How to care for Dog after her op??

giddybootz · 14-03-2009 2:02pm #1

Hi all,

Our girl has just been spayed yesterday and we want to make sure we are doing all we can to make her comfy!

Vet didn't give us painkillers for us-i assume this is normal?

She is not really eating but i think that is because of her big lampshade collar...i got her to eat most of a yogurt and drink a few mouthfuls of water from my cupped hands. We were told the collar has to stay on for 10 days....its breaking my heart as she keeps bumping into things and is lying with her head hanging off the couch.

What are the best things i can do to make her life easier over the next few days?

Thanks for your help....oh and she is a cairn terrier just under a year old!

Sigma Force · 15-03-2009 12:55am

When dogs are brought home after their spay op the vet usually says not to feed them that day/evening and just give water and then feed them a little the next morning and then after that feed as normal.
Just to give the tum time to settle.
The lampshade looks awkward, usually it's not needed unless a dog is picking at their stitches perhaps your little one was so they had to put it on.
They can manage fine with it after a couple of days, I've had cats, dogs and rabbits with lampshades and it doesn't take long for them to start eating by themselves, they will bump off stuff though.

The vet gives a long acting pain killer and usually there's no need for any more pain killer after that. Some dogs are tougher than others, I'm sorry I didn't ask the vet for a pain killer for her she was uncomfortable for longer than most dogs would be. She was fine in the end though. It's just hard to see them so uncomfortable.

Other dogs I've had have pretty much had no trouble, stood up and walked around and been pretty much back to normal straight away. Some are just a little more delicate than others.

Just keep her warm and cosy and don't let her jump up on furniture etc.
Keeping her quiet will make the healing process quicker there's be no pressure on the stitches. 10 days seems like ages but the time will fly by.

Some would say you could take the lampshade off but perhaps only when you are keeping an eye on her and then put in back on when you can't supervise her and at night as well just in case she was at her stitches.

Beth · 15-03-2009 1:46am

When our girl was done, we took the collar off. The thing was huge and she was like a prisoner running it off the bars of her crate. She wanted to be in her crate as her comfort zone but didnt like the big yoke that was stuck to her

Cant blame her really.

We took it off and left it off her except for at night. Once they're not pulling at stitches you can leave it off if you want once you can supervise her, and just put it on at night. We were told she was ok to lick at the stitches after a few days once there was no pulling - but thats only what we were told - others might say not to let them lick for fear of introducing an infection (yet dogs saliva isnt as full of bacteria as most people think!). She's an extremely clean rottweiler so the no cleaning thing was making her miserable.

Keep her from being very active as well. I know most people wont walk their dogs on their normal walks after a spay, and just do gentle strolls after a few days to get them out of the house - but limit play in the garden/at home too. If they are too active the fluid can build up and the dog needs to be brought back in to the vets for fluid draining. It will also help with the stitches because you dont want to be listening to her in pain waiting for the vet to open if she has burst a stitch.

If you're going to take the collar off her, I'd recommend getting her a kong after a few days. Giving them mental puzzles (she needs to figure out how to get hte food out of there) will tire them out just as much as a walk will so whle you're not walking her, this is an easy way to do the mental thing. Stuff it with her food, dry - until she figures it out, and then you can stuff with soaked food (and freeze it if you want), mashed fruit and yoghurt (no pips - can cause cyanide poisoning), smears of peanut butter, smears of baby food, smears of meat paste - all in the inside of the kong and it will keep her occupied.

If you're leaving the collar on, a wooden spoon is handy. Mash up some soaked food and you can give it to her on the spoon. any spoon could work, but the wooden ones are longer and will save your back

apart from that, once the anaesthetic is out of her system, she'll be back to normal and not as tired but the physical part takes a little longer to get over then.

If she does not seem "right" to you at any stage, dont be afraid to ring the vet.

Jules · 15-03-2009 4:31am

My advice post spay would be as follows -

1, When she is unsupervised she MUST where her buster collar, and licking the wound is not good. Its not just about infection, constant licking for any significant amount of time can irritate the skin which can cause it to become inflamed, which will cause it to become more sore which will cause her to want to lick it more, so one or two licks is, well ok is not the right word, acceptable, but no more than that.

2, If she is an active dog, 3/4 10-15 minutes walks a day on the lead is good and building this up over the course of time her stitches are in is ok. Not walking her at all can do more harm then good as they need some kind of stimulation, and as above a kong is god for this. Also bring her out of little walks is also a good time to give her a break from the collar as you can watch her, as she should NOT be off the lead.

3, When you take her home from the vets you should feed her something light that wont upset the tummy, generally i find boiled chicken and rice or scrambled egg good but important to only feed this for a short time, ad start to intergrate her own food back asap. She may vomit when she is fed the first time, but this isnt anything to worry about, as ga's can upset the tummy, is she does leave off the food and give her little drinks of water.

4, Keep any eye on her wound. If there is anything you are worried about bring her to the vet. You would expect some amount of swelling or redness but not very much. With humans we know not to do certain things but for our furry friends its harder to make them understand the restrictions, so just trying to keep them as relaxed and quiet as possible is good.

5, No baths etc till her stitches are out but you can give her a sponge bath as such, as if she has her collar on she will find it difficult to clean herself so this will make her feel a little better.

I'm a bit surprised your vet didnt give her any pain meds as it can be sore, and generally a few days of a low dose anti-inflamatry is give just to take the edge off for them. If you think she is in any pain you shoudl ring your vet and inquire about a few days of meds.

Fair play to you for getting her neutered, its is the right choice, all i will say is watch her feeding after her op, as they can tend to put on weight. Other than that she will live a happy and healthier LONGER life!

giddybootz · 16-03-2009 10:23am

Thanks for all the advice. She seems alot happier this morning!!

Our big fella was away for the weekend and she is always sad when he is gone anyway so i think haveing him back has helped. We will just have to watch closley that he is not at her stitches.

Tried the toy+peanut butter trick but she was only interested if i was holding it for her :rolleyes: ....think she was just loving all the attention!!

Thanks again y'all!!

How to care for Dog after her op??

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