Well I don't think I can let Chepi have a season before spaying as I don't have a backup human now. I am having a meeting with the vet next week. I think I will have to wait until half term in February and hope she doesn't come into season before . She will be about 9.5 months by then. I would appreciate any feedback you can give on experiences of either type of operation (thinking I will go for key hole at the mo) and feedback if you had your puppy spayed before a season. I am concerned about growth and side effects. I am anticipating about 10 days for recovery. Thanks everyone
Re: Spaying experiences? Not sure I can comment on the size side effects yet, Kenzi has just turned 1 and was always a large (tall but slender) dog and is finally growing into her massive feet but I don't think it's had a major impact. In terms of the type of Op and recovery, Kenzi had full op and went in at 7:30am and was home by ~2pm. She was fairly dopey for the first night (from painkillers they'd given her) but was essentially back to normal the next morning. The vets restrictions were simply no jumping, running up stairs or off lead running for 2 weeks but other than that she was ok to do normal activities which meant I didn't massively restrict walks after the first 2-3days. I did try the collar on her to stop her getting to her incision but she just went crazy and couldn't take it (she doesn't really like harnesses either). However, I found she didn't overly lick the area so it wasn't that much of a concern but I did sleep downstairs with her the first 2 nights just in case. The only issue she had was a reaction to the internal sutures (which showed as a blister type lump at her incision) and was resolved by antibiotics which were free due to being related to the op. Also, reduced her food to about 60-70% of recommended post op to prevent weight gain and that worked as she's quite slender.
Re: Spaying experiences? I have had two bitches spayed before their season and two after, the two after did become incontinent when old which was surprising, medication solved that problem. I found no need to use a collar, my last two spayed only had an incision of about an inch. As far as I know, spaying bitches does not alter any growing process, but early castration with male dogs is affected.
Re: Spaying experiences? I'm sorry you have to deal with this on your own and perhaps feel forced into a decision as a result There are many, many dogs spayed before their first seasons and this wouldn't be the case if there was clear, hard evidence against it I'm sure. We each have to look at our own dogs and our own circumstances and make the right decision for ourselves. I'm sure it will be fine
Re: Spaying experiences? Totally agree with Barbara , each case on its own merit . I`ve had both, bitches spayed before the first season and others after the first , both of advice given by different Vets and with little difference in them afterwards . Millie, my terrier, was spayed a year ago aged aprox 9 , so far no ill effects , I wouldn't advocate leaving a bitch entire until this age but as she was a rescue, it wasn't our decision .
Re: Spaying experiences? I had Molly spayed at seven months before her 1st season. I had my previous dog, Holly, spayed after her first season. I saw no difference in recovery times. The most difficult thing with both dogs was the 'keeping them quiet' bit after the operation. They just don't seem to realise they had had major surgery and were full on within 48 hours of surgery. Molly had a conventional spay, as my Vet doesn't offer keyhole surgery. Her wound was closed with superglue so she didn't need her stitches removing. She didn't have a collar as she made no attempt to lick the wound. My vet keeps them in overnight when they are spayed so they can have pain relief. It cost me £203 in May to cover everything from the assessment to the sign off.
Re: Spaying experiences? Hi Jane, Maisie was spayed at 5.5 months* and she had the endoscopic spay. She stayed overnight at the vets and was very unsettled for the next day at home from the GA. However, by day 2 post op she was ready to rock and roll! She only had two small incisions and they were glued. I was amazed how quickly she recovered. Keeping her quiet was the challenging part! (*The reason she was spayed so early was because she was going to have to have a tooth removed under GA so we did the two ops together).
Re: Spaying experiences? Two spayed, both the conventional way. One at six months, one at twelve months after her first season. No difference between them that I can tell at all. They both recovered overnight and you can't see where the scar is on either now. Neither needed a cone, they didn't even sniff the wound. Gypsy had internal, dissolving stitches and Tatze had normal ones which had to be taken out. With both my only problem was keeping them quiet for two weeks after the op!
