A quick update on Harley's post spay. Behavioural change: Assessing and observing behaviour is my profession and I can whole heartedly say that there has been no change in Harley's behaviour. It is like the operation never happened. We don't know how she would have developed if she was able to reach sexual maturity with her hormone producing ovaries but she hasn't changed from the Harley she was before. Physical change: Her growth appears to have continued on the same projection as before, she hasn't yet gained any weight that isn't normal for her development. Temperament change: She is the same sweet, playful pup as before Post operation recovery: The first night was horrible, she vomited and didn't want to eat. She was confused and uncomfortable. The next day she was a bit subdued and quiet. By the evening of the second day we had Harley back in full steam. We had to work really hard to keep her quiet. It was like she had no idea she had been operated on. We were very lucky that she didn't lick or fuss with the wound so she didn't need a cone of shame. She didn't take any post-op medication. The only thing that was concerning was a little bit of bright bloody spotting from her vagina. We immediately contacted the vet and he explained that the internal sutures could cause some bleeding and spotting. It happened a few times but by the time she had her sutures removed at day 12 it had stopped. This is a photo from last night - it has been 4 weeks and 2 days since her operation. I know how worried we were before she went for the operation. I hope this update can relieve the stress for others.
Wow , that has faded very quickly , a lovely neat job , its good to know that all has gone to well for Harley x I`ve had several bitches spayed over the years , its the turn of tiny Nell in three weeks , and I dread it , as I always do ! I just console myself that an accidental mating with a bitch so tiny, could be damaging or worse , so its all for the best . Really impressed by the neat work on Harley x
Interesting to read, thank you. I asked the vet nurse at my local surgery about laparascopic spay, after you mentioned it. They don't yet do it there (I live in a backwater) but there is a practice elsewhere in the county that does. I'm not in a rush to get Cass spayed so I will continue to find out more about the procedure. The nurse thought that there could be more post op pain as they have to inflate the abdomen, also a risk that the surgeon might leave a bit in if their technique is not spot on. Food for thought, so as I say thanks for your post.
@selina27 Harley didn't have a laparoscopic spay, she had an incision that would have served for a full hysterectomy but after discussing options with our vet he offered the option to only remove her ovaries, instead of ovaries and uterus. So she still had the invasive incision style surgery as our vet also doesn't offer laparoscopic spaying. The internal surgery is less because the uterus doesn't get removed. Her little uterus is perfect so if there was no reason to remove it, we opted to have it stay. The procedure did cost us a little more as it was not the standard spay but she does not have ovaries that can produce progesterone and that is what is linked to pyometra so the risk for that is as low as if she had a full hysterectomy.
I don't have any photos of the incision site. We didn't want to hurt her for the sake of a photo and she wasn't comfy on her back for a few days and by then it was old news But I can promise you I didn't think it would disappear to this so quickly.
That looks great. Poppy's is the same - you can't see a scar at all. With us, she is more relaxed and happy post-spay than she was before, and I have to say, several months on that her fur has changed slightly - it is longer, fluffier and thicker, especially around her ruff and on her back legs. Not bad, but both OH and I have noted and commented on it.
My vet only leaves a 1" incision and it isn't laparoscopic surgery My first bitch I had spayed, was by a vet who did lots of large animal work ( cattle, sheep etc) as opposed to today's vets who tend to only do small animal work, this was way back in the 70s and poor Gemma had an enormous wound which was cobbled up with bad stitching!
