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Neuter questions

LauraD

Well-known member
Hi everyone,
OK, i've been reading the posts about Jack's neuter and Zack's neuter and i have some questions. Riley is scheduled to be neutered in 2 wks. (he'll be just over 6 mths. then) and i was quoted an amount of roughly $200 for the neuter and microchipping. In addition, i was told that post surgery Riley would have to wear the cone collar and it would be 10-14 days before the stitches could come out!! That seems really like a long time to me. Does it really take that long for the stiches to be removed? Can't they just use the dissolveable ones? And as far as the collar, well when we have had a dog in the past and there was a need to use an cone collar we just substituted a human "neck brace" instead. That way the dog couldn't reach the affected area, but could still move around without that big plastic thing hitting into things and making it uncomfortable to sleep. It seemed to work quite well.
Does anyone think that 10-14 days sounds like a long time for the stitches? What about using a "neck brace" instead of a cone collar, could that really be doing any harm? Also, no pain meds were mentioned to me, should i expect to have to use them? Would he really be in that much pain so as to have to use meds?
Any replies would be helpful.
BTW, Judy I hope Zack is improving and you are able to worry less about the procedure. And i hope Jack has recovered well too.
 
Hi Laura. I was thinking if i had this to do over again, i would call around and ask vets what procedure they use--first i would find out what different versions of the procedure there are, and i would try to find out pros and cons. It seems that dissolvable sutures would be easier--my vet says she doesn't need to see him post op, after a week he can return to his normal activities, dog park romping and all, end of story, so that seems better than having to go back and have stitches removed, but i bet there are pros and cons. I just don't know what they are.

Someone said, i thihk it was my daughter talking about Belle's spaying, that the stitches were little wires, and the dog didn't lick them, and maybe that was because it would not feel good to be licking wires. Maybe so? But it seems licking or pulling sutures can be prevented just by using that collar. I sure don't see any reason why you shouldn't use the neck brace instead of the cone. I hadn't thought of that or i would've gotten one. I guess zack can live with the cone for the rest of the week? he was wearing the onesie except at night when i couldn't watch him, until this afternoon when he peed on it. It's the only one i have. I had it rolled up to his to his arm pits and snapped, thinking he wouldn't pee on it like that, but he lifted his leg and i guess the trajectory is that high and he soaked the front of the winnie the pooh onesie. so now, he has the cone on all the time. That's because he did lick the wound once earlier. i caught him doing it and put the cone on. but he hasn't paid much attention to the wound. It's only the second day after the surgery so i'm reluctant to let him lick it yet. He doesn't seem to mind the cone at all, but you're right, it's hard to watch him crashing into things with it.

Another thing I'd do differently next time is ask the vet what additional charges were possible. I think that's good that you were told "roughly $200." That lets you know it could be more. My vet's office told me flat out $200, no hint that it would be twice that much.

As for pain pills, most people i talked to about this did not have pain pills. Some did. I don't think Zack needed them. If my vet hadn't given them to me, it wouldn't have occurred to me to ask for them. If he's been in pain, he hasn't shown it, except right after the surgery he was groaning, but after i got him home, once the anaesthesia wore off after 12 hours, he didn't show any sign of pain, except he wasn't very physically active. but he was playful and had a good appetite. I did give him a pain pill the second night, but if i did't have them, i wouldn't have missed them. i was guessing he might be in pain, but maybe he wasn't, it wasn't like it was that clear.

Rory did need pain pills but he was older, by a few years. So that makes sense. But I've heard severa examples of spayed females who weren't given pain pills, and that's open abdominal surgery, much more invasive than the male neuter. My cat didn't have pain pills after spaying. I don't think it's a bad thing that my vet gave them to me, except that my whole bill was exorbitant so in that context, they are questionable to me, but i think they are good to have on hand in my dog medicine chest--but bottom line, he didn't really need them.

