Activities For Recent Spay

[toy aussie mom]

I have two 6 month old littermates.

I got them spayed on Thursday and was told to keep them as inactive as possible for 7-10 days.

On friday they were pretty much back to their normal selves - wanting to run/jump/play.

I am kennelling them as much as I can, but letting them out for breaks as well.

They listen well when I think they are getting too rough and stop easily.

I have kongs/food balls and other toys for them, but they still seem to want to run/jump/rough house.

Any good ideas for activities to do with them once I stop them from "wrestling"?

(this is the first time Ive gone thru dealing with a spay puppy - much less two)

i was also told not to walk them for 7 days - they are used to two one hour walks a day, so this is the hardest adjustment. They already look at their leashes and bark to go lol

thanks in advance for your advice

[puggy_puggy]

What breed are they?

A month and a bit ago I had two rescue pug pups (litter sisters), that I was fostering, spayed at 5 months of age. I basically decided that couldn't keep them quiet and let them play with eachother as they normally did. Because they were so little and the cut and stitches were not that big I wasn't that worried.

All I did was keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't pull at eachothers stitches and I didn't walk them untill their stitches came out two weeks later.

So if you have a small/toy breed I would say don't worry they are so light and the suture line is so little that things should be fine.

[toy aussie mom]

What breed are they?

A month and a bit ago I had two rescue pug pups (litter sisters), that I was fostering, spayed at 5 months of age. I basically decided that couldn't keep them quiet and let them play with eachother as they normally did. Because they were so little and the cut and stitches were not that big I wasn't that worried.

All I did was keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't pull at eachothers stitches and I didn't walk them untill their stitches came out two weeks later.

So if you have a small/toy breed I would say don't worry they are so light and the suture line is so little that things should be fine.

They are miniature australian shepherds - one is 11 lbs and the other is 13 lbs.

The biggest part I am worried about is the "herding" of each other. They can get those little legs moving pretty fast! lol

ive been watching the incision very closely and they calm down when i tell them "stop" but i can tell they dont like it lol

I think im going to lose my mind by day 7 tho

They have internal disolvable stitches - so if everything goes well, no need to return to vet.

Maybe I'll confine them to one area so they cant "chase/herd", i know they wont like that either but its better than the crate for 20 hrs a day lol

Edited September 14, 2008 by toy aussie mom

[puggy_puggy]

Seriously I think they will be fine.

My two were 4.2kg (9.25lbs) and 3.5kg (7.71lbs) and they rough and tumbled with eachother like maniacs. (un dog people would think that they were fighting and wanting to kill eachother ) If you have ever seen a pug do a puggy run you will know how fast they can run also.

Come to think of it I did put them in their puppy pen every now and again to settle down and so they had less space to go crazy in. Do you have a pen?

Are you keep both the girls? My two were adopted by the same human mum which was a real blessing as they absolutley adore eachother and are the best of friends. They actually came back for a visit today, I haven't seen them for over a month, and it was heartwarming to see what good buddies they are.

[persephone]

They should be run /housed separately for the week,IMO.It only takes one wrong jump/twist to do damage.

Better to have them quiet for one week, than have trouble with stitch pulling- extra scar tissue etc etc.....

Edited September 14, 2008 by persephone

[Miss B]

I agree with persephone.

We have a girl here who was spayed last week, and she has been confined to a puppy pen in the loungeroom and only allowed outside on-leash for toilet breaks.

[puggy_puggy]

I think that the smaller the dog is the less likey they are to do damage.

As long as they aren't being feral and jumping up and down from things and you can stop them calm them down it should be ok.

The older rescue pugs I have had desexed and spayed I have never confined and they basically got back to doing normal things the next day. And not one of them developed problems

The rescue pups and my female pug are the only puppies that I have had experience with when it comes to desexing at a young age. I put my pug in a play pen for the first few days, which she hated, and she ened up get a bit of gunky pus cyst thing on her suture line that burst and eventually cleared up and she didn't run around nearly as much as the rescue puppies.

[Miss B]

I see a lot of nasties at work - breakdown of wounds, infection, stitches chewed/popped out etc. So I guess I tend to be overly cautious.

[Madeleine]

When we had our pug done we tried our best to keep her quiet - didn't work.....We thought she had herniated at the site - but it was just excess fluid build up - thank goodness! BUT it was because she was such a psycho running etc - the vet told us not to worry about it and it was absorbed in time. I can still feel her internal sutures 7 months later!

Try not to worry about them - maybe increase their 'chewy' things - chicken wings only last about 20 minutes here...but maybe include a couple of larger bones or some pigs ears to keep them rather still for a few hours??

[toy aussie mom]

no pen

its the kennel or a room in the house ;(

so really no matter where i put them - besides the kennel - they will have room to run.

