So my 7 month old little black lab Holly gets spayed on Thursday. First female dog I have ever had. Any words of advice?
Try not to worry! They do look pathetic little things when they first come home but I think that is more the effect of the anaesthetic, they recover much quicker than humans and within a couple of days you will be desperately trying to keep her quiet. Lead walks for ten days when the stitches come out.
Do lots of games that involve her using her brain to tire her out more. She may be back to herself quickly or it might take a few days. Lots of rest and cuddles.
They only take a little while to be back to normal, but don't let her jump up or bounce about - easier said than done as they think they are perfectly ok. I kept Maisy off the stairs for a week and no rough and tumble with other dogs for a while either. When I picked up Maisy from the vet she was very wobbly and needed to be lifted into the car, and like Stacia said the anaesthetic takes a while to wear off. During that time she slept a lot and (we didn't realise at the time) she weed in her bed as she could not get up to go out. She did have extra fluids during the op as she had eaten some raisins and they wanted to lessen the strain on her kidneys (long story) so this will probably not be a problem for you. I slept with her during that first night but she came alive in the early hours and wanted to play - so be warned. The scar healed really well and you wouldn't know it was there now, although it looks really horrendous to start with. Don't worry she will be fine.
My vet only has 1" scars when she spays I remember the first dog I had spayed in about 1970, done by a 'large animal' vet, the incision was long and cobbled with large, blue stitches! Times have changed radically and now the scars are very neat.
My 16 month old was spayed on Monday. She was very groggy that day (anaesthetic). Upsetting to see - be prepared for that - you take in a healthy lively dog and bring home a zoned out, wobbly one. I knew that it would be like that but still upset me . Be prepared for helping her into and out of the car. I had to fetch Red on my own and lifting 21.4kg of dog taking care not to touch their tummy was hard (but not impossible). Took soft rugs for her to lie on in the car. Keep warm and quiet for 72 hours (Vet’s advice) Take her outside for the toilet on her lead. Give pain relief as advised. Red has been very sleepy in the mornings. Last night she had been sick when we went into her room this morning. She wanted her breakfast though. Getting moments of being frustrated with medi vest and bandage on her leg - she won’t stop licking unless we bandage. Otherwise she is quiet - doesn’t seem to be bothered about lack of walks which are a big feature of her day. Follow all advise from vets. We have a post op check tomorrow and another in a week’s time so will be guided by them. Play games that don’t require exertion.
The vet nurse lifted my girl into the car for me (she was able to walk to the car on lead). My girl's spaying experience was a little different as she had a laparoscopic spay with two tiny incisions which I could barely see and she was allowed exercise more quickly than with a normal spay, but she was discombobulated by the anaesthetic. Although not particularly groggy she whined quite a lot the first afternoon and evening home. I slept downstairs the first night to keep an eye on her (when I went upstairs to the loo in the night, both times I came back down to find her settled on my mattress on the floor ) but the second night I went back upstairs.
Joy was spayed at the end of February, aged 9 months. As other people have said, really quite groggy on the first evening and sadly pathetic looking but otherwise no problems. Full of life and ready to go completely back to normal the next day, the challenge was to keep her calm and occupied with limited exercise. Vet check after 2 days and another 1 week post op. No need for stitches to be removed as they were the kind that dissolve. Back to normal exercise after this. HOWEVER.... Solstice, previous black Lab, who was far more outgoing and headlong into everything than Joy is, was absolutely floored by it! She cried for the next day and a half! When I rang the vet for advice they could hear her crying over the 'phone. We took her back in for a check and they couldn't find anything wrong but gave her a painkilling injection to see if that would help. It made not the slightest difference! She was like this every time she had a general anaesthetic and every time I found it really upsetting although I came to expect it and to understand that some dogs do just react badly to anaesthetic.For myself, I found a small (!) glass of wine or so helped me be less stressed. Not trying to worry you, but just to let you know that different dogs react differently. I do hope all goes well and that your experience is less Solstice and more Joy!
Just to add - Poppy took around a week to recover properly from her laparoscopic spay. She was older though - five years old. She hated her medivest, and was very good about not licking her stitches, so we took the vest off the first day. I slept with her in my bed for a few days. She was a little depressed and just not herself for at least a week, but after that she recovered completely, and hasn't looked back since...
