You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Spaying is widely practiced in some western European countries, Australia and the US, but not in others including the Nordic countries. Recent evidence confirms that spaying is an important factor in reducing the occurrence of pyometra.

In most western European countries, Australia and the US spaying of bitches is commonly performed as a method of preventing unwanted pregnancy. In the USA and Australia it has been estimated that 85% of bitches are spayed compared with only 8% in Nordic countries.

The technique of spaying most often involves removal of the uterus with the ovaries - a procedure called ovarohysterectomy. Pyometra is a disease of the uterus which results in a fluid-filled distension of the uterus with/without an abnormal vulval discharge. Toxins are produced and can be absorbed into the bloodstream making the affected bitch very ill indeed. Obviously spayed bitches can not develop pyometra except in rare cases in which the short "stump" that remains after removal of the uterus is affected.

In a recent report (Egenvall et al The Veterinary Record May 6th 2000) which analysed the pet health insurance status of over 200,000 dogs in Sweden it was found that in bitches the most common cause of a claim under the insurance schemes was for diseases of the genital system, and over 50% of these claims were for pyometra. Most of these cases would have been prevented if the bitches had been spayed.

Updated October 2013