I would hate for something to happen to them, but at this point it looks like I just keep watching them and trying to keep them calm lol

im sure by day 5 its gonna be impossible ;P

thanks for all the thoughts. ill stop at petsmart today and see if i can find some more things to occupy them.

thanks again all ill let you know how it goes

[toy aussie mom]

Are you keep both the girls? My two were adopted by the same human mum which was a real blessing as they absolutley adore eachother and are the best of friends. They actually came back for a visit today, I haven't seen them for over a month, and it was heartwarming to see what good buddies they are.

I actually purchased both of them - so yes, unless something drastic happens - theyre both here to stay. even tho they are a handful at times lol

they get along great and they both adore and listen to me pretty well for 6month olds - so at this point no reason to think of not having one or the other

two are twice as expensive, twice as time consuming but i get twice as much fun and twice as much love to make up for it ;)

Edited September 14, 2008 by toy aussie mom

[toy aussie mom]

well today is day 4 and incision site looks good still

i havent been able to stop them from totally not running or jumping, but ive lessened it alot.

now whats weird is that they keep shaking their heads like they just got a bath.

i checked their ears and they look ok.. going to see if they continue it tomorrow and if so - back to the vet ;P

they were just groomed before the surgery and i dont see anything in the ears (dirt etc).

so we'll see

wish me well and hope its just a lil itchy since i havent been able to keep them still enough to brush them and the hair outside the ear is getting curly

yes im a paranoid first time mommy

older dogs were a little easier i must admit, but the pups are WAY fun

[toy aussie mom]

I'd like to thank everyone for their words of encouragement and the information they provided. I appreciate it more than you know

This was a hard week for me and this forum helped me get through it.

But, since I've been informed my dogs arent recognized ,I wont be posting here anymore as there are more experienced people than I (thats for sure ).

I found this site as a fluke and was just a worried puppy owner trying to get info and you all helped with that - again I thank you and so do my two little ones

have a great day in Oz

[SparkyTansy]

toy aussie mom, please don't be discouraged... there is so much info on this site and there are lots of friendly people. This is a purebreed forum and as such, some are rather protective of their breeds, but it doesn't mean that we chase off anyone with a Crossbreed or unrecognised dog. First and foremost, we are doglovers.

Anyway, hopefully you will come back

[SwaY]

They are miniature australian shepherds

[toy aussie mom]

I received messages from quite a few advising me to stay around.

I will be reading alot because I am a first time puppy owner and I know there are experienced breeders/owners with lots of insight to give me

id just rather not deal with any negativity in my life if i dont have to and realize all are entitled to their opinions as am i

altho i doubt i will post, i may message some of you who were helpful if i run into issues

you calmed my nerves at the worst time and i appreciate it

have a great day

[Miss B]

Toy aussie mom, I am glad that you plan to stick around The DOL forums are a wealth of information and there are plenty of lovely people happy to share their knowledge and experience.

How are your pups going, are they still shaking their ears?

[toy aussie mom]

Toy aussie mom, I am glad that you plan to stick around The DOL forums are a wealth of information and there are plenty of lovely people happy to share their knowledge and experience.

How are your pups going, are they still shaking their ears?

well we made it to day 7 (today) and no mishaps yet.

yea they are still shaking a little but i think its cause they dont like the child tshirts i have on them lol

i usually brush them nightly - keeps them pretty and also is awesome cuddle/puppy kisses time

and i didnt brush them for the first couple days after the surgery, so their hair was a little bunched under the tshirts.

i caught one going under my kitchen chairs to scratch her back, so i think its more that than anything else. i read alot on ear mites (yes im paranoid a bit lol) and there are no signs of those. i made sure to clean their ears (what a task to keep em still!) and brush them paying special attention to around the ears and it seems to have lessened. So I'm hoping that once the shirts come off in a couple days theyll stop shaking like they just had a bath lol

Sassy is pretty well healed - incision isnt red or swollen and is getting lighter. While Lady is a little swollen still and not as light as her sisters.

Both look great tho, just want to give it a couple more days to "finish" as they started trying to lick each others incision site now (im guessing theyre helping each other itch it OR they just noticed the other has it since I took advice and try to keep them seperated as much as possible.

Which, by the way, is impossible now ;P

Im going to let them out to play today for a bit and try to keep them from getting too rough, but going to start getting them back to normal as they look so sad and bored lol

I think theyre tired of the Kongs and pretty much everything except for the feeding ball at this point lol

I'm hoping to start our walks again on Sunday and I KNOW that will have them excited again lol

and again i want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement. I know I could have made it through this without you guys, however i would have been less sane and so would my vet/friends/family lol

[puggy_puggy]

Glad to hear that your girls are fine.

Personally I think that dogs having a little lick at wounds can do no harm but if you feel they are licking to much there is a gel sort of ointment you can apply, around the incision sight, that deters licking.