nearly every bitch that walks though the door of our practice that is over 5, entire, off food/sore tummy/misrable has a full blown or early stage pyometra, and its horrid to say it but for most by the time they get to that stage it's just too late, if you aint breeding do em at 6 months, if you are plan you litters and get her spayed right after her final pups are weaned, a spay is a couple of hundred, sorting a pyo with hospitalisation and fluids could be a couple of grand!! not to metion the heart ache, if one person gets thier bitch spayed then this will be a sucess.