Re: Spaying experiences? Penny had a laparoscopic Spey (keyhole). She came home the same day and was fairly subdued on the first night. By the next day she was pretty much back to normal. She took to the buster collar really well and didn't seem phased by it at all; we were lucky enough that she didn't bother her wounds so we were able to keep it off when we were around and only put it on when we left her. I had Penny speyed after her second season. The plan was to get her done after her first, but she unexpectedly came into season only 3 months after her first - one of the other reasons they convinced me to definitely go ahead with the op. Recovery time with the keyhole procedure was really quick. Wounds were fully healed by 10 days and she was back on normal exercise by then too. I have noticed no side effects, only positive results as she is less hormonal (a problems in bitches with short season because their hormones are raging all the time).
Re: Spaying experiences? Had a nice long chat with my vet today and surprisingly have chosen the traditional method; I was convinced the way to go was key hole. My vet explained that with key hole Chepi would be under anaesthetic for longer; would have her tummy blown up with gas; would have 3 holes through muscle. Whereas the other way would just be a tiny cut, not through muscle and a much shorter time under anaesthetic. Anyway, the decision has been made. phew! Let's hope she doesn't come into season before half term! Oh, by the way, (inspired by snowbunny), I asked about the inflatable neck buster collar and he highly recommended it.
Re: Spaying experiences? Those Buster collars are wonderful Jane , Millie had complex eye surgery last August , she needed to wear a collar for two weeks , she truly never objected to the Buster one at all , they are very kind x
Re: Spaying experiences? I've never used a collar on any of my dogs after spay or neuter...none of them ever have paid any attention to the incision site. My Bella is set for her spay on Thursday - she'll stay overnight at the vets...she is 19 weeks - so 4 1/2 months. My vet prefers to do them early, as there is no impact for females on being spayed early with their growth...and she would prefer that the tissues are all smaller and less developed, rather than waiting until after a season. My last 4 females have all been done before they are 6 months old, and have done fine and gone on to be big beautiful long lived darlings... I'll just be glad to get it done and over with...
Re: Spaying experiences? I looked at it the other way round. After months of really hard work training Molly, fitting into her routine (bladder, meals, sleeps etc) I decided to go out and enjoy myself for the day with no need to rush back for her. Worked for me.
Re: Spaying experiences? ;D ;D ;D I agree Tina.... hubby and I were just discussing how nice it will be to get a full nights sleep!!! : But who am I kidding??? I'll probably not sleep well because I'll be worrying about my poor baby girl all alone in a KENNEL overnight...
Re: Spaying experiences? My spaying experience so far has NOT been fun! My 7 month old girl was spayed on Friday (before her 1st season). She went in on the morning and I picked her up in the afternoon and had her follow up appointment yesterday. She was yesterday diagnosed with cystitis (bladder swelling that's painful and causes lots of peeing) and it was bought on by the operation. She's on antibiotics now and has another follow up on Saturday but may have to go sooner as she's managed to knock some of the scab off (or it's infected because she's not really had chance to touch the scab for it to come off) because it was bleeding earlier so I'll have to see how she is tomorrow. She's also managed to knock the knot off from the dissolvable stitches some how. Most spays go absolutely fine but be prepared for extra vet bills just in case because it's so hard to keep those labs quiet for so long! She spends a lot of time in her crate just to keep her still She had a cone and pain killers to come home with but only wears the cone when we're not with her because she's not interested in cleaning herself and absolutely hates the cone (she even managed to take a chunk out of it and rip it off her head). She got really bad shakes and didn't eat for over a day and only had small amounts to drink after coming home. She howls at night because she doesn't like the cone and walks around crying in the day probably because she's fed up/bored/sore We've had a really bad experience with this spay but the other spays we had went absolutely fine. It's all down to the dog
Re: Spaying experiences? Wow, PaigeEmily! Bad times! (You're right, though - so much depends on the dog. I had Daisy (9 months) spayed 3 weeks ago. It was before her first season and everything went just fine. She was ouchy and groggy that evening (same day in and home), but never worried at her incision at all. Kept her leashed on walks for a about 8 days, then gave that up. Took out the sutures myself at 10 days post-op (she laid quietly on the bed while hubby stroked her head and I snipped and pulled out the sutures - amazing ;D), and we've never looked back.
Re: Spaying experiences? Yikes PaigeEmily....I should not have read this today....I just dropped my Bella (almost 5 months) off at the vet for her spay. She will stay overnight at the vet, and I'll gather her tomorrow to come home and chill for the weekend. I'm doing the think positive thing as much as I can...most of the time they do famously without any complications...fingers crossed. :-[ Hope your girl is better by now...
