Re: Recessed/Inverted Vulva

[Annette47]

Glad you found a new vet as I agree with the others. I didn’t know that AKC recommended vets - we found ours by asking other dog owners in the area for recommendations.

For what it’s worth, two of my girls have had recessed vulvas and both easily corrected after a season.

[Snowco Labradors]

Hello all,, I am here. Thanks Sue for PMing me. so sorry I have not been on in so long.

Hi Tami, I agree with others - find a new vet. Any vet that tells an owner they do not like their breed of dog is a POS IMO. And who does not like a Labrador????

Also the fact that this vet said they would do the surgery even though they have never done it - another red flag. If your girl does not correct on heat and you can not keep her UTI free with the cranberry and PH strips then be sure to find a vet "seasoned" in vulvoplasty surgery.

I commend you for going with the heat cycle. It is rare but sometimes takes a second cycle to correct. I know a dog one of my vets had that took 2 cycles.

If you want to send me pics of your girl's vulva I can give you my opinion on if she will correct on heat - I have seen hundreds of photos over the past 11 years. You need to position her on her back with legs out to the side like the pic in my blog. You should be standing at her back end to take the pic - and a couple of other angles can help too if she is tipped (not recessed all the way around the vulva)

Here it is again for quick reference Recessed/Inverted/Hooded Vulvas and Chronic Infections – Hearty Pet Talkin' Tails Blog

Email me the pic at knickie123@gmail.com be sure to put "pup recessed vulva" in the subject line.

As JenC mentioned if you have seen pics of vulvoplasty surgery you would not want to put your dog thru that - only as a "last" resort.

Hoping you find a good vet that does not try to push an early spay. Many vets need an education on this subject.

I am hear to help and hope to hear back from you.

[Snowco Labradors]

PS: my contact info on my website is up to date :-)

www.snowcolabradors.com

[SunDance]

Good to see you, Patty...hope all is going well!

[Abigails mom]

Update:
We went to the new vet yesterday. The staff was very nice, friendly and professional. Between the 2 vets in practice together and a handful of office workers and vet tech, they probably have close to 6 labs or more. Heck 1 vet tech has 3 labs. They said she checks out fine. They are ok if I want to wait for her first heat cycle and yes the vulva is a little recessed. I thought it was funny they didn't ask what I was feeding her or try to push Science Diet on me. They were also amazed with her training, although we get that a lot. Now if we could only train the vets to use Abigail's "vet terms" we would have it made.

I noticed above where Mz Patty posted, so I will be touching base with her today or tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for their suggestions and support.

[piccadilly]

How old is your puppy?

Having a recessed vulva, or an "innie" is pretty common in labrador puppies. It seems that the keeper in my litters usually is! lol Honestly, I've never done anything special with these puppies and they outgrow it long before they come into season for the first time (~15mo for my girls). If they had a UTI, I'd put them on cran caps, but if it's not an issue, why make it one?

Is your breeder nearby? They'd be a great resource for finding a good vet nearby.

[Abigails mom]

Abigail is 4 mo. I am doing everything the varies links have recommended and things have been going good. The breeder is about a 3 hour drive and didn't mention the problem to me. There are a few burnt orange flags (not quite red flags) with the breeder, but overall Abigail is what I had hoped for in getting a lab puppy. So we will keep up with the cranberry tabs, and vulva trims and wipes: waiting out either things working out on their own or a heat cycle. I just don't see a need for additional surgeries or taking Abigail on and off antibiotics while she is a puppy. The new vet thought the cranberry tablets weren't a bad thing and she could also get medicated wipes if I needed her to. More things the old vet poo-pooed.

[Snowco Labradors]

I believe in preventative with RVs. I start pups with RV on crancaps at age 6 weeks or when I spot the RV and stay on it - monitoring urine PH until heat cycle corrects the RV.

I know some of the links in my blog are expired so here is where I now get my crans and PH strips. Not all supplements are created equal. (as a personal trainer I took a course on this) so go with a well known brand; Natures Bounty, Now, Solgar to name a few. Many people ask me on dose for age or size of the dog. Cranberry is water soluble - I give one a day for preventative and dbl up if PH is elevated or a urine sample is positive for UTI.

Also note where I mention crans from "fruit" extract (rather than juice) and a good ratio of 50:1 on concentrate. I find the canine versions of crans do not give this info in most cases. And the human supps are usually less expensive.

Nature's Bounty Cranberry Plus Vitamin C Softgels 4200mg - CVS.com

https://www.amazon.com/GRF-Accurate-...rine+ph+strips

[NoVA Lab Mama]

Chiming in, but Stella also came home with a recessed vulva. Luckily, we only dealt with one UTI. She went through one heat cycle and it cleared right up. Our vet admits that she normally does push earlier rather than later spaying, but knows we are experienced dog owners and didn't want Stella to have to go through later surgery or a lifetime of problems so in this case she advised waiting.

[Abigails mom]

New vet (actual vet, not front counter helper) just called to check in, see how Abigail was doing and to see if we had any follow-up questions. I am surprised how people react when they see Abigail's training. NoVA Lab Mama - I wish people gave me credit for being an experienced dog owner. I have noticed the recessed part in the front toward her belly is less recessed, so that is good. Just letting her grow into her own body.

Thanks
Tami