hope this corrects everything, and she'll be able to be spayed in December, as you said!

[Sighthounds4me]

There is no guarantee that an estrus cycle will change Sunny's vulva. My Naples has the same thing, and since she's a retired racer, I can tell you the approximate time frame when she was spayed. I know she was at least two years old, because her last race was not long after she turned 2. Which means, it is possible that she has had a season or two.

Now, I will also say this, though: Greyhounds are known to have their first seasons later than many breeds, often around 18 months to two years old. And, racers are usually given synthetic hormones to prevent cycles, to prevent "oops" litters, since intact males race with intact bitches (though they are turned out in separate runs).

But I would ask about doing a corrective surgery at the same time as the spay, to be honest. I would expect that would have been mentioned, if it were a possibility, though. And I would think there is a distinct possibility that, due to her age, she will continue to grow, making this surgery an inpossibility. Still, I would ask, just in case.

But I can tell you that the recurrent infections are no fun. We plan to get Naples corrected in spring, when she has her annual dental. I won't subject her to the anesthesia, unless things get worse in the meantime, so we will have it done all at the same time.

Best of luck!

[MoonandBean]

Thanks for the info. We are hoping to do the spay and corrective surgery at the same time if her first cycle doesn't correct the abnormality. There is a specialist about 30 minutes from us and we are hoping he will agree to do the 2 procedures at once.