Is My Dog Alright?

[jshaytana]

my little dog (2.6kg) is 7 months old and was speyed on thursday.

when she tries to walk around she cries out, sits down on her bum kind of on one side and licks at her tummy area. the wound looks quite good, clean and not red.

it seems as if:

when she runs it pulls and it hurts her

or the stitches are digging into her

i cut the sticking out bits a bit shorter but it hasnt made any difference

when it hurts her she just sits and wont move again.

i pick her up and put her back on the cushion.

she did go outside for a poo, i heard her yowling and she was

laying on top of her poo and wouldnt get up. i carried her inside

again.

its been a long time since i had a dog de-sexed but i dont remember them being immobile for so long. my memory is that its usually harder to stop them from running and jumping about. jas has spent the last 3 days 95% of the time on her cushion. she wont get up to eat or drink. i bring it to her. (if i dont she wont get up)

i left some cooked chicken a few feet away from her for the whole morning this morning and she wouldnt get up. i finally took it to her. no i have never had to do this for her before.

it could be that she is just the ultimate sook. stitches to come out in about

7 to 10 days.

should i take her back to the vet??

[jemappelle]

This is definitely not normal behaviour but she could just be a big sook. I would take her back to the vet tomorrow just to be sure.

Is she eating OK?

[rockstar]

Poor thing Hope she gets this fixed soon.

[Bindo]

Hi Jshaytana - I'm in the same boat, my girl was desexed on Thursday too. Lucy has been doing exactly the same thing, but has been a lot better today (Sunday). Like you, I cut the ends of the stitches to make them shorter, as I think this was annoying her. However, she still races to her food (she's a schnauzer after all!) and has been weeing and pooing okay, wound is clean and dry, so I haven't worried (well not too much). She gets more sooky of a night, but is gradually starting to be more active.

Edit: She was not howling or crying at all.

I might just use this post to ask 2 questions to everyone else:

When they desex, is it a full hysterectomy (with tubes and ovaries out as well) or just the uterus?

Is it normal for bitches then to wee more often, or is this just a post-operative thing? Noticed today that on a quiet walk around the block, she did at least 7 or 8 wees and also had to go outside during the night last night (we she never usually does).

Many thanks for any advice.

Edited May 2, 2005 by Bindo

[cowanbree]

It is a full hysterectomy although there is some research being done to the advantages of leaving the ovaries in so who knows in the future.

I would not be walking your girl. This is a major operation and she should be kept quiet. I have never noticed any difference in how often they have to go in any of my girls so hopeful just because she is sore.

And to the orginal poster, my dogs are normally up and relatively normal with in 2-3 days but they are all different. I had one girl who played it for all it was worth for over a week. She had me carrying her in and out to the toilet for ages until I caught her mid play when she thought I wasn't looking. I was very worried about her. Having said that if you are worried take her in, better to be safe than sorry

Edited May 1, 2005 by cowanbree

[persephone]

Ishaytana..please phone your vet! This is NOT normal behaviour, and needs checking, in case there are problems internally.

--------------

Walking around the block a couple of days after a spey?? Not really recommended .

Our vet recommends very restricted exercise for 2 weeks!!

Seriously...it is a BIG op....even if the dog feels ok...there are only a few bits of thread holding all the "insides" behind the skin!!Stitches inside can also come loose..& then there are all sorts of problems.

over reacting? maybe...but i have seen bitches whose stitches gave way..picking up intestines off the floor is NOT nice

Please rest her...& no running around the back yard, either, for a week or so....

[jshaytana]

thanks everyone for your responses.

my dog will go outside to go for a wee but squatting appears uncomfortable for her and she looks behind her as if something is biting her.

occasionally she will jump up and turn around quickly (like something is biting her) and then lick the stitches (no chewing on them yet)

she will eat when i offer her food, and in herself she seems bright and alert when you give her some attention.

i will take her to the vet tomorrow just to be sure. i'll let you know.

she is usually such a fiesty little dog it's not the same around here with her being so quiet

she has never experienced anything like this before so i'm sure she's confused.

i'll let you know what the vet says.

if anone will downsize photos for me i could post one of her. she's a cutie.

[PAX]

I have worked/been involved in the veterinary industry for twenty years. Last year when my bitch got speyed i couldnt believe how much pain she was in. She was out of sorts for quite a few days and she was a young healthy bitch. It is a major operation and lays human women up for a couple of weeks , yet we expect our dogs to be bright as a button the next day. If you have any concerns you should speak to the vet who performed the spey. It wont hurt to be to careful.

How ever i would expect if the wound looks clean and dry that everything is OK.

