Neutered

I'm a little worried about Sammy. He was neutered over two weeks ago: one testicle hadn't descended, so it was necessary.

2 1/2 weeks on and the wound has healed well, but Sammy is quite changed. He is very serious and passive compared to his previous bubbly tail-wagging self. For example, in the mornings, instead of waking me up with lots of kisses and enthusiasm, he stays asleep in bed until I'm up and dressed and ready to go out

Has anyone experienced this with neutering, either as a short term effect of the operation or as a long-term effect of the hormonal change?



My serious boy...

My parents just had their Cav, Bentley, neutered 2 weeks ago, also. They said that he has really settled down and gotten much more affectionate. Before, he didn't sit still for very long but now he is very cuddly and affectionate. They also said he sleeps until they get up now, which used to not be the case. Sounds pretty similar!

If you feel something might not be right with Sammy, it might put your mind at ease to have the vet examine him.

He looks adorable in the photo!:luv:

Hmm, agree with Cathy on this if you feel something not right then consult your vet, however Cavaliers are fantastic for "milking" a situation for all it is worth, it could be that he is picking up on you maybe feeling sorry for him following his op, even though it was done on medical grounds, and is going for the sympathy vote!!

Finding an undescended testicle is major surgery, not a simple neuter -- they have to create an incision similar to a spay and hunt around for the missing organ. He will take much longer to recover. If he is acting off colour I'd immediately get him to a vet to make sure there isn't any problem.

Their activity level takes weeks and weeks to shift for what most consider the better -- they will remain exactly the same in personality, just settle slightly, and if anything, get more loving. It takes up to three months for the testosterone to go through their system so you wouldn't be seeing too much alteration in personality from a neuter alone only two weeks afterwards.

On the other hand, his behaviour change may simply be a coincidence -- puppies start to settle anyway with each month older they get. My Jaspar used to do the morning attack in bed too but that had pretty much stopped by 6-7 months of age. They are all individuals and different though!

Well Karlin said everything I was going to say so... yeah that!! *points up*

Thanks for the advice! Just to update on how Sammy's doing now...

He continued to seem serious compared to his usual mischievous self, so I took him to the vet yesterday. At the vet's, he jumped around and wagged his tail off and didn't seem serious at all. The vet said the wound looked very well-healed and clean, and there seemed to be no problem. She said she would just remove a knot from the self-dissolving stitches that hadn't disappeared yet. Obviously I felt like a bit of a hypochondriac! When she removed the knot, however, a whole load of pus burst out from underneath!!

So, he had an infection underneath the wound and will have a round of antibiotics. I can't believe that he didn't seem sick in any way: no swelling, no redness, eating fine, drinking fine, pooping fine, walking fine and no signs of pain. The only sign really was that he wasn't wagging his tail and demanding attention as much as usual. Anyway, I'm very glad I took him back to the vet!

Sammy will have to wear his pink baby suit now for another week, which means he will have worn it for 4 weeks in total He will seem all naked when he is eventually clotheless again...

Sammy in his pyjamas:

Wow....I'm glad you took him to the vet's office. These guys can be so stoic sometimes....you just don't know something is wrong because they don't show major signs. Whenever one of mine is acting "off", if continues for more than a couple of days I usually run them into the vet's office.

Sammy is adorable by the way....and hope he's back to his bubbly little self in no time.

Ewww! So glad you found that he had that infection! You clearly know your dog and were sensitive about knowing his behaviour.

I'm glad you posted about this experience because I amsure it will give people more confidence to go to their vets when they feel their dog is off colour. All of us know our dogs better than anyone else and no one should ever feel embarrassed to go with their gut instinct that we are seeing a significant personality change -- and have our dogs checked out to see if an underlying cause can be found. If we had a child or parent whose personality had really shifted we'd be thinking about seeing a doctor and it's true for our pets too! Animals are very good at hiding pain or tolerating it without any outward sign EXCEPT perhaps a change in personality so we are the experts when it comes to seeing that symptom.

All of us know our dogs better than anyone else and no one should ever feel embarrassed to go with their gut instinct that we are seeing a significant personality change

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Absolutely Karlin!! I can't emphasize this strongly enough. If you think there is something wrong with your dog....the best thing to do is to take him to the vet and find out.

Almost every time I have felt there was something wrong with one of mine...there has been. And when there wasn't something physically wrong with them I realized we had emotional/behavior issues to work with. Ruling out the physical helped us move forward with resolving our problems.

Good for you for taking him to the vet and finding that infection!

My vet told me one of the first times I had Daisy in when she was a puppy that Cavaliers tend to be very stoic in the face of pain.

Just caught up on this and glad I did, it is really unusual to have an infection with no swelling or redness so you were very lucky indeed!! Great big kiss and a very gentle :hug: for your little lad, hope he "milks" this for as long as he can get away with it!!

Aww. Hope he's better soon

Well done you for following your instinct