If i had it to do over, i would try to have the surgery earlier in the day. Zack's was at 1pm and he just started to come out of the anaesthesia as i was about to go to bed, so i stayed up til about 4am, feeding him, playing with him, observing him, assuring myself he was ok. Next time, i would try to make all that happen earlier.

Now, almost two days post surgery, i can say it was indeed an uncomoplicated procedure. Zack looked very uncomfortable from the time i picked him up til 1am, and i thought he was in rather bad pain, but once the anaesthesia wore off, he has been pretty normal and all the time frames Karlin predicted in particular have been dead on, pretty much to the minute. I had a rough time with the neuter mainly because of the woman i dealt with at the vet who gave me all kinds of bad advice and bad information. thank goodness for this board. Between being overcharged and being given bad and alarming information, i thought it was worse than it was at first.

I appreciated Nicki's sharing of how she managed with Jack, and her sharing of the homeopathic support she gave him. I felt inspired by Nicki's example and empowered by being able to give zack remedies i believed would support his healing.

Only two days after the surgery, zack seems oblivious to it, the redness of the wound is gone, the bruising is gone, the swelling is gone, his energy level and appetite seem normal. Kendall suggested the 3rd day might be the worst so i'm psychologically prepared for that if it happens. I have to go to work tomorrow (was able to stay home today) but will manage to come home and check on him after a little while, and to have a short work day tomorrow. After that, since the doc said he'd be back to normal activities in a week, i'm guessing it's all downhill from there. So given that, i can understand your questioning of the 14 day thing, something worth questioning in terms of pros and cons.

wow. Riley is growing up! :)
 
PS Jackie/Wood Haven wrote about a problem with internal stitches with one dog she had, where the stitches seeped, not sure what that means but it sounds like a potential complication of the dissolving sutures.
 
When my dog Joey got neutered i thought it was a very easy proceedure. A lot easier than i was expecting. My vet gave him disolvable stitches so there was no need to go back and get them taken out. Also the stitches he used were non irritant so he didnt have to wear one of the big plastic collars as he didnt have the urge to scratch at them. Joey really was up and running around as usual the day after the operation and never had any problems at all. Maybe you could ask your vet about these disolvable non irritant stitches. I hope everything goes well for you.
 
What is a normal amount of time that they vet will keep the dog before and after the neutering? I just called to make my Joey an appointment for a neuter this week and they want me to drop him off the evening before and pick him up the day after the surgery. Is that normal? h*lp
 
I took both of mine in that a.m. and picked them up that evening. They both did very well. About 24 hours of soreness and laying around and then back to their old selves.
 
jeni said:
What is a normal amount of time that they vet will keep the dog before and after the neutering? I just called to make my Joey an appointment for a neuter this week and they want me to drop him off the evening before and pick him up the day after the surgery. Is that normal? h*lp

One of the three vets i called, happened to be the cheapest one, said he would stay over night, for observation, no extra charge for it. I asked if it was ok not to leave him overnight and they said yes, that was ok, as long as someone could be with him at home for the night. The other two vets i asked said he'd go home the same day. zack had surgery around 1 and was ready to be picked up by 2, according to the vet's office.
 
Wow! It just sounded like a long time to say for a simple surgery. I called for the price also and it is 74$ everything included. Plus 30$ to get him chipped, I think that is a good price. Especially since he is staying so long.
 
Joey's neutering went well, he had it at 6 am yesterday. They called me at 5 pm and told me that he could come home early as he was doing so well. He came home and romped and played like nothing had happened. No pain pills or cones or anything. I was quite releived. He has a bit of swelling and bruising but he only has one stich down there. The insicision is very small. I am quite pleased with this experiecnce because I was really worried about it. This morning he was running up and down the stairs and wrestling with Puzzles. :)
 
jeni said:
Joey's neutering went well, he had it at 6 am yesterday. They called me at 5 pm and told me that he could come home early as he was doing so well. He came home and romped and played like nothing had happened. No pain pills or cones or anything. I was quite releived. He has a bit of swelling and bruising but he only has one stich down there. The insicision is very small. I am quite pleased with this experiecnce because I was really worried about it. This morning he was running up and down the stairs and wrestling with Puzzles. :)

