# Brown discharge in female dog



## randomalias12 (Feb 15, 2013)

My dog is about 8 years old and is not spayed. She has struggled with severe allergies her whole life so in the past few months she has been put on Simplicef (an antibiotic) and is responding incredibly well to it. However starting a few days ago she started to have a brown vaginal discharge. There's kind of been a lot of it too. I haven't noticed any change in her behavior as she is still willing to go for walks and is acting like her usual self. It did recently become more difficult to get her to eat everything in her food bowl, but that may also be because of the heat as it is VERY hot where I am, so I'm not sure if that's important or not (if it is then just to note, as long as I mix something other than her dog food, even in very low amounts, like bacon, she'll usually eat it all, just not in one sitting like she used to). She is drinking fine and to my knowledge her bathroom habits have been pretty much the same. However shehasn't ever had brown discharge before and she is quite old so I'm worried if this poses a threat of infection, especially if she has already been on an antibiotic. And if so, if this is something urgent or that I should wait and see how she may be doing in the coming days. It's a Sunday here so I'd only like to take her to the vet if its an emergency as the only vet open is the emergency vet. 

P.S. if you remember me posting about a lump I felt in my dog's skin a few months ago, I forgot to update the thread on her condition because I was too busy; but the lump went away the day I was going to go take her to the vet, and the next time I saw my vet to get a prescription refill, she didn't feel any lumps or anything on my dog either.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Definitely get her to the vet when you can. I don't know if it's an emergency situation but soon. She isn't too old for surgery yet (of course health matters too) so if she needs to be spayed you don't want to wait.


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## parus (Apr 10, 2014)

Could be pyometra. Vet ASAP.


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## randomalias12 (Feb 15, 2013)

parus said:


> Could be pyometra. Vet ASAP.


Not to question too much when I'm the one who is asking fit help, but this could still be the case even though she's been on antibiotics? If this is an absolute emergency I can take her today, if not but it still poses a risk for pyometra I can take her tomorrow.


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## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

Sounds like a pyometra. It is a good thing that there is a discharge. Two kinds of pyo-open or closed. open is the draining kind. This is better because less likely for a rupture. Closed pyo risk of rupturing causing sepsis throughout the body. Both can be life threatening to the dog. 

It is up to you to decide whether your dog's condition warrants a trip to the e-vet or not. For me, I would go and see what the vet thinks is best for your dog.


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## randomalias12 (Feb 15, 2013)

luv mi pets said:


> Sounds like a pyometra. It is a good thing that there is a discharge. Two kinds of pyo-open or closed. open is the draining kind. This is better because less likely for a rupture. Closed pyo risk of rupturing causing sepsis throughout the body. Both can be life threatening to the dog.
> 
> It is up to you to decide whether your dog's condition warrants a trip to the e-vet or not. For me, I would go and see what the vet thinks is best for your dog.


I'm considering taking her today. I was curious though, if it happens to be open pyometra what will treatment and recovery be like? I may have to go on travel in about two weeks and I'm not entirely sure I want to trust my pet sitter with her if she'll be in a really rough recovery.


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## SydTheSpaniel (Feb 12, 2011)

Treatment for pyometra is spaying the dog.. but a lot more complicated and a little more risky than a routine spay. I'd get her to the vet now.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Depends how nasty it is, I think. If it's not too bad, it shouldn't be much worse than a normal spay and she should be reasonably recovered in 2 weeks. If it's more advanced, it would be a harder recovery.


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## randomalias12 (Feb 15, 2013)

Willowy said:


> Depends how nasty it is, I think. If it's not too bad, it shouldn't be much worse than a normal spay and she should be reasonably recovered in 2 weeks. If it's more advanced, it would be a harder recovery.


Okay, in that case I'll take her either today or tomorrow. I've read that to diagnose it they have to take a blood sample. That is not something I can do if its just me taking her so I may have to wait until tomorrow and have someone come with me to restrain her. Anything else I should be prepared for when I take her to the vet?


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## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

they take a blood test to see how high her White blood count is to see about infection. Diagnosis- x-ray or an ultrasound. Spaying usually is the best way. Some owners will opt to try another option but the pyo usually returns anyway and this way is more expensive. Spaying will prevent the pyo from ever returning unless a 'stump pyo'.


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## parus (Apr 10, 2014)

If it is pyo the sooner you go the easier the recovery will be.


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## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

You are aware that a pyometra can be life threatening to your dog. right?


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

You don't need to bring anyone with you to restrain her; the vet's office will have staff for that.


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## Fade (Feb 24, 2012)

Pyo is not normally effected much by antibiotics its generally to much of a raging infection. we have successfully treated it one time with antibiotics. the other time we tried the dog died. ( owner could not afford surgery. ironically enough both dogs got breast cancer and one got pyo and died. the other is dieing of breast cancer...) 

wehave had 100% success with the surgery even though its very risk its like performing a spay and the organ is a water balloon that can't pop. the infection can kill the dog quickly the uterus can rupture and game over. Best wishes! its a pricey pricey PRICEY fix. be prepared.


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## randomalias12 (Feb 15, 2013)

I'm worried about trusting the e-vet with the surgery. She is also showing absolutely no other symptoms and has complications that in the past prevented her from getting spayed so I'm worried. But I suppose getting so many people telling me it might be life threatening I'll take her tonight and see what they tell me.


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## randomalias12 (Feb 15, 2013)

So here's an update, sorry this took me so long, got wrapped up in thinking over my decision and my girlfriend had a death in the family this morning so I've had no time to log back onto here. The E-vet did an ultrasound and a blood test and took her temperature. Fever by 1 degree but the vet said that is to be expected by how stressed out my dog was and how much it made her allergies flare up so they left it up to the results of the other tests. The blood sample came back with a SLIGHTLY high white blood cell count but that's normal for my dog because of the treatment for her allergies, vet said it wasn't even close to being high enough to count as an infection, the ultrasound found very little fluid in her uterus, she said not enough to call it an infection, because of the test results and fact that she is showing no other signs of illness, she said its most likely just her heat cycle (I'm assuming small amounts of fluid in the uterus is normal in a heat cycle?). I was told with her age and the risk of an infection, I should schedule a spay for my dog with my preferred vet within the next two months to eliminate risk of pyometra after this current heat cycle. My vet said the soonest she could do it would be this Friday, she said she would recommend getting it done before my trip but the aftercare will last up to 10 days and if I can't give her suffcient enough attention because of leaving for my trip 12 days from today that I should just get her spayed immediately after coming back. This is most likely what I'm going to do but I kept the Friday appointment just in case she shows absolutely any signs of illness. I feel like this is the right thing to do because my dog sitter will not be able to be there the WHOLE day or at all during the late night so if anything goes wrong with her sutures during the last two days of aftercare that I'll be gone for, that would just be horrible.


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## SydTheSpaniel (Feb 12, 2011)

So glad to hear it wasn't pyo! Spaying is a very good idea, glad you came to that decision. Would love to see a picture of her!


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## randomalias12 (Feb 15, 2013)

SydTheSpaniel said:


> So glad to hear it wasn't pyo! Spaying is a very good idea, glad you came to that decision. Would love to see a picture of her!











That's her, she's a chihuahua and wiener dog mix, her name is Tiny.

Also, for anyone else replying, just to be sure, a little bit of fluid in the uterus IS normal for a dog's heat cycle right? I mean, the vet showed no cause for concern about the small amount there was so I'm assuming its normal? But I know absolutely nothing about a dog's heat cycle so I just wanted to be sure that that is still normal.


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