Friend's french bulldog

[Ash]

I'm posting this question for my friend who has three French bulldogs (male 7 years, female 7 years, and their daughter 4 years), and is quite computer illiterate.

Apparently, the older female, after having one healthy litter of five 4 years ago was pregnant again a year after (in 2002).

But the first three pups she gave birth to were all dead and looked very underdeveloped. The vet came and said, if there are more dead pups in her it could kill her and proceeded to pull them out (without anastetic and at home, not in the clinic - yeah, that is India!). He managed to pull three out (using some instrument) which were alive (but died after a couple of days, the mother showed no interest in them; they did what they could trying to feed them but without success). The next day it became clear that there seemed to be more pups inside her, so they took her to the (same) vet, and he performed a cesarian. There were three more, all dead.

After this traumatic experience this dog has never had a normal heat again, according to my friend. She will go in heat but is not as enthusiastic about it as she used to be. She bleeds much less and the male dog shows hardly any interest in her, doesn't try to mount her. (He tries it with the other female though.) She also had spotting (blood) once in a while which cleared up with antibiotics. (No tests were done.)

My friend's question is, could something have gone wrong during the operation that caused her to not have proper heat symptoms anymore?

Could what I described be symptoms of a dangerous condition he should have checked out?

[Traci]

My question is, why didn't the vet just spay her when he did the cesearean. With a litter of 6 dead puppies, I would be concerned about breeding her again.

[Ash]

Vet said it would cause too much bleeding at that time, and suggested to do it later. Now, my friend is one of those overemotional guys who folds every time his dogs have to have any kind of surgery. Because of the flat noses French Bulldogs have he's scared that they are more likely to stop breathing or something else could happen during surgery (what with all the lack of back-up equipment here as well), so he keeps postponing it. I tried many times to get him have it done, but he's scared.

[Traci]

He simply needs to be educated. There are thousands of sites on the net which outline reasons pets should be spayed/neutered which can prevent a variety of serious health conditions.

[JMM]

I would think the trauma to her uterus could certainly cause the abnormalities. I would not risk breeding this *beep* again. Due to her age as well as abnormal heat cycles, I would probably spay her rather than risk a pyo.

[Ash]

I keep telling him that he should have her spayed and he keeps postponing it, although he's not against it and he doesn't want another litter. He just doesn't have any control over his fears and emotions. We all get worried and tense when our babies need an operation but he really breaks down, sobs and smokes a packet of cigarettes etc. He knows he's a 'whimp' (his own words). He knows it would be better for her, he knows there are risks if she isn't spayed. He had a dog before that died on the op table, so that certainly contributes to his extreme fear.

Because he can't bring himself to have her spayed, he asked me to ask this question here.

But I will continue talking with him about it ...