This is how it should happen. It sounds like you have a very competent vet who is reasonble in prices too. Good!! Sandy
 
when i got King neuteredi only took a couple of hrs....the had me drop him off in the morning, bout 9am (then make me wait all day w/o my baby i was so worried) then they called bout mayb 5 that he just woke up.... he had to surgical staples (didnt need any cone or nuttin) he just gave me some pain medication just incase King started to get some pain....never did and King never even knew that he was missin anyting and never paid attention to that spot while the staples were in....then bout 10 days l8r brought him in (could sware only 30sec) to get the staples removed and he was back to his normal self....
 
I am pretty pleased with my vet. He is VERY reasonable with pricing. I had an after hours emergency visit and it cost me 50$ and that was the medication and injections included. :D
 
Jeni,
Wow, Joey's neuter seems to have gone really well! (y) I hope Riley's goes as well. My vet is more pricey, but then again so i everything where i live. I am feeling better about Riley's neuter in 2 weeks. Everyone's stories were very helpful. Thanks
 
So glad to hear Joeys neutering went well. It really is very worrying. I was in tears the morning i dropped my Joey off. It really isnt as bad as we think though. You can relax now :flwr:
 
it's exactly a week since zack's neutering. His wound is healed. It healed fast, and he was his normal self by the second day. The first day after, he was happy and showed no pain, but was quieter than usual, physicially, not as active, he guarded the wounded, only tried to jump up on the couch once, but otherwise seemed happy, playful, good appetite, no problems. At least in our experience, the internal sutures have been a good thing, just in the sense that we don't have to go back and have them removed, although that is a simple quick thing. anyway, i have a reinforced good feeling about the vet i chose, the woman, not the practice, just another good experience of her competence. But i also think this is such a simple procedure, i would be happy with either of the other vets i know as well. The thing that made it traumatic for me, two things, was the way i was treated by the main person i dealt with, who took him from me and didn't let me say good bye before the surgery, refused to let me, and then telling me negative things when i picked him up, while at the same time handing me a bill for almost $400, and telling me how at risk he was for infection, and how likely he was to be in pain and in need of pain meds around the clock, and this all left me feeling afterwards like things had somehow gone wrong, but actually, other than the bill and the negative ignorant insensitive woman, nothing went wrong, it was smooth and easy and i'm glad it's over.

after the big deal that woman had made about how zack had to wear the cone on him head for 5 days 24/7, on the third day, in the morning, i happened to notice him licking his wound while wearing the cone. :shock: The only time i had him wearing it was when i was sleeping at night so for all i know he was lickign the wound the whole time during the night. I called the vet office and was told (by one of their nice people) that apparently he had been given a cone that was too small and that i should come in and get another one.
So after all that, their office had not fit him properly and he wasn't protected from licking after all. right here i need an emoticon for "shaking my head." LOL. I asked her, "What about him licking the wound? I was told that would be highly dangerous." She said, "oh, not for just one day." But this was the 3rd day. I didn't bother mentioning this. I just took the new much bigger cone and brought it home.

:lol: I put it on the coffee table, along with the smaller one. a little later, Zack was up on his hind legs, sniffing the new big cone. I put it on the floor so he could check it out. he then put his head through the opening and proceeded to put the cone on his head! he got it on and started prancing around the room in it. !! :lol: He liked it. (shaking my head again, laughing.) He never did seem bothered by the other one, and seemed to like it when i put it on him, sitting still and sort of pushing his head through it. After all my thinking it was a hardship for him to have to wear it. :lol: He wore it proudly for an hour or so, playing, watching TV, going about his business, while wearing his new cone. I took it off when it was time for dinner. when i went to bed that night and put it on him, i didn't feel bad about it anymore.

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