Hello,

I have an unspayed mini pin who will be 14 this year. She weighs 11 pounds.

Last Friday evening she started acting sluggish and continued that way for
several days. She seemed to not be able to jump on the furniture (her
favorite resting places). Tuesday morning I took her to the vet. She
showed signed of just starting to go into heat. On examination, the vet
found one place on her back that seemed to give her pain. He injected pain
medication and sent me home with pain meds and a muscle relaxant.

She started bleeding heavily and I stopped giving the pain meds and muscle
relaxant, even though the two drugs do not seem to cause excessive bleeding
in humans. She continued to bleed heavily even after the meds were stopped.

I took her back to the vet Thursday for the bleeding. She was injected with
vitamin K and I was given vitamin K capsules to give her twice a day. Her
abdomen felt normal to the vet and she showed no signs of pain.

She has had a good appetite throughout, has continued to drink water and
goes outside to relieve herself several times a day. It seems that finally
the bleeding has slowed (not stopped by any means), but I now have hope that
she will recover from this.

She has tested positive and been treated for 30 days each time for Lyme
disease. The in-between year, her Lyme test was negative. I don't know if
this has anything to do with her current problems. She was never
symptomatic for Lyme - it just showed elevated antibodies in the testing.
She is on Heartgard 12 months a year and Frontline Plus during the flea
season.

My questions a

What could have caused this type of bleeding?

What can we do to assure that it will not happen again?

The vet does not want to operate on her for any reason - he does not feel
she is a good candidate for anesthesia, given her advanced age and small
size.

Thanks for any feedback.

Claire

on Sat, 20 Jan 2007 17:28:12 GMT, "Claire"
wrote:

What could have caused this type of bleeding?

Does she have a history of bleeding problems? Any nosebleeds, bleeding
gums, or bruising (sore spots)?

What can we do to assure that it will not happen again?

The vet does not want to operate on her for any reason - he does not
feel she is a good candidate for anesthesia, given her advanced age
and small size.

Why does she need surgery?

--
Lynne

"Claire" wrote in
news:Missh.3381$8P.3376@trndny05:

My questions a

What could have caused this type of bleeding?

Pyometra, and I believe Von Willebrand's Disease and some cancers. I have
no personal experience with VWD or the types of cancers unspayed females
can get, but I understand that, at least with VWD, anti inflammatory
medications can trigger a problem with excessive bleeding.

Did your vet culture the discharge? That would be a good starting point.

What can we do to assure that it will not happen again?

Until and unless there's a diagnosis, I can't imagine knowing how to do
that.

The vet does not want to operate on her for any reason - he does not
feel she is a good candidate for anesthesia, given her advanced age
and small size.

Yeah. These kinds of decisions get harder and harder to make with age.

Thanks for any feedback.

Good luck.

Tara

She has no history of bleeding. When she was young, she got into either
chicken or pork bones which caused a little bit of intestinal bleeding, but
under the vet's care, that resolved. itself. There is no blood in her
stool.

She would need surgery if she were to have a hysterectomy.

Claire


"Lynne" wrote in message
m...
on Sat, 20 Jan 2007 17:28:12 GMT, "Claire"
wrote:

What could have caused this type of bleeding?

Does she have a history of bleeding problems? Any nosebleeds, bleeding
gums, or bruising (sore spots)?

What can we do to assure that it will not happen again?

The vet does not want to operate on her for any reason - he does not
feel she is a good candidate for anesthesia, given her advanced age
and small size.

Why does she need surgery?

--
Lynne

She hasn't been in heat for probably the last year. Pyometra, if I read it
correctly, is basically a pus filled uterus that occurs several months after
being in heat. Her uterus feels normal.

The discharge was not cultured - seems to be mostly red blood - not the
watery discharge that she usually has had (in very small amounts - she never
needed diapering).

The drugs were Tramadol and Robaxin - nothing in the literature about them
causing bleeding. She had 2 doses of each.

Thanks for your best wishes.

Claire


"Tara" wrote in message
4.196...
"Claire" wrote in
news:Missh.3381$8P.3376@trndny05:

My questions a

What could have caused this type of bleeding?

Pyometra, and I believe Von Willebrand's Disease and some cancers. I have
no personal experience with VWD or the types of cancers unspayed females
can get, but I understand that, at least with VWD, anti inflammatory
medications can trigger a problem with excessive bleeding.

