Recessed/Inverted Vulvas - A Must Read

If you suspect your dog has a recessed or inverted or hooded vulva please read this info:

Recessed/Inverted/Hooded Vulvas and Chronic Infections | Hearty Pet Talkin' Tails Blog

When a moderator has time would you please sticky this thread.

For those of you who have been thru this (and posted here in the past) and allowed a first cycle to correct the RV and/or kept your dog UTI free with crancaps, PH testing urine, etc. please post how it worked for you.

Since we lost everything your short posts will benefit others coming to this thread for the first time.

Thanks
Patty

thankfully the old info was saved by another member (Sue) and I can copy and paste. Hope this helps.

I have been seeing a lot of threads on the board lately on pups with recessed vulvas (RV) and this has prompted me to post a sticky on the subject in the hopes of helping others to handle this properly. I get so many phone calls and emails for help with pups with RVs that I have lost count.

I am so bothered by vets that do not know of this condition and spay early - or those that diagnose it and spay early anyway, suggesting surgery to correct the vulva (vulvoplasty).

If you suspect your pup has a RV please get a proper diagnosis before spaying. If there is a RV the pup must be allowed to have the first heat cycle to correct the vulva and prevent a life time of UTIs.

To any breeders on the board: If you have a pup with RV please inform the buyer of what to do and put a "first heat prior to spay" clause in your contract for the health of your pup. I also suggest you send a letter with the buyer, addressed to the vet, informing vet of the RV and the clause in your contract to prevent the vet from pushing an early spay, which would void the contract.

I have had 3 RV pups and all 3 vets have respected my letter. If you would like to see the letter I send I would be happy to share - just email or PM me. Please see more info in my blog (linked below) and the method I use to prevent UTIs until the vulva corrects.

Please be sure and read the posts of others having success with this method. Don't be afraid to stand up to your vet if they push a spay with a RV. Otherwise find another vet. -

See more at: Recessed Vulvas - A Must Read!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Snowco Labradors

thankfully the old info was saved by another member (Sue) and I can copy and paste. Hope this helps.

I have been seeing a lot of threads on the board lately on pups with recessed vulvas (RV) and this has prompted me to post a sticky on the subject in the hopes of helping others to handle this properly. I get so many phone calls and emails for help with pups with RVs that I have lost count.

I am so bothered by vets that do not know of this condition and spay early - or those that diagnose it and spay early anyway, suggesting surgery to correct the vulva (vulvoplasty).

If you suspect your pup has a RV please get a proper diagnosis before spaying. If there is a RV the pup must be allowed to have the first heat cycle to correct the vulva and prevent a life time of UTIs.

To any breeders on the board: If you have a pup with RV please inform the buyer of what to do and put a "first heat prior to spay" clause in your contract for the health of your pup. I also suggest you send a letter with the buyer, addressed to the vet, informing vet of the RV and the clause in your contract to prevent the vet from pushing an early spay, which would void the contract.

I have had 3 RV pups and all 3 vets have respected my letter. If you would like to see the letter I send I would be happy to share - just email or PM me. Please see more info in my blog (linked below) and the method I use to prevent UTIs until the vulva corrects.

Please be sure and read the posts of others having success with this method. Don't be afraid to stand up to your vet if they push a spay with a RV. Otherwise find another vet. -

See more at: Recessed Vulvas - A Must Read!!!

