Well the count down is on, two weeks until Amy has a operation. I am a bit disappointed with the information I got from vets about what to expect after. I am going to call in this week and ask them for more details. So I have a list of questions for you all.... Will we need to lift Amy down the door step when we take her in garden? Will it be ok to leave her alone for a few hours the following Tuesday/Wednesday. ( my work days) Will the vets lend us a cone to practice with? What's the best way to "cone train"? We are trying to think if hubby will need to be off work with me the days following her op?
Re: Spaying questions. I can only help with the cone (have a male dog). You might not need one though, if the stitches are under the skin there are just two points at each end with stitches at the surface. Having said that, Charlie had the neatest under skin stitches from his knee op, and still went for them. So cone it was. I bought a few cones in advance. http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?topic=4722.msg58290#msg58290 Started wearing the soft cone for 30 seconds, loads of treats, and worked up from there. In the end, the cone turned out to be not at all stressful. So worth being prepared if you think you'll need one.
Re: Spaying questions. I got a soft cone for Tatze - and we practiced with it. But it turned out was too big to fit in the crate and she was desperate to sleep in her crate, so we had to go back to the vet's cone. I never thought of trying it in the crate : We only put it on at night and when we left her. She was just fine. We used a ramp for going down the step as it really did hurt her jumping down. We used it for the car too for the first five days. She got on a chair when I wasn't watching on day 2 and it clearly hurt her as now she won't get down off the chair - she thinks it's going to hurt again! So she sits and cries to be lifted off, bless her.
Re: Spaying questions. [quote author=Boogie link=topic=5282.msg66508#msg66508 date=1396794345] I got a soft cone for Tatze - and we practiced with it. But it turned out was too big to fit in the crate and she was desperate to sleep in her crate, so we had to go back to the vet's cone. I never thought of trying it in the crate : [/quote] That's a good tip. Charlie's crate was plenty big enough. Although, the vet issued cone was much bigger than the soft cone (I guess they come in different sizes), so definitely worth checking in advance. Pretty in pink with soft cone! Your leaving by JulieTandCharlie, on Flickr
Re: Spaying questions. Amy will be fine to be left for a little while Jade . Millie had the under surface stitches and didnt need a cone but I think if we had had to leave her alone in the daytime for a few hours , I would have maybe used one, just in case . Millie managed the one step in and out of the back door just fine but I wouldnt have allowed her to jump , even a little jump , for a good week or so . They do look pretty pathetic when they first come home but honestly , by day three, the worst job was to stop her scampering about as usual x
Re: Spaying questions. Lilly didn't need a cone. She licked her stitches a couple of times, but wasn't particularly interested in them. We were watching her like a hawk The day of her op she was rather pathetic, and didn't move to get to her food but scoffed her body weight in chicken and rice once it was put right under her nose. I think she seemed more or less back to normal the next day, but I guess restricted her exercise for a bit afterwards, though cannot exactly remember the details. Interestingly, the hard cone I got from the vet, I returned when we went for her wound check a couple of days after, and I was told, thanks, we will refund you, only to be told we mistakenly hadn't been charged for it in the first place!
Re: Spaying questions. The DivaDog had a cone but hated it and we replaced it with a soft blow-up type one. Energy and comfort-wise she was okay on day 1, much better by 2 and 3 and had to be stopped from jumping up and mad-dashing by the next day. Overall I was impressed that the op seemed to bother her so little, even the blow-up collar was off by day 4 and she didn't pay any attention to her stitches.
Re: Spaying questions. Jade good luck,you are doing the right thing ,it pays to be prepared I think....I will always thank Lisa and Simba for my cone prep,they had such a hectic time with it......I was determined to have Dexter cone proficient but the time his op came. I'm referencing our tail op/ castration.....similar to some of the other dogs,Dexter didn't go for the wound sites a lot,just often enough to show me he could do if he wanted :we would have the cone off and just watch him when we were with him and we took it off for meals and walks. I tried the soft cone Charlie is modelling.....Dex is so small but I ordered the size recommended for a lab and it didn't fit,the extra space gave him leeway to push it back so he looked like some kind of Labrador Choirboy! The right size may have been more successful. I also tried the one that The Divadog is modelling,Dexter could reach his tail with it on but let's remember it's a lot easier to reach your tail than your nether regions ...so could work for you. In the end I used a combination of the 31'' hard plastic cone from the vet( I hated it,he would bang into things and it just jarred on me) and The Diva Dogs blow up,one positioned behind it....the 31'' was needed to stop him reaching but because he's small the neck hole was really big and I hated it digging in him when he moved,the blow up one cushioned this a bit. I got him used to it a week before his op,I just used a chunk of roast chicken,held it in one hand while I slipped the collar over.....he didn't have any objections ;D I used to do it quite a few times a day and leave him with the collar on for a while,and generally he went to sleep,with it on.by the time of his op,when he saw us lifting the cone down to put on,he would come running and sit looking up at me ready to stick his head in and get his treat ;D Ah she's going to be fine ,but it's good to think ahead x
Re: Spaying questions. We got a Comfy Cone in Large for Merla post spay, and that fitted fine with her usual collar through the elastic loops for extra security. She didn't mind it at all, but actually didn't bother her stitches either. We had a comedy command for putting the collar on though- my OH discovered that if he peered down the wide end of the collar, with the narrow end away from him and said a big echoey 'Mooooo' (cow noise), she would stuff her head into the collar to get to him ;D ;D By the way, if you see my thread about the acute gastritis, just don't worry. Odds are probably one in a million and chances are it was completely unrelated to the spay. On the plus side, spay recovery is going great, no problem with stitches
