Spirit and Tiffany

Today is my 16th wedding anniversary, we marked the occasion by spending most of the day going to and from the vets. My usual surgery is having major building works carried out so we had to go to a branch surgery which is about a 40 minute drive away. This morning we took Mrs Miggins boys for their 2nd vaccination, health check and microchip, as expected all was well with them and they all purred continuously through the examination,  vaccination and even when they were skewered with the huge microchip needle!

Then Spirit and Tiffany were brought in so they could be weighed and have their pre meds, it was quite interesting to note their weights as neither of them have needed veterinary treatment since they were pups so I had always guestimated their weights, Tiffany is a very petit 17kg, Spirit is a bigger girl and weighed just over 20kg. I would class both of them as a good weight for their size, yet if I were to go by the charts in the vets waiting area it tells me that a standard poodle bitch should weigh 29kg!!!

I had decided to spay Spirit and Tiffany as Spirit is now 8 years old and will not be having any more pups, Tiffany has never had puppies which in many ways is a real shame. I took her Mum to Germany to be mated and was so pleased to keep Tiffany, her pedigree is unusual due to the German influence and she is a beautiful shape and a stunning colour, which at approaching 7 years of age has remained strong and vibrant, but she is an anxious girl when she feels under any sort of pressure. Although many people advised me I should breed her as it may help her, I couldn't justify the possibility of producing a litter of puppies that also suffered anxiety (this is not to say she is a nervous dog, she is a great girl who is very affectionate and in fact a bit of a tom boy out on walks) going on to be pets in a family who may not understand their sensitivities.

We left the girls in the capable hands of the vet nurse and took the rest of the dogs for a lovely riverside walk. The girls surgeries went smoothly but it was noted that Tiffanys uterus was quite puffy and filled with a clear serum. I cannot say what caused this, maybe she was thinking about developing a pyometra (potentially life threatening infection of the womb) , but I am of the opinion that it was better out than in, and I am left wondering if the fact that she has never had pups contributed to whatever was going on there as a bitch is designed to have puppies following a season and it is thought to significantly increase the chance of a pyometra when they have a number of seasons without following mother natures plans. Anyhow, both girls are home now, Spirit is feeling very sorry for herself, Tiffany is more relaxed, both are resting quietly.