# Shama's getting spayed



## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Yesterday, our local club picnic was postponed until today. So today should be a really fun day for Shama, running around with a dozen or so other Havanese, including KarMar's Mario and Nino.

Then, tomorrow, Shama is getting spayed. (We waited until after her first heat as advised by our breeder and an agility trainer.)

Should I leave her bow in when I take her to the vet, or will they have to remove it anyway? (Not the bow seen in attached photo, which was taken on July 15.)

Our breeder said we can keep her in a human infant's onesie after the surgery so that she can't access her incision but is more comfortable than being in a cone. Has anyone tried that? (We already purchased a cone, so we don't need advice on that unless you think there's something we really need to know.) She weighs 6.8 pounds.

Any other advice for after the surgery? She will be kept overnight by our vet, and we'll bring her home on Tuesday.

No horror stories, please (unless you think there's something we really need to know). We're a little nervous, so thanks for your support.

(Our groomer said to request that her leg not be shaved to put in the IV. Not sure how much of her long coat will have to be shaved . . .)


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

As far as the onesie goes, just make sure you put the chest part on her back. Then you leave the center snap undone and her tail will fit through there. Some dogs will still try to get to the incision through the onesie so just be aware of that. I still used the cone at night for the first few days because I was paranoid she would get to her incision while I was sleeping. When Shama has to go potty you can roll the onesie up onto her back. Also be sure to remove the onesie from time to time and comb her out, because they do cause matting.
Molly recovered from her spay very quickly. You mentioned that they will be keeping Shama overnight. I hope that someone will be on the premises with her. Otherwise, I would insist on taking her home where you can keep an eye on her. Try not to worry - she will do just fine!


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## seesawhavanese (Jun 17, 2015)

Mochi was spayed at around 6 months and we used a onesie instead of the cone. She got a lot of matts around the arm pits, but it worked well. Don't get a onesie that is too big and loose. 

I can also compare my experience with a cone since Mochi just had Cherry eye surgery (around 9 months). Mochi got mats around her neck from the cone, and her ears don't get much air circulation. She was able to sleep and eat with the cone on, so it wasn't as bad as we thought. We did take the cone off each day to comb. 

Our vet had to shave part of her paw, and it only grew back half in 2 months. Looking at Shama's long coat, you may not even notice the shaved paw since the other fur will still cover it. Mochi's fur wasn't as long.

So from my experience, I'd choose a onesie for a small puppy over a cone, but the dog is a bit bigger, then a cone works fine.

Good luck, I think we tend to worry too much.


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

I told the vet I didn't want my girl's leg shaved right before she went in, and she said she was glad said something then (I'd told them before, but it's easy to not remember or forget to communicate with others) as it would have been as its simply easier for the vet techs. I used a onesie, but cut a hole out for the tail. I also took it off if I was around due to matting. Lola had an easy time of it, was back to herself in two days, and never tried to mess with her incision. I wish you the same.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Wishing Shama an uneventful surgery and quick recovery from her spay.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Nino sends his well wishes to his new friend Shama! Hoping everything is a breeze and she bounces back to her sweet self in no time.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

We had a good time at the North Star Havanese Club picnic yesterday. We got to meet KarMar and Nino as well as njsmommy and Jango (see pictures below). There were a total of 16 Havanese there, so it was really fun. Last night, it took me about three hours (watching TV the whole time and taking breaks from the work/torture) to get the mats out of Shama's coat.

Thank you, Diane, seesawhavanese, and boomana, for your replies to my post yesterday.

We'll pick up some onesies today. We'll try to get cute ones then post pictures of her in both her cone and her onesies.

We dropped her off at 7:30 this morning. They said they would hopefully not need to shave for the IV. They said we could leave her bow in.

She is the only one scheduled for surgery today so will have a very quiet place to sleep overnight. The surgeon will look in on her at 10 or 11 PM, but then she'll be alone until 7 AM tomorrow. We think that, between her high activity level yesterday and her surgery today, she'll sleep the whole time. She is used to sleeping in a crate in a room down the hall from us, and we really like everyone at our vet's office (i.e., feel confident about her surroundings), so we think she'll be OK. The vet did say we could take her home at 5 PM today if we promised to keep her calm, but we do like the idea of the medical team checking on her again in the morning.