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oh crap. We just did our first puppy well check and puppy Pearl has a RV.... The vet said he always checks for it and to keep an eye on it; I said I read it may self-correct after a heat cycle and he said hm well there's a procedure they recommend if it causes problems ( we should have talked about spaying right then as in retrospect, I think he may not like to wait that long to spay...). Great. poor Pearl- it sounds like she could miserable from this if it causes issues which it seems it likely will, although it might not be a bad case of it. The breeder did not mention it which is not so good either. Anyway we are in the 14 day waiting period for Healthy paws Insurance and now I think it will be on her record as a pre-exisiting condition!!! ARGHHH anyone know about that aspect of this all??? I told the vet we are in a waiting period so if he could wait to put that in her record for 10 days that'd be good and I though that's what he was going to do but it' on the receipt/printout which I saw when I got home, sDH is having a fit over this and said we should pretend we didn't know and go to another vet in 10 days (which seems extreme/weird to me... ) SO should I call the vet and ask him a million questions that I should have when I was there, and if he can wait to record it due to pre-exisiting condition thing? (but I know that has to be illegal or something- insurance fraud?)

oh crap. We just did our first puppy well check and puppy Pearl has a RV.... The vet said he always checks for it and to keep an eye on it; I said I read it may self-correct after a heat cycle, and he said hm well there's a procedure they recommend if it causes problems ( we should have talked about spaying right then because in retrospect, I think he may not like to wait that long to spay...). Great. poor Pearl- it sounds like she could miserable from this if it causes issues which it seems it likely will, although it might not be a bad case of it. The breeder did not mention it which is not so good either. Anyway we are in the 14 day waiting period for Healthy paws Insurance and now I think it will be on her record as a pre-exisiting condition!!! ARGHHH anyone know about that aspect of this all??? I told the vet we are in a waiting period so if he could wait to put that in her record for 10 days that'd be good and I though that's what he was going to do but it' on the receipt/printout which I saw when I got home, sDH is having a fit over this and said we should pretend we didn't know and go to another vet in 10 days (which seems extreme/weird to me... ) SO should I call the vet and ask him a million questions that I should have when I was there, and if he can wait to record it due to pre-exisiting condition thing? (but I know that has to be illegal or something- insurance fraud?)

sorry for duplicate- puppy brain!

If the vet put it on the record it is a pre-existing condition. But if you follow my blog on crancaps etc. you should be able to keep her UTI free until first heat and avoid a lot of vet visits and antibiotic. Keep me posted on how she does. or try this product in lieu of crancaps, from my blog:

Note: (6-19-13) The crancaps have been discontinued and Progressive is diligently researching for a new provider of a quality crancap. You can try their other UT product called U-Tract or U-Tract Complete. Go to the website and choose Urinary Tract Health on the left side of the screen to see these products.
www.progressivelabs.com
This is D-Mannose which some posters have used with success. Progressive has veterinarian customers that use this product for cats and dogs. You can call and talk to Nancy at extension 149 for further info and dosage. I would recommend the powder if using the Complete (the capsule form has a lot more ingredients and not sure about them for dogs).

I wouldn't like the sound of the "procedure" your vet is referring to for RV. I would definitely wait to spay until after her first heat cycle to see if it self-corrects rather than have her spayed young, find out the RV is still a problem, and then have another surgery to correct it. One of my neighbor's poodle had the corrective surgery when the RV continued to be an issue after an early spay, and believe me, it was not pretty.

Vets can be pretty firm in their opinions about when spay or neuter needs to occur. I have been pressured by more than one vet since getting my labs to do things earlier than I had discussed with our breeders. You have to be equally firm in your own opinions sometimes in order to do what you think is best, despite the vet's push. My pup did not have RV but we agreed to wait on her spay until she was >18 months old. We've gone through one heat cycle and it was not that difficult to manage. Hopefully you can keep her mostly free of UTIs with Patty's guidance while waiting for her heat cycle to see if it corrects. I think letting it correct naturally is much preferable to having a surgical procedure down the line which might have been avoided had you waited. And then the pre-existing condition clause wouldn't be an issue, either.

I clicked on the link above and nothing. I would like to read the link from snowco Labradors.

I apologize to anyone trying to get to the link. The administrator of the blog is working on the problem. I have no control over it. I am in contact with the admin. and it is being worked on.

I hope it will be back up in a couple of days. Please be patient.

Link to blog is now working. Recessed/Inverted/Hooded Vulvas and Chronic Infections | Hearty Pet Talkin' Tails Blog