Thank you so much, Leanne. This information is that to which I alluded (but eluded me when I sought it. <G>)
You know, breeders go through a lot of grief when they lose a puppy in whelping. And, not that one can easily compare grief to grief, but I found it so much harder to spend the night wondering if our champion ruby girl would make it out of the ICU with her pyometra. In the instance of a newborn pup, it is a sharp disappointing pain and one always wonders if one could have done something just a bit differently to save it. But when it is an almost three year old beloved pet/show bitch into whom one has put hopes, dreams, training, effort, love, attention, the fear/grief is just terrible. It is not at all unlike any pet who is diagnosed with a serious illness. What I wonder....and perhaps there are some studies on this as well.....is whether short cycling is an indicator of pending pyometritis? I know that in horses we would worry about such heat cycling. I'm thinking that while I follow the heart protocol should I see short cycling again I would be most tempted to breed a bitch with longevity and heart clear dogs behind her as soon as possible. Thanks again, Suze Leanne Bertani wrote: > The reproductive issue is a sticky wicket. Certainly if all I wanted to do > was protect fertility and be certain a cavalier maintained uterine health, I > would breed early and often, and spay at about age 4. In beagle colony > studies (Exp Anml July 01) 15% of beagles greater than 4 years of age > developed pyometra. > > But there is also the argument that pyometra has a genetic predisposition, > and that by spaying early, we don't know which lines are more likely to > develop pyometra. (This was mentioned privately by one of the geneticists.) > There are studies in horses to suggest that certain genetic haplotypes tend > to be protective, and certain genetic haploytypes tend to make the horse > more susceptible to endometritis.(Pemberton AD, John HA, Ricketts SW, > Rossdale PD, Scott AM. Investigation of association between alpha-1 > proteinase inhibitor haplotype and endometritis in the thoroughbred mare. > (Equine Vet J. 1994 Mar;26(2):122-4.) > > For those of us who love our dogs, waiting to see who might develop > pyometritis could be considered to be risky. Mortality may range between > 5-10%, higher if it goes unrecognized for any length of time, and some > studies, between 25-50% of the intact cavalier bitches develop it in their > lifetime. In Sweden, studies (data on over 200,000 dogs) showed that more > than 20% of intact bitches (all breeds) will develop pyometritis by age 10. > Cavaliers were a particularly high risk breed (along with Collies, Rotts, > Goldens, Eng Cockers) with rates up to 54%. (J Vet Intern Med 2001 > Nov-Dec;15(6):530-8 Breed risk of pyometra in insured dogs in > Sweden.Egenvall A, Hagman R, Bonnett BN, Hedhammar A, Olson P, Lagerstedt > AS.) > > The large incidence in particular breeds supports the suggestion of a > genetic predisposition. Besides the genetic predisposition, there are risk > factors for pyometra, such as skipping breeding cycles. From Tilley and > Smith, DVMs Veterinary Consult; ref Hardy, RM, Osborne, CA, Canine Pyometra: > pathophysiology, disagnosis and treatment...J Am Anim Hosp Assoc: > > "Repeated exposure of the endometrium to high concentrations of estrogen > followed by high concentrations of progesterone in the absence of pregnancy > leads to cystic endometrial hyperplasia." and "Pyometra develops secondary > to cystic endometrial hyperplasia when bacterial invasion of the abnormal > endometrium leads to an intraluminal accumulation of purulent exudate." > > I don't know how to resolve the issues. I might be tempted to use a little > younger bitch with a much older heart clear dog, if I could find a good > match. For now, I'll just throw out the available info in hopes that it > helps some of you make your breeding decisions. > > Leanne > > > ---Original Message--- > Read my earlier post about reproductive issues. > Best, > Suze > > ========================================================= > "Magic Commands": > to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL > to start it up gain click here: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. > Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > > All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author. > > -- Suze at Llawen Cavaliers "...I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself." -Isna Ia-wica "Thought comes before speech" Luther Standing Bear ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
