Timeline and Advice for Spay

Ok...I'll try to keep this short! I know there have been a lot of spay questions, so please bear with me. :?

I was originally planning to set Gracie's spay up for a Thursday because hubby is off on Friday and doesn't go into work until 2 on Monday...so, we'd be around almost all the time for about 4 days after her surgery. But, now his schedule is changing after Easter to 8-5 Mon-Fri for a few months.

So, would it be a good idea to try to have the spay done earlier (like this week)? Or, if we scheduled the surgery for a Friday and I took the next Monday off, would she be ok to go back to our regular schedule (I come home at lunch to play, hubby could be home around 4.

Also, how long after the procedure would she probably be able to go back to daycare? From what I've read, it looks like about two weeks...need to add this to the list of things to ask the vet! On that same line of thought, how long after procedure would she be ready to go back to obedience class?

Thanks so much! :flwr:

Most vets keep dogs overnight after a spay so that they can make sure they aren't running a fever the next morning, so having it done on a Thursday would, it seems to me, still work for you. My experience with my vet was that Milly was operated on at mid-day on a Thursday (the day they do routine surgeries there) and we could pick her up any time on Friday. I went and got her at 9 am because I was anxious to get her home, but they told me that I could leave her right up until their closing time.

So by the time you guys go back to work on Monday, she'll be four days out from her surgery and probably all done with needing any meds.

As far as day care goes, once they have their stitches out (10-14 days later depending on when you make the appointment) they are pretty much good to go back to their usual activity level.

I'm not an expert but I've just been through this within the last couple of weeks, and this was my experience.

My vet doesn't have overnight staff-- so he does spay/neuters in the morning and has us pick up after 4 pm. They got an antibiotic shot and a pain shot and sent us home with 3-5 days of pain meds to be used if needed. My only complaint is the dissolvable stitches are still there.

Yes, the first question to ask the vet has to be whether they keep them overnight or send them home the same day.

How long has it been, Sandy, that those stitches are still there? Milly had the regular kind that required a return, five-minute visit (at no additional charge). Hers came out on Monday. Milly also got a pain shot before leaving on Friday so i didn't have to give her anything for pain until Saturday morning. I got five days' worth but only gave them to her for three.

They are internal stitches-- some cavaliers (and other breeds) are sensitive to these. It has been four months for Katrina and two months for Muffin. You can still feel the stitching on both. (there is always something to worry about)

Ah, I get it. I haven't done much feeling around Milly's tummy yet because she is still a bit sensitive (I was carefully removing a bit of debris after we got home from getting the stitches removed, and she didn't much like my touching her there). When she's a bit further along I'll see if I can feel what you're talking about.

Scout stayed overnite. My vet didn't give me any pain medicine. I don't even think she had a shot for pain. I don't think she needed it.

When she came home she acted as if she just came back from an overnight vacation. She wanted to do everything. She also had the stitches that had to be removed by the vet ten days later.

She wasn't home for four hours before he jumped up on the bed. I should have been watching her closer, but I didn't think she would do that. Guess I was wrong. Thankfully she was ok, and I kept a closer eye on her.

Some vets think that the dogs will be more likely to behave themselves if they are hurting a bit--that they won't do the jumping and running that they aren't supposed to do. Other evidence suggests that dogs in pain are under stress, and stress can slow healing, so they offer pain medication for the first couple of days.

But again, pain tolerance is so different animal to animal that you just never know. Milly had had a shot for pain, and like your Scout, the first thing she did when she got home (literally--I had just taken her off the leash and was putting it away) was run to the dining room window and jump up on the table in front of it to look out! I was horrified. Thankfully it didn't seem to do her any harm, but like you I watched her like a hawk after that. (And put some stuff on that table so that she wouldn't try that again!) I don't know if she realy needed the pain pills, but I went ahead and gave them to her for a couple of days.

Katrina had a c/section spay-- she came home 5 pounds lighter than she went in. She needed pain meds -- But she had pups to feed and bond with, so we only did two days of meds.
Muffin had this little bitty scar-- She had one day of pain meds and seemed 95 % normal after that.
The age of the dog will affect how fast they heal-- Katrina was almost 6.5 years-- Muffin was over 4. Both did very well.

My vets don't keep dogs overnight and don't send them home with pain meds. I have never had a male or female need any meds. Most just sleep the first day anyway and have a quiet-ish day the second. If you are around for 2-3 days that is likely more than enough. She will be back to normal in behaviour anyway -- mainly you will just want to check that she is OK once or twice during the workday.

Karlin said:

My vets don't keep dogs overnight and don't send them home with pain meds. I have never had a male or female need any meds. Most just sleep the first day anyway and have a quiet-ish day the second. If you are around for 2-3 days that is likely more than enough. She will be back to normal in behaviour anyway -- mainly you will just want to check that she is OK once or twice during the workday.

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gggggggiggle-- I think the pain meds are mostly for the owners--- so they can aleviate some of the guilt for "putting my baby through this". It also makes the dog a bit more sleepy.

What I think is astonishing is that female dogs can have what is nothing less than major abdominal surgery--which equivalent surgery puts a human being out of commission for weeks--and yet a few days later they are bouncing around as if nothing happened. I forgot to say that Milly also had an open hernia repaired, which added a couple of stitches to her procedure.

I think everyone should follow the advice of their trusted vet when it comes to medicating for pain--and then watch your dog to make sure that whatever you are doing seems like it's going well. JMHO.

Edit to add: My male, Pepper, was most definitely in pain after his neutering, though the worst of that was over within 12 hours (he came home the same day). So they do feel something--some dogs more than others, it seems--and I think it's only fair to help them through it.

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the advice! I'm feeling better about the scheduling issues. We've had a crazy week and haven't had a chance to call the vet, but plan to do that tomorrow. Hopefully that will take care of my other concerns!

Interesting about the pain meds, too...resilient little things!