(Experienced people, do you think I should take Shama to her practical obedience class on Wednesday morning at 9:30? I was originally planning not to, but the head trainer said I should be able to bring her and just maybe not partake in all of the activities. There is no jumping, however, only the occasional run when we practice recalls. I was thinking maybe I'd just bring her in a onesie . . .)

I'll let you know what happens!


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I would take my vets advice on the class. My vet said no running or jumping for 7-10 days after spay. She also may still be getting a dose of pain killer on Wednesday morning and may not feel up to all the commotion.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Love those photos 

As far as obedience class goes, I would hold off altogether or only go to watch. Nino went to his run through only a couple hours after we picked him up from his tooth extraction, but the only thing we had to worry about for that was effects of anesthesia (given how non-invasive it was), which he wasn't feeling. A spay is one of the more invasive procedures, so she will probably be feeling it for awhile. I don't know how your classes are run, but just watching can be beneficial in some cases


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

That is just the cutest picture of Shama with her red, white and blue bow! Truffles was spayed in the morning and came home that afternoon. I gave her pain medication around 10 pm. She slept all evening and until the next morning. The next morning she was back to normal. I really had to watch her because she wanted to play with Scout. I carried her up and down the stairs for a week. I was fortunate because she never touched the incision. I did ask the vet not to shave her leg. You might ask if someone will be watching her at night. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I would feel better bringing her home it no one is there to monitor her.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I agree with those who say they wouldn't be comfortable leaving their dog at a vet's office with no one there. If you need to bring her in for a rechack the next day, you can always do that. But then, I won't leave my dogs alone at the groomer's either.

I also would skip pbedience class, or fo without her to watch. You want. This is major surgery. Even if she doesn't complain, it's not nothing.


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## AbrilsMama (Jun 24, 2014)

ShamaMama said:


> Yesterday, our local club picnic was postponed until today. So today should be a really fun day for Shama, running around with a dozen or so other Havanese, including KarMar's Mario and Nino.
> 
> Then, tomorrow, Shama is getting spayed. (We waited until after her first heat as advised by our breeder and an agility trainer.)
> 
> ...


When Abril just had her stones removed, the nurse suggested the onesies instead of the cone. I was glad as Abril does not do well with the cones. My daughter had some 6 months on hand...tried them and they did wonderful. I put them on her upside down and it covered quite well and she left her incision alone. Abril weighs 18/19 lbs.


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## Raffi'sMom (Jan 25, 2016)

Love the pictures of her with the others.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Just wondering how Shama is doing after her surgery?


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Just checking in to see how Miss Shama is doing today. 😊


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## njsmommy (Apr 19, 2016)

Thanks for posting the photos! How did the surgery go?


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## Hanna (Feb 25, 2016)

Hope Shama will recover faster with this surgery good luck Shama.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

We took Shama to the vet at 7:30 AM yesterday. At about 10:30, the vet who performed the surgery called to say that Shama was recovering in their incubator. She said everything had gone well until the end when Shama had a "bleeder," an artery that continued to bleed. She said she'd had to lengthen her 3/4-inch incision to a 3-inch incision in order to locate and ligate the artery. We knew that she would be removing a puppy canine that had been retained next to her adult canine, but our vet said she'd also found a premolar that needed to be removed. She said her mouth was a lot dirtier on that side, as if Shama had been chewing mostly with the other side of her mouth. Now that the premolar is gone, she'll hopefully chew with that side as much as with the other. We also have to brush her teeth more frequently (at least twice a week was recommended; we had not been good about brushing her teeth . . .) She said that since the surgery had gone longer than anticipated given the bleeder, she wanted to be able to give her more fluids before putting her to bed for the night. That made us glad that Shama was spending the night at the vet's office. She could give her another IV after office hours. (We think she last checked her around 10 or 11 PM, but we're not sure.) Back at home, we watched the movie, "Best in Show," while Shama was gone so that she wouldn't bark at all the dogs. (If you haven't seen that movie, check it out!)

