# Pickles gets the snip!



## veridea (Apr 26, 2012)

Hi again everyone! I've just scheduled Pickles' neutering appointment for next week (at 6.5 months old). I'm just wondering what to expect for after-care. I've had a cat go through the process, but he healed so fast that he didn't even really need the cone! Pickles is my baby, and I want to make him as comfortable as possible - any tips? I've heard of soft, cotton-lined cones instead of plastic, but I'm not sure if my vet offers this. (For what they're charging, I hope so!)

I also need tips on how to keep him from over-exerting himself. We'll keep him on-leash for the recommended time, but he LOVES to play with our cat! We haven't kept him in a pen or crate since he was four months old, and we don't plan to confine him after the surgery. (It would be hard to, as we live in an open live/work loft....about a thousand square feet with no doors except for the bathroom). He sleeps on the bed with us, and is used to jumping off to go potty on the pad downstairs. Will we need to bar him from going downstairs/upstairs while he has the cone on?

Can anyone let me know what to expect? Thanks in advance!!

Just for fun, here's a picture of Pickles and Clam together!


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## angiern2004 (Apr 24, 2011)

You might want to rethink confining him. He needs to be calm with little activity for a few days. Our vet told us no jumping or running (or wild activity) for the two weeks between his surgery and the day he got the stitches out. That includes jumping on/off the couch and bed.


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## HannahBearsMom (Jul 31, 2011)

Maccabee did not have any exterior sutures and did not need a cone. He recovered very quickly and did not need ny pain meds, even though he required an extra incision in order to remove one testicle which never descended.

I agree that ou will have to confine him somewhat. I don't think jumping off the bed, or any other furniture, would be a good idea.


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## veridea (Apr 26, 2012)

I think he'd lose it if we tried to confine him. His original confinement area was a 2x3' puppy playpen - we still have it, but I feel it's cruel to keep him in it (he was only 2.9 pounds when we got him, now he's almost 7!) He hated it from the beginning! He's able to jump off the bed because it's quite low to the ground, and he still needs help for the couch...would it work if I bought a gate for the stairs? Or at least set my alarm before his wake-up time, so I could carry him down?


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

The boys usually have an easier time then the girls, Yogi did not chew and did not come home with a cone, no stiches to be taken out, we just did not encourage rough play and would settle him if he thought he was going to RLH. Hope your boy back to his happy self soon.


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

Hope he does well, love the eyebrows


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## Beau's mom (Oct 6, 2011)

Beau was fine from day 1 after the neutering. When they told me to keep him calm for 2 weeks, I laughed. I couldn't -- and he didn't. All was fine. I just didn't "encourage" strenuous activity!!


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## Ruthi (Nov 10, 2011)

Same here. Otis was that age when we got him fixed. He didnt use a cone, had stitches, and acted normal the next day. He played as usual, but we didnt rough house with him for a few days. He will be fine, dont stress, lol


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## DeeDee (Sep 4, 2011)

Great question. Up until Kai, I've only had female dogs. Kai was neutered 2 weeks ago. I was very surprised that the vet, the vet tech or the after-care sheet did not mention swelling of the scrotum (apparently it's pretty common but can actually cause people to doubt the surgery was performed). Also not mentioned, the flap of skin that remains after the swelling goes down. I've read that if the dog is not mature at the time of neutering, the skin will flatten as the dog grows; otherwise it will remain.

Apparently Kai recovered from surgery very quickly. The vet's office told me he was bouncing around in his cage. (Based on their observation, no lampshade required.) I knew I'd have a hard time getting him to settle down, especially with his sister in the house. Wish I'd made arrangements with the neighbor to take Kiki for a few days; however, I did put Kiki in doggie day care for two days to help restrict their interaction somewhat.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

angiern2004 said:


> You might want to rethink confining him. He needs to be calm with little activity for a few days. Our vet told us no jumping or running (or wild activity) for the two weeks between his surgery and the day he got the stitches out. That includes jumping on/off the couch and bed.


Same here. We were also told absolutely NO STAIRS for 10 days.

As far as the cone is concerned, it seems to be very variable. Kodi didn't need a cone at all. We had a Onesie on him for two days to keep him from licking... not his incision, but because they gave him severe "razor burn" when they shaved him, and we had to apply an ointment that we didn't want him to ingest.

Our vet said that they watch them for a few hours before they go home, and can usually pick out the few that are going to need a cone. Otherwise, they send them home without, and tell the people to call if they think they need it later.

Oh, and make sure they send you home with pain meds. Kodi only needed them for a couple of days, but he really did need them in the beginning. Some seem to have a rougher time than others, and it's better to be prepared.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

veridea said:


> I think he'd lose it if we tried to confine him. His original confinement area was a 2x3' puppy playpen - we still have it, but I feel it's cruel to keep him in it (he was only 2.9 pounds when we got him, now he's almost 7!) He hated it from the beginning! He's able to jump off the bed because it's quite low to the ground, and he still needs help for the couch...would it work if I bought a gate for the stairs? Or at least set my alarm before his wake-up time, so I could carry him down?


You have to figure SOMETHING out to keep him off the stairs, and to prevent him from jumping on or off the bed. If he won't tolerate an ex-pen (and this is a PERFECT example of why it is SO important to get puppies used to and comfortable with their crate or ex-pen!) you may have to tether him to you during the day so that you can restrict his movement and keep him from getting too wild with the cat.


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## BennyBoy (Apr 25, 2012)

Benny did not have any stitches (surgery done with laser) so there was no need for a cone - he never licked the area.

Benny rested that day, but once day 2 came, he was up and at 'em and it was pretty hard to keep him from running around. He was doing stairs by day 4 - he really acted like nothing happened.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi WANTED to run around and do stairs, but we were specifically told by the vet not to let him. I didn't want to be THE one whose puppy managed to break something open. Ten days just isn't that long to enforce rest.

I'm sure lots of people are lucky, and their dogs get by fine without the extra care, but I didn't want to take chances.


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## veridea (Apr 26, 2012)

I know this is an old thread by now, but thanks everyone for your help! Pickles recovered wonderfully, and we were able to keep him relatively calm for about a week after his surgery. We carried him down the stairs, and slept in with him in the mornings to curb his 7am wild time. He took pain medication for five days, as per the vet, and after two weeks we finally let him romp in the off leash park. It was a MUCH easier process than I thought it would be, and I'm happy I didn't wait until he was older to do it. 

Thanks again for all your advice!


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## Carefulove (Mar 20, 2009)

Glad he recovered quickly.

We just had Toby (our 1 y/o) neutered on Oct 19th. He wanted to run around within 2 days. Thanks God I kept the Expen, we had to keep him there for a week.


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