# Neutered & Spayed



## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

I am getting my pups neutered and spayed on the 23rd December. Any advice for me? I know Kashi may need two incisions as his one testicle has not dropped. Kashi will be 24 weeks and Miya will be 23 weeks.


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

I'm sure others will chime in here - Kodi was just done as was my Kipling. For us it was very uneventful. Kipling was a bit tired the next day but that's about it. He tolerated it all just fine. We gave him the pain meds the next day and then he didn't need them. Be prepared for the day after to have them be tired and watch that they don't lick their stitches. Kipling tried at first, we said no, and he lost interest. Within a few days he was completely back to normal.


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

I am taking them for training classes through PetSmart here in Windsor. One of the participants in the class told me her dog had problems after she spayed her for about a week. Everytime her Georgi went to the bathroom she would squeal in pain. She had to take her back to the Vet to get looked at. So she said be prepared to be at home with them for at least a week as the recovery time is about a week to ten days. Do they not put the brace around their neck so that they do not lick their private area?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi's experience was much like Kipling's... harder on mom than on him.<g>

He didn't need a "cone of shame"... our vet assesses them before they go home, and if they seem to leave the incision alone, they don't put one on them. Kodi got very irritated by getting shaved, and he was liking his skin raw (not the incision) so after consulting with the vet, we decided to put Lanacaine on the uncomfortable skin, and put a onsie on him to keep him from licking the Lanacaine. He only needed it for a day, and then he was fine.

There is some after care... we were told leash walking only for a week, and no stairs for 10 days. But the issue was more one of keeping him from getting too wound up without his RLH time than anything else.<g>


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

What is a onsie and RLH time? Sorry I am new to owning puppies.


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## DorothyS (Aug 11, 2009)

We had both Rascal and Pixie done at 5 months. I was concerned that Pixie might go into heat early and that would have been very tiresome with a male dog in the house too! For Rascal it was very uneventful - he left his stitches along after a day or so (we watched carefully and told him No). Pixie had a lot of pain the first time she tried to poop so we went to the vet right away and got a prescription for pain medication. The vet said it is often harder for females than males because more work is done "down there." You might want to ask your vet about it before you leave with your pup and have some medication on hand if necessary. It helped enormously and she didn't seem to have any pain after that. We used the medication for the full 10 days before the stitches came out, just to be sure. We also gave Rascal half doses (vet's advice) to make sure there was no pain for him either.

Pixie developed a little "bump" at one end of her incision - maybe a stitch popped or something. She had to have warm compresses on the area for a few days and go on antibiotics since there was a small infection.

After that everything healed up well and both dogs are now perfectly fine (8 months old now).

A side note - unfortunately, one of Rascal's baby incisors did not come out so yesterday he had to have it out under light anesthetic. When we had him neutered, it was too early to tell if the tooth would come out on it's own.


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## Chasza (Dec 10, 2008)

Leene,

A onesie is what babies wear, only with dogs it is put on upside down so the tail has an opening. RLH is a term used for havs when they 'run like ___' -- just running around crazily getting all this excess energy out in a big burst.

About the meds: I would talk to your vet before hand and tell him NOT, NOT to give any Rymadyl - not even with a shot before they leave the office. Sadly this is a drug vets use and can cause serious liver damage and death. It was banned from human use.

Instead talk about other pain alternatives. I have read that dogs do well on Tramadol (and it's a drug I use when needed, and it is very good). It is the strongest non-opiate drug that acts like an opiated (it's a good pain med). My boy didn't need any pain meds. My girl needed it the first night.

Also, don't let the vet give any vaccinations or apply any other drugs at this time.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

leena365 said:


> What is a onsie and RLH time? Sorry I am new to owning puppies.


A onsie is a little shirt made for babies that snaps up under their bottom, completely covering their body. You can use them on puppies too... you just put them on backwards, and leave the middle snap open for their tail to stick through. Obviously, you have to open it up for potty time!

RLH is "run like h--l" *usually in circles) which most Havs like to do from time to time. Kodi doesn't feel that his day is complete without at least one session.<g>


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi definitely did need his pain meds the first night and the next day. After that, he was fine. I'd play it by ear, though, and only give it if they show signs of needing it, not "just in case" they would have pain. No meds are without potential side effects. Our vet gave us Previcox, which is in the same general family as Rimadyl, but from what several vet-freinds (not the treating vet) told me, it is much better tolerated by most dogs than Rimadyl. Many older dogs with arthritis pain are on it long term and do fine on it.

One thing to be VERY careful about with the Previcox... Kodi was VERY attracted to the smell, and loved the taste. It was a little scray how much he liked them. Make SURE you keep them out of reach. I'm sure an overdose would NOT be a good thing!


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

Thank your for explaining the acronym "RLH". Mine certainly do it. I will inquire with my Vet with regards to previcox as opposed to Rimadyl. Thank you everyone for your advice and suggestions. Hopefully the surgery will go like a charm without any complications.


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

Along with the surgeries I am having them microchipped at the same time and I am having his umbilical hernia sewn up along with the hairs pulled from their ears as they will be asleep. I will make sure I speak to the Vet about the pain medications and find out what other drugs they will give other than the anesthesia. My vaccinations are all done.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Oh yes, I forgot to say that we wanted Kodi chipped at the same time so that he didn't have the discomfort of doing it without anesthesia. (I guess if they are ONLY chipping, they don't put them to sleep for it) I was surprised how inexpensive chipping was... I think it only added $30.

And my vet also does complimentary hear hair removal and nail clipping while they are under, though in Kodi's case that wasn't really necessary, as I keep on top of those things myself.

Another thing that I should mention is that I dropped Kodi off with his favorite blanket and stuffed animal so that he had familiar smells around him as he woke up. Not sure how much this helps, but I know it does for babies, so I would think it does for dogs. They were also very nice about getting him in and out quickly. I dropped him off at 8:30, he was sedated at 9:00, in recovery by 10:00 and home by 1:00.


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

Yes I am also microchipping my pups. I want peace of mind in case they RLH from home. My vet is also charging 30.00 for it at the time of neutering and spaying. I am to drop them off by 8:00 am and pick them up by 2 30pm same day. Did you guys stay with your pets the day they were fixed?


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

I shall drop off their favorite toys but I do not have a blanket for them I use towels and crate pads for their pen which is where they sleep. I put them near my front door on rubber mats I have Indian hand silk carpeting in my rooms.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

leena365 said:


> Yes I am also microchipping my pups. I want peace of mind in case they RLH from home. My vet is also charging 30.00 for it at the time of neutering and spaying. I am to drop them off by 8:00 am and pick them up by 2 30pm same day. Did you guys stay with your pets the day they were fixed?


No. Most of the time he was either asleep or too groggy to know the difference. I knew the vet's office would call me immediately if there was any problem. As it was, even with NO problem, they called me the minute he was done, before he'd even woken up, to let me know all had gone well.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

leena365 said:


> I shall drop off their favorite toys but I do not have a blanket for them I use towels and crate pads for their pen which is where they sleep. I put them near my front door on rubber mats I have Indian hand silk carpeting in my rooms.


Dogs don't know the difference between a blanket and a towel... and even if it's been through the wash, I think they can smell "their" smell on things. At least Kodi gets all excited about getting his stuff back clean, whether it's towels or fleece blankets. (he has several old terrycloth towels that we put in his crate for him when he comes in wet) He definitely knows the difference between HIS towels and random once that he hasn't used before.

If you let them sleep on whatever you are sending with them for even a day or two, it will smell like themselves and their sibling.


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