I've been around whippets all my life, first my mothers and now my own. Although we do not have huge numbers at a time, in thirty something (honest!! :b ) years, that's quite a few bitches. As far as I can remember we have had 3 pyos in all that time. 2 of the bitches recovered well, one with a closed pyo who lived another 8 years, and one with an open one, about 4 years ago, who is still with us. The first one which happened when I was very small, was a very sad experience. She was an elderly bitch, and Mum took her to the vets to have a minor operation - I think it was dental work - 2 days later it became clear she was suffering from a closed pyometra. I must stress that this was totally unconnected with her first visit to the vet (ie she did not pick up any infection there). However, being an older bitch, and having just had an anaesthetic, she was not strong enough to survive the second one she needed to deal with the pyo.
Because of this both Mum and I spey our bitches once we know that we are not going to breed from them again, usually when they are 7 or 8 and still fit and strong. We know pyos are not inevitable, and we know that modern anaesthetics put a lot less stress on a bitch's system than they did in the past, but it is one less thing to worry about as the bitch gets older.
Because of this both Mum and I spey our bitches once we know that we are not going to breed from them again, usually when they are 7 or 8 and still fit and strong. We know pyos are not inevitable, and we know that modern anaesthetics put a lot less stress on a bitch's system than they did in the past, but it is one less thing to worry about as the bitch gets older.