This morning, we were supposed to pick Shama up at 8, but a detour due to road construction took us way out of our way, and we got there at 8:30. When we had called around 4 yesterday, we were told that she looked good, and the vet texted us a photo at 7:30 PM. This morning, she looked tired but otherwise fine. We weren't able to talk with the vet herself as she was with a patient, but we got thorough paperwork and good follow-up instructions from a tech. We took Shama home and put her in her plushest bed within her ex pen for the day. We'd thought she'd need a cone or a onesie for sure, but it seemed she hadn't needed a cone at the vet, and she wasn't really going after her incision, so we didn't put on a cone at all, and we only put on her onesie for the overnight (backwards - thanks, Diane!) We stayed with her all day, playing two board games (Caverna and Le Havre), and making a jigsaw puzzle, while she slept in her ex pen next to us. Then we brought her to the lower level to lie between us in the plush bed while we watched TV. We gave her pain meds at 3 PM and 11 PM, and now she is down for the night (in a onesie).

Here's a before and after of her tummy. We don't mind about the length of the incision, but we regret that her insides had to be additionally shifted around to get at that artery. We're happy the surgery was a success, and we're glad we were able to get the two baby teeth extracted at the same time. Shama drank a ton of water and ate some of her soft food. She won't be going to practical obedience class with me tomorrow. My trainer said I could still participate but with one of her dogs at the end of my leash instead of Shama. (Do you think a German Shepard will feel different than my 7-pound Shama? Tee hee . . .)

Thanks for your interest in Shama's health. Hopefully she'll be feeling better soon. 

PS They did end up having to shave a small area of her leg to insert her IV. We didn't get a good look at the time and forgot to look later, but it seemed like it was fairly covered by her other long hair.


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Poor little girl! I think we had the same onesie! Hope little Shama feels all better soon!


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Glad she is home now so she can begin healing. She looks so sweet in her onesie. Get Well Soon, Shama!


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Happy she's home and the surgery went well. She looks adorable In the onesie.😇


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## PaulineMi (Feb 5, 2016)

Shama is being a good patient. Happy to hear she's doing well.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Poor little girlie! It really shows how tiny she is, if that's just a 3" incision!!! Glad she's doing well now, though. She'll soon be running around like normal.

It's best if you can get in the habit of brushing her teeth daily, just like a human. Especially since she's so small, it's likely that she has a small jaw, and possibly some crowding. Those conditions make it even more likely that she'll have dental problems later if you don't really stay on top of dental hygiene.


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## njsmommy (Apr 19, 2016)

So glad she is home and recovering well; what a sweetie in her little onesie! Wagging tail good wishes from her new buddy Jango!


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## Raffi'sMom (Jan 25, 2016)

Get better soon little Shama.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Oh the poor little sweetie. I'm glad she's home with you now.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Good to hear Shama is at home! She looks pretty cute in her onesie. Hope she makes a speedy recovery!!!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I love how chic Miss Shama looks with the bow in her hair! Glad her spay surgery went well in spite of the bleeder. What a sweet sweet little furgirl she is!


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Thanks for all your messages. She seemed like herself this morning, wagging her tail like mad at my husband when she first saw him. (It's funny how at times she's all about him, and I am chopped liver, but at other times, she only wants my attention.) It was hard to keep her from jumping. (Because we want her to pass her therapy dog test, we do usually require her to sit before we reach down to pet her in/pick her up from her ex pen, but today she must have been so happy to be feeling better.) We continue to carry her down and up the stairs to the yard, and we're keeping her on a short leash so she doesn't run. (We're cramping her style when she makes a BM, because she likes to sprint away from it in order to get it to drop to the ground. Do your dogs do that? Sorry if that's TMI . . .) Today I am planning to brush her hair and change her top knot. I'll post a new photo late tonight or tomorrow if I succeed!


