Rectovaginal fistula.

Dr. Marie replied:

Thanks for your question. If you are fairly certain that you saw stool coming out of the vaginal opening then there is a possibility that this puppy has a rectovaginal fistula. This happens when the wall between the rectum and the vagina is not complete.

If this is what the puppy has then there is a possibility that it can be fixed with surgery. But, this type of surgery can be complicated and also expensive.

If no surgery is done, there is a possibility that she could still live ok, but usually dogs with this type of problem have serious issues. Stool in the vaginal tract can cause repeated infections. Also, usually these dogs are incontinent meaning that they cannot hold their stool inside. The other concern is that often when puppies are born with a rectovaginal fistula there can be other serious birth defects, some of which may not be obvious at first. It may be that the puppies that died had some birth defects and this is why they died. (If the mother did kill them, often the mom can know when puppies have a life threatening defect and actually kill them so that she can focus on feeding the healthier pups.)

Ideally it would be best to have a vet examine the pup. But to get the best idea as to what is going on they will likely need to do some extensive tests such as injecting a dye into the rectum and taking xrays to see where it goes.

I wish I had better news for you.

Dr. Marie.

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