• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

Fiona is getting spayed next week--Any advice?

Donna27

Well-known member
Hello Everyone!

Fiona is getting spayed next Thursday, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice about recovery time or healing tips. My dogs growing up were all rescue dogs that had been fixed, so I have never had to spay a pet before! Fiona's only 6 months, but the vet wanted to do it as early as possible. She has to have her umbilical hernia fixed as well, and we are micro chipping her. I cant stand to think of her alone at the vet overnight :( She's usually cuddling in the bed with us.... Poor pup!
 
Fiona

We just had Molly spayed and her hernia fixed 3/22. She stayed overnight and while the vet said it was best for her, it broke my heart. I called like twice that day.

But I picked her up the next day and she was remarkedly good. They sent her home with an "E" collar so she wouldn't lick or bite her stiches, and she handled that okay. While we were with her, I took it off and watcher her like a hawk. The vet also said try and keep her from steps and jumping and we tried to carry her down steps (and we did for a few days), but she really was much better than I had hoped. Keeping her from jumping was hard. We are also still finishing up her antibiotic because of the hernia. The vet said it had closed around a bit of goo that he didn't want getting infected. They cleaned it up, but he wanted to make sure she didn't have any problems.

Feel free to ask any other questions.
 
I think the worst part of spay/neuter is the separation anxiety that us humans feel. She'll be fine & home in no time. Most vets will allow you to bring them home the same evening. None of mine have ever needed the Elizabethan collar, but it is handy to have one nearby if she does start nibbling at her sutures. Just keep her quiet for a couple of days & give her lots of cuddles. She'll lap it up.
 
What is the reason for keeping the puppy in the hospital overnight? When we had Ginger spayed and her hernia fixed, we were able to drop her off early a.m. and pick her up in the evening. I don't think I would've slept at all if we had to leave her in the hospital overnight despite knowing that she'd be in good hands. I'd check and see if picking your puppy up in the evening would be possible so it will lessen the stress of your puppy.

Our vet said that putting an E collar on Ginger would cause more anxiety to her, so he did not put an E collar on her.

Instead, he told us to go out and buy some human baby clothes for Ginger, something that would cover her whole body including the surgery area so she doesn't lick.

I forgot what they're called but these are for newborns... You can easily get them for 2 bucks in Target or stores like that. I'll try to find some pictures of her wearing them so you get an idea.
 
I did that and Amber wriggled out of it... :lol: Post op it's not usually too bad- I've been through two, now- and you'll find that for the first couple of days keeping her quiet shouldn't be too hard 'cos she'll still be woozy. On day three though, if you have an energetic pup.... keep an xpen handy! It might just save your sanity ;) .
 
When Lucy was spayed she did fine but after a couple of days she started trying to nibble the stitches so we used an Elizabethen collar.

I used to hold it in front of her face and feed her treats through it, then slip it on her and carry on giving her an extra treat. So the putting on of the collar was good news to her! She soon got used to actually wearing it.

She associated it so much with treats that when she didn't need it anymore and the collar was just lying on the coffee table she went up to it and wriggled and nosed it and finally pushed her head into it herself. She didn't get the treats she was expecting!!

To let her have a little wander round the garden and for her first lead walks a few days later we put a babygro on her - just shortened the arms and legs. I think we got 12 months size...cheap from a charity shop. That kept the wound clean especially if it was a bit wet outside. Oh, and I cut out a hole for her tail to go through. It had to come off for her to wee though. icon_whistling

I'm sure she will do fine. Good luck.
 
Milly was spayed, hernia repaired and microchipped in the middle of March. She's a year old--18 pounds--and I went to Target and bought a few 24 month size one-piece baby undershirts with the snap bottoms--and cut holes for her tail after putting them on her and seeing where it should be. Because she just fits into that size, I splurged and bought a couple of more expensive ones that were a little more generous in fit (I think they cost me $7 or so) but they were worth it. And cute, too!

Also ahead of time, I went to PetCo and got an inflatable donut shaped ecollar for her to wear at first, so that she wasn't disoriented and bonking into things in the big cone ones that they send them home in. Mainly, I used it to discourage her from wanting to jump on things, because that was the most difficult part from the very beginning.

After a day or so I took the collar off completely and relied on the onesie to keep her from licking herself--and my personal vigilance to keep her from jumping. (That is a small size collar--she probably should have had the medium.) But it all worked great.

Some vets simply have a practice of keeping the dogs overnight to check to make sure they aren't running a fever the next morning. Ours did this too.

This was probably day two out of surgery

ItsBaconSm.JPG
 
My vet requires the puppy to spend one night. I did miss Scout, but I have to admit, I enjoyed the peace and quiet! I could actually sit for more than 2-3 minutes without getting up to see where she was or what she was doing. I never let her leave my sight. So maybe I'm a bad owner, but I enjoyed my one night.
 
Back
Top