How To Manage The First Few Post-spay Days?

[beenie]

HI all,

Willow is booked to be spayed next Wednesday, and I thought I'd come here to ask for your advice on how to manage the first few days and what to expect.

My plan atm is as follows, with questions in bold

Wed - in to Vet in the am - pick up late afternoon - keep quiet, in crate. Take to toilet late evening before bed. Do I need to carry her or can she walk? If carry, how long till she can walk?

She usually sleeps in the laundry, prefers to sleep on her matt rather than the crate. The laundry is not huge, but she can walk around a few paces, but not fast iykwim Should I crate her for the night?

Thurs - kids are at kinder and daycare all day, so I can be home with Willow. Plan to keep her crated and take her out for wees every 1.5-2 hours. Night, same as Wed.

Fri - Have to take kids out to activities (which can not be missed) will be out from 10m to 12 noon then from about 1.45 to 4.15. Plan to crate her at these times, taking her to the loo before of course.

Sat- home all day save for swimming lessons for about 1 hour in the morning.

Sun - I am imagining that by today she'll be able to tolerate a bit of time out of the crate. Not running around, but maybe laying by me quietly inside. Obviously if she's trying to scamper with the kids I'll either put her in the laundry or crate her in the family room. Sound reasonable??

I imagine that she'll be pretty drowsy the first night and part of thurs. Should she be fed differently (has combo of raw meat and kibble)? Would it be better to keep her crated overnight or allow to 'roam' in small laundry?

Any and all advice and tips much appreciated!! I'm no expert so if my expectations are way off please tell me so I can do what's best

Beenie and Willow

[raffikki]

Do I need to carry her or can she walk? If carry, how long till she can walk?

Should I crate her for the night?

I imagine that she'll be pretty drowsy the first night and part of thurs. Should she be fed differently (has combo of raw meat and kibble)? Would it be better to keep her crated overnight or allow to 'roam' in small laundry?

Any and all advice and tips much appreciated!! I'm no expert so if my expectations are way off please tell me so I can do what's best

Beenie and Willow

She will be able to walk, at least my girl was

I was told no running & jumping and to keep her very quiet for the fist couple of days.

I crated at night(which was normal anyway) if Willow stays calm in the laundry normally, I don't see why you can't leave your/her routine as it is.

If there is a chance she will try to jump up, or just put her front paws up, on things, I'd personally crate her.

By the 3rd day I was Taking Electra for short walks up the street, only 5 minute ones, but about 5 times a day.

The rest of the time she was with me inside, and I made sure she was staying quiet.

If I had to go out, I crated her, by day 3 she was totally back to thinking she could run around and play, jump etc

ETA: For the fist night I gave Electra half her normal meal(same as you kibble & raw)

Edited November 17, 2009 by raffikki

[beenie]

Thanks for your reply raffikki :D

I should probably have said 'Should she walk" not "can she walk"... meaning what is better, not what will she be physically able to do

Good point about putting her paws up on things.... she does like to do that a bit (being a Wheaten and all lol) not sure if she does it at night....cause I just put her in the laundry and we don't hear boo from her all night long!

[persephone]

Hi .

Walking is fine..around the house... on lead, and NO jumping/bouncing up at all.

No jumping into car/onto furniture for the first week...

Crate her in the lounge or kitchen.. during th eday if you like...that way she can see you, and is confined

Watch her with the stitches! I personally prefer a soft plastic basket muzzle WHILE DOG IS UNDER SUPERVISION much less stressful than the elizabethan collars, IMO.

Those collars tho are terrific at night :D Maybe not in a crate tho.. they rub against the walls, make noise, make turning around tricky....

Try & keep to as normal a routine as you can.. and don't fuss over her, telling her how sorry you are that she's hurting, etc.

[Guest Ams]

First night home she will be a bit groggy and maybe a tad restless. I would just put her in her normal night place and leave her.

Next day she will be her usual bouncy self and you will spend more time trying to keep her calm. I don't use collars on their heads unless they are licking at the stitches and suprisingly very few bother. If she is supervised you can just tell her No but if she persists then you will need to look at stopping her from licking them with either a collar or muzzle.

Other than that I keep them in the house for a day or two and take them out on leads to the loo to stop them from playing zoomies.

Day three..... all normal activity allowed.

[Tassie]

- yes, your main problem will be keeping her relatively calm.

I've told the story on DOL before about how my two BCs - boy 9 months and girl 7 months - escaped through a small hole in the fence the day after they were de-sexed - stitches and all - and went 100 metres down onto the street where they had heard some kids playing. Thankfully the kids rescued them, and took them into their yard while their mum rang the numbers on the tags.

So, yes - you can pretty much expect her to be normal the next day. My vets now routinely give a Metacam injection which controls any pain for 24 hours. You might want to check with your vat about post-op pain relief. They don't usually need any more.

I've been lucky too - none of mine have ever bothered with their stitches, and my vets have never bothered with bucket collars as a routine thing.

You should get an after-care sheet from your vet - but in any case, if she's not appearing pretty normal within the first 24 hours, I'd be inclined to check with the vet.

[beenie]

Thank you all for your replies

take them out on leads to the loo to stop them from playing zoomies.

VERY good idea she's a super duper zoomie gal when she's excited lol!

Edited November 18, 2009 by beenie

[BowWow]

My bitch had a litter of pups 2 1/2 weeks ago and had to be spayed last week. It was not a normal spay and the scar is a good deal larger than the norm but she has been fine. She was sleepy the first day but fine the next. I let her sleep on her own the first couple of nights (kept the other dog away so she could get some rest) but the next day she was champing at the bit wanting to get at the garden hose for a spray! Hasn't worried about her stitches and I'm hoping to get her back with her pups within the next week. Just keep your bitch calm - she'll be glad to have the rest and sleep herself to recovery. Dogs are pretty amazing when it comes to recovery.