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

ShamaMama said:


> (We're cramping her style when she makes a BM, because she likes to sprint away from it in order to get it to drop to the ground. Do your dogs do that? Sorry if that's TMI . . .)


Ha Ha - no Willow doesn't do that! What she does is whip around and aggressively kicks her hind feet like she's trying to bury something. However, she's facing her doo doo so it's not like she's trying to bury that.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Jackie from Concrete said:


> Ha Ha - no Willow doesn't do that! What she does is whip around and aggressively kicks her hind feet like she's trying to bury something. However, she's facing her doo doo so it's not like she's trying to bury that.


_Dogs of both sexes commonly scratch or scrape the ground with their hind paws immediately after defecating. Some dogs also perform this action after urinating. This is a normal behavior -- it's your dog's way of leaving a scent and visual message to other hounds that might pass by later._

Why Do Dogs Scratch the Ground After Defecating? - Pets
pets.thenest.com/dogs-scratch-ground-after-defecating-3549.html


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

She's brushed, and she has a new bow. She has a lot of energy now and really wants to run when we're outside. We're keeping her on a short leash for the time being, however. She can run when she's more healed. Can't wait for her to be off leash . . .


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## Barbara Levy (Apr 22, 2016)

ShamaMama said:


> She's brushed, and she has a new bow. She has a lot of energy now and really wants to run when we're outside. We're keeping her on a short leash for the time being, however. She can run when she's more healed. Can't wait for her to be off leash . . .


I feel your pain. Loki is on day 10 of 14 with the cone and nothing to chew. I can tell his mouth is feeling much better because he is trying to chew and pick up everything. I have to keep him on a leash in the back so he doesn't go in the bushes and pick up sticks, and walks are terrible because he wants to put everything in his mouth. He even tries to chew on the poochie bells. I got a 12" kids ball thinking he might chase it and push it around with his cone. No way - he just scoffed at it. Husband left Monday and won't be back until late Saturday night. He gets to entertain Loki all day Sunday!!!! Next Wednesday can't come fast enough!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Awww....Shama looks pretty cute there! Get well wishes Shama! 😊


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

She is so precious in her onesie!


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Shama seems to be recovering well. We're letting her be off leash in the back yard, but we're still carrying her up and down the steps. She's done the Havanese "run like hell" a few times in the past day or two, including this morning in the 3x10-foot space next to and behind my desk (see photo). That was funny. The onesie did lead to a lot of matting. Working on that bit by bit . . . Thanks for all your support.


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

She's such a pretty girl. She looks tiny compared to my Lola, who is a bit of a tank.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

If I remember right, she IS tiny... I think even Pixel is a "tank" next to Shama!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Shama is a tiny little thing  Nino is 7.5 lbs and about 9 inches at the shoulder, so relatively small. Look at the photo of them side by side on the first page and you can get an idea of her size.

I'm so so happy she's recovered from her surgery so wonderfully. Getting them to stay low-activity is quite the challenge, so I'm glad (for both you and her) she's able to begin returning to a normal routine.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

It has been nearly two weeks since Shama got spayed, and she has resumed nearly regular activity. The main difference we've noticed is that she eats her full bowl of dog food each time it is presented (morning and evening). She used to eat a meal then go a long time before eating another meal, then eat a couple of meals then go a long time, etc. It seems that she'll be a regular eater from now on. We'll keep her servings on the light side so that I can give her tons of training treats. The onesie did really mat her butt and tail, and I couldn't get them dematted because she was too squirmy, so we made a special trip to the groomer yesterday to get her entirely free of mats. Now we're off to puppy playtime at Petco. (She is no longer a young puppy, but she plays so well with others that they keep allowing us to go.) I am behind on reading posts in the Forum, so I'm sorry I haven't been commenting on all of your posts.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Glad she has fully recovered. And, she's a beautiful doll baby!!


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## PaulineMi (Feb 5, 2016)

Happy to hear Shama's recovery went well. She's such a pretty little lady.


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

She's such a gorgeous little one. Lola is twice her size. I'm glad she's back to feeling fine and running around.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Shama is adorable! I'm so glad she's back to normal!


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