Did your vet culture the discharge? That would be a good starting point.

What can we do to assure that it will not happen again?

Until and unless there's a diagnosis, I can't imagine knowing how to do
that.

The vet does not want to operate on her for any reason - he does not
feel she is a good candidate for anesthesia, given her advanced age
and small size.

Yeah. These kinds of decisions get harder and harder to make with age.

Thanks for any feedback.

Good luck.

Tara

on Sat, 20 Jan 2007 22:46:45 GMT, "Claire"
wrote:

She has no history of bleeding. When she was young, she got into
either chicken or pork bones which caused a little bit of intestinal
bleeding, but under the vet's care, that resolved. itself. There is
no blood in her stool.

I was thinking she might have Von Willebrands, which is why I asked about
her history. It doesn't sound like she has a history of problems with
clotting, but it may still be worth having her tested for it if you are
considering getting her spayed. If your bitch has never been injured, it
might not be obvious that she has trouble clotting. It can be tricky to
diagnose as the vWF fluctuates--so multiple blood tests may be
necessary--but it can be easily managed. Treatment is usually only
needed prior to surgery or after a serious injury. Profuse bleeding
during heat may or may not be something that needs to be treated.

I have Von Willebrand's myself and wasn't diagnosed until after the birth
of my 2nd baby at the age of 31, so it isn't out of the question that
your bitch might have it. Though, looking back, what's obvious in my
case is that there were plenty of opportunities for a doctor to have made
that diagonsis long before it was finally made.

If your bitch doesn't have Von Willebrand's, I'd be looking for cancer
next. As Tara suggested, culturing the discharge would be a very prudent
first step, even though it appears to be all blood. You said that her
discharge is normally watery, so there may be something there. An
ultrasound might be enlightening, too.

I just re-read your post and realized that your dog is 14, not 4 as I
thought. Do dogs go through menopause? In humans, wildly fluctuating
hormones can cause missed cycles and also very, very heavy cycles. I
have no idea what happens with senior bitches, but it would be worth
discussing with your vet.

Good luck to you and your girl!



--
Lynne

Lynne, it is possible that she would have von Willebrands, but she has had
no prior bleeding episodes.

I am wondering if she could have endometriosis. I'll have to follow through
with the vet on testing.

Dogs do not go through menopause, although I believe their fertility
decreases to zip with age. I have a male fox terrier who was altered as a
pup so it has never caused a problem. The mini pin was not mine when she
was young or she would be spayed (I sure wish she was now).

Thanks for your replies.

Claire

"Lynne" wrote in message
m...
on Sat, 20 Jan 2007 22:46:45 GMT, "Claire"
wrote:

She has no history of bleeding. When she was young, she got into
either chicken or pork bones which caused a little bit of intestinal
bleeding, but under the vet's care, that resolved. itself. There is
no blood in her stool.

I was thinking she might have Von Willebrands, which is why I asked about
her history. It doesn't sound like she has a history of problems with
clotting, but it may still be worth having her tested for it if you are
considering getting her spayed. If your bitch has never been injured, it
might not be obvious that she has trouble clotting. It can be tricky to
diagnose as the vWF fluctuates--so multiple blood tests may be
necessary--but it can be easily managed. Treatment is usually only
needed prior to surgery or after a serious injury. Profuse bleeding
during heat may or may not be something that needs to be treated.

I have Von Willebrand's myself and wasn't diagnosed until after the birth
of my 2nd baby at the age of 31, so it isn't out of the question that
your bitch might have it. Though, looking back, what's obvious in my
case is that there were plenty of opportunities for a doctor to have made
that diagonsis long before it was finally made.

If your bitch doesn't have Von Willebrand's, I'd be looking for cancer
next. As Tara suggested, culturing the discharge would be a very prudent
first step, even though it appears to be all blood. You said that her
discharge is normally watery, so there may be something there. An
ultrasound might be enlightening, too.

I just re-read your post and realized that your dog is 14, not 4 as I
thought. Do dogs go through menopause? In humans, wildly fluctuating
hormones can cause missed cycles and also very, very heavy cycles. I
have no idea what happens with senior bitches, but it would be worth
discussing with your vet.

Good luck to you and your girl!



--
Lynne