Hope she is feeling better soon

[Bindo]

Thanks everyone for the advice. OK, no more walks (even though it was probably only 200 metres) for a while. I have always had male dogs so this is all new to me. The vets were very busy when I picked her up on Thursday and no-one gave any post-op advice apart from when the stitches come out, which I was a bit annoyed about.

[holly]

If your vet gives your dog the all clear, ask about some Metacam, it is a wonderful non steriod anti inflammotry. When my old girl was speyed, she was in terrible pain that night and her white cell count was abnormal. She was a reluctant walker and just laid on the cool damp grass all night. The vet gave her a injection of metacam and pethadine and within half an hour she was back to her old self. I now have a bottle of Metacam on the shelf, for times when my dogs need pain relief.

It is a major operation, women, are not to do any work for 6 weeks after a 'desexing' (hysterectomy)

take her to the vet for a check up.

Edited May 1, 2005 by holly

[angelsun]

some dogs react harshly to the anesthetic as well...often it can take a number of days for it to clear the dogs system which can result in lack of appetite or lethargy. In some cases, dogs have been known to hallucenate.

Yes, she could be in pain as it is a major surgery. BUT....catering to her is not going to do her any good in the long run. She will not starve nor will she be mentally damaged by the experience.

Crate rest or quiet time will last a few more days, and she should come around. If the incision is clean and not inflammed, she should be in no real danger. Do not mess with the stitches as mentioned if you snip something too short and it works it's way out, the incision can open and you will have a far greater mess and concern than you have now. The vets leave those tails on there for a reason.

[jshaytana]

Well i took little Jas to the vet this morning. They thought she was a bit miserable but the wound is ok. They put some soothing cream on the red parts of her belly, wrapped up her belly (yes right around her back, its sticky too so it will be fun getting it off on friday) and they gave her a clavulox injection, a rimadyl injection, and some tablets of each to take home.

i'm so glad they didnt didnt charge me for the consult because all that was $72

she has proceeded to pull all the cotton wadding out from under the bandage but seems to be resting peacefully. she hasnt had anything to eat today or drink but i'm not taking it to her in the hope that the sooner she is up and about the better she will feel.

i'm glad i took her to the vet, i feel better, and hopefully she does too.

[Bindo]

Glad to hear that she is bascially OK. Lucy is a lot brighter again today, starting to play on her with her toys. The only time she cried was when she saw me getting my joggers on for the morning walk (and she was left behind!).

[jshaytana]

good to hear lucy is brighter. i would expect dogs to get brighter and better with each passing day, but my little one is still on her cushion and still hasnt had anything to eat or drink

oh well...i think she really is very sooky

[Kez]

Good luck getting the sticky bandage off -

Two ways I've got that stuff "unstuck" from fur is:

Baby oil (soaked "through" the bandage)

and

Apple Cider Vinegar (soaked through the bandage)

Having been "speyed" myself (recently), I can almost relate to how the bitches must be feeling -

Walking, stretching, and anything that uses any internal muscles (peeing, #2's and even passing wind ) are all rather frightening to try, let alone DO.

Make sure she does move around, as not only will it make her recovery easier on her, it will help her "mindset" about it being painful or not.

[chicko]

Not to hijack the thread or anything..(sorry) but on topic still. My dog gets snipped on the 13th of this month (being a friday) So i can watch him all weekend but monday i am back at work..Will he be better by Monday or should i have Monday and Tuesday off just to watch him?

[jshaytana]

chicko when i was at the vets today, they did say that

individual dogs react differently. they said some bound

out the door after surgery and it hard to keep them quiet

and some are like mine and take more time to recover.

i guess you wont really be able to tell until sunday night.

do you live near work so you could pop home and check

on him in your lunch hour or breaks? (if you get any)

[chicko]

I live about 20 mins from work, so yea i could check on him as i have an hour lunch break. Hopefully i can do this! But as you said i wont know until Sunday!

[Hansky Mum]

I'm having my two mini schnauzer girls desexed tomorrow. 7 months old. I'm really scared because I read of a boy pup recently dying in surgery when he was being desexed. I lost my two big gilrs, 11 and 9 years just before christmas, on edied after surgey (not desexing) and I'm scared it could happen again. I also don't want them to be sick afterwards, my memories (many years ago) was that it is quite straight forward and they recover quickly????

Keep me up to date with what the vet thinks the problem is.

[jshaytana]

hansky mum,

boy, i can understand why you might be worried and there is always risks associated with surgery but....

you should try not to worry so you can be there to look after your dogs. like my vet said, different dogs have different responses to surgery so you will have to try to be brave and be there for your babies.

i hope they fair well.