A week ago today, I had my almost 16 month old lab neutered. He is extremely high energy. He had his regular checkup the prior week and was so super hyper, the doctor wanted him medicated prior to dropping him off for the surgery. 600 mg Gabapentin the evening before, Another 600 mg 2 hours before drop off, along with 200 mg Trazodone and 5 mg Melatonin. I was sent home that evening with firm instructions to keep him calm for 10 - 14 days. He was to continue the Gabapentin and Trazadone, and also prescribed Rimadyl for pain. And the cone of course. The next day in the afternoon he began having diarrhea. Two days after, I called the Vet and they prescribed Proviable probiotic paste and pills and was told to put him on a bland diet. The diarrhea continued even with the diet and probiotics. But he is showing no signs of dehydration and he has plenty of energy, even with the Gabapentin and Trazadone. The last of the Rimadyl was given yesterday, and the diarrhea isn't showing any signs of slowing. Today, Day 7, I decided to also stop the other medication, because waking me up 2 to 4 times a night along with every 2-3 hours in the day for 6 days has become just too much. But now I have this full on spaz of a dog ramming his cone into everything and really jumping around like a lunatic. Anyone ever deal with this? And is it really absolutely necessary to go the full 10 days with the cone? I've read conflicting things about this.
Update: I only gave him one Gabapentin yesterday, and the diarrhea improved. Today no pills. I also took the cone off (this is day 8 after the surgery, and he seems to be doing fine. His anxiety disappeared and he seems more his normal self. Still leash walking only, and playing only indoor games. He hasn't bothered licking the surgery site.
Regarding the cone, my 14 month old lab was neutered and the vet gave me a cone to use only if needed. I watched hom closely for the first 2 days, a couple of times he tried to lick the area and I gently stopped him and redirected his attention. Never put the cone on and everything healed well with no issues.
Thanks, I don't feel like such an awful dog mom now, going against Vet instructions. I think half of his "wound up" behaviors was anxiety because of the cone.
We didn't use a cone on Cooper when she was spayed. We watched her, and she didn't seem to have any inclination to lick the wound, so we left it off. She had a tough surgery, because she threw up some stomach acid while under anesthetic, so she was on more meds afterwards than normal, but every thing worked out fine. When she first came back from surgery, she jumped over our couch, our previous Lab did the same thing. I was tempted to cut down on the pain meds so she wouldn't feel so good.
The vet sent me home with a cone after my girl's C-section a few months back. I suspect it is still in the car. She didn't take the slightest notice of her wound or stitches even with puppy feeding in the area.
