Vaginal Discharge

[carolynnl4]

My (almost) 7 month old rottie Athena has had it rough.
My father rescued her from the humane society when she was 3 1/2 months.
She was spayed at 4 months, and even though she gets carsick, I "rescued" her as soon as her stitches came out and brought her to Alabama.
2 weeks later, I noticed this vaginal discharge that was very thick and mucuous-like. She may have always had it, but we never knew because she was an "outside dog" in Texas. But even now, 3 months after I got her, she still has it.

Anyone have ideas on what it is?

Following this is a list of her (unfortunately) long medical history since she's been with me.
And then, she manifested a multitude of other symptoms. We later found out that they were unrelated, but nevertheless I'll include them in case someone here thinks it's related to the persisting discharge.
She was always lethargic and she wouldn't eat, and bloodwork showed that her calcium was critically low. She kept deteriorating and we kept taking her back to the vet throughout the week for x-ray after x-ray and multiple bloodwork sessions. Her liver function was poor, and her calcium levels got so bad, we had to put her on an IV. But strangely, throughout this, her white blood cell count was *way* low.
After a week, the vet did a sonogram and she had to have emergency surgery. She had a slipped bowel, and her small bowel had slipped into her large and was swollen purple. While the doctor was in there, he didn't find any dead tissue, which was very lucky.
However, he didn't find anything that could be attributed to the vaginal discharge.
Anyone have ideas on what it is? I'm happy as long as it doesn't threaten my baby's health, but it is a little embarassing when people ask what's dangling off her rear.

Carolyn
P.S. She's a very happy rambunctious doggy now. :D

[spidey]

Poor puppy! Good for you for taking such good care of her - she's lucky to have you.

I suggest you take her to a different vet about this if your vet isn't interested in investigating it further (unless he said not to worry about it) - she could have a vaginal infection or a bladder infection.

[carolynnl4]

Her vet is absolutely wonderful, so I do trust him when he tells me not to worry.... He thinks it might be vaginitis. And I think that after all that surgery and worry (he stayed with her overnight many times), he's just grateful she's still kicking.
But his theory is that it's vaginitis from licking or peeing too low, but I'm skeptical since it's persisted for so long.

And I guess I was just curious if anyone else had this problem before...

[Grendl]

What do you mean "peeing too low"? Thanks.

[carolynnl4]

Apparently, if a dog pees too low, then grass particles or dirt can get up inside their system or irritate the surrounding area and cause vaginitis.

There's a little chihuahua (stray) that follows us on our walks, and I think she has it, because her genitals are red and swollen. She practicaly touches the ground when she pees....

[RottiMomCT]

Originally posted by carolynnl4
Apparently, if a dog pees too low, then grass particles or dirt can get up inside their system or irritate the surrounding area and cause vaginitis.

There's a little chihuahua (stray) that follows us on our walks, and I think she has it, because her genitals are red and swollen. She practicaly touches the ground when she pees....

Sounds like the Chihuahua is possibly in HEAT. Can you carry baby wipes with you and give her bottom a quick wipe after she pee's to get anything 'stuck' off of her parts?

[carolynnl4]

No...she's a sweetheart, but she won't let me touch her more than to stroke the top of her head. (Although she seems perfectly happy to dance along and lick the back of my ankles while I walk. )

Luckily I don't know of any male dogs around...

[Judi W]

Puppy vaginitis is usually resolved without intervention by this age. It is possible that the bitch has a physical abnormality that is allowing bacteria to take hold and build up causing the problem to continue. She needs a careful physical examination of the vaginal canal and area to make sure she doesn't have any unusual folds in there. That and a culture and sensitivity to assure that any antibiotics given are appropriate for the infection.