Neutering Puppy Questions

[Audra Hicks]

I wanted to ask a few questions about neutering.  Our Stewie is 6 months old today & he will soon be neutered!  I am scared for him, but know that it needs to be done.  One vet said that he would need to stay overnight, which I don't really want him to be away from home.  His regular vet said that he would come home same day but limit his exercise, no jumping, running, etc.  Wow, how will I keep this happy puppy down?  Can y'all give me insight on how things went for your Doodle when you had him neutered, what to expect, any tips & is 6 months a good time?  Thanks so much!!!  :)  I just want whats best for my little Stewie boy & don't want him to start having any of the behavior problems of hiking & marking, which he hasn't done so far!  :) 

[3tcmu8wc5xgqz]

My experience with Ari was not bad at all. We adopted him at 10 months old and had him neutered right away. From what I understand, 6 months is typically a good age. When Ari was neutered, we dropped him off in the morning and he came home that evening. He was still VERY much puppy at that age, and it seemed like he knew that "something" had happened down there, so for a few days he was pretty mellow and didn't jump around much. So chances are, your Stewie will know when too much is too much. (Or so we would hope). The only major concern would be him trying to lick the incision area, which is when the "cone" will come in handy. Also, we never experienced any behavior problems or hiking/markings after neutering him. In fact, we felt that his behavior improved significantly after neutering. I hope that helps some! And good luck to you and Stewie! Sometimes I think it's worse on us than it is our fur-babies lol.

[Audra Hicks]

Thanks Kari!  It does help me to know you experience & I hope Stewie does great as well as your Ari did!  You are right it's probably worse on us parents...ha!  I have been around him since he was 5 weeks old and we brought him home at 8 weeks, so I am a little over protective of him!  We do have a 12 yr old girl, named Girly, who is a Black Lab/Heeler Mix and we did get her spayed when we rescued her at about a year old.  It wasn't bad for her at all, that I remember!  Stewie is a Mama's boy so I am sure he will require even more attention during his healing process...which I will gladly do...LOL!!!  :)  I would rather carry him to his vet to have the procedure done since I know and trust in them and he will come home the same day.  I wouldn't be able to sleep if he had to stay over night!  I know I am weird, but he is like one of my babies!  I have an 18 yr old son, my one and only and I have a 6 month old 4 legged son now...ha! 

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy was neutered at 9 months old. We dropped him off in the morning and picked him up that evening. He was very sleepy the first day and then back to normal the next morning. The hardest part was keeping him in the cone. He tried to lick his incision every chance he got, so he had to wear the cone. One day my husband left him alone for an hour and he chewed the cone half off and got it stuck in his mouth! We bought a soft blow up device that was more like a pillow than a cone and he wore that for the rest of the time. So if Stewie needs a cone, you might consider that. We only took him on short walks to potty for about a week and did not let him play with other dogs for 3 weeks. I agree with Kari that Teddy's behavior also improved after neutering.

[Audra Hicks]

Heather.... Wow he chewed through the cone...yikes!  Good to know about a blow up one ~ I have not seen those but will have to consider the options if he does want to lick his stitches!  Thanks so much for letting me know how things with with Teddy!  :) 

[Koilaf Friesen]

Max was neutered at 8 months, otherwise very similar situation.  He also chewed off his cone when left alone for a short time - we were shocked and pieced together the multitude of little pieces of plastic to ensure he didn't swallow any.  It was all there, whew!  We took the cone back to the pet outlet and the manager was also shocked to see the jigsaw puzzle pieces that had once been a cone, and gave us a store credit (we hadn't asked for one, we just wanted to educate the salespeople so they could caution others buying the same product).  There weren't  any alternative cones though, I'll have to look for the blow up device you mentioned in case we have need for this in the future.  Thankfully Max didn't lick, healed well and was really quiet during the recovery.  We kept him away from the leash free park and walked him on leash, he was very docile.  Once recovered, he was back to his rambunctious old playful self with other dogs, but also was obedient and more mannerly around children.  Prior to neutering he seemed to think of little children as litter mates and was very boisterous, afterwards much gentler. . . maybe this was a coincidence and this was evidence of his maturing? Not sure, but grateful nonetheless.

[Adina P]

Rosco was neutered at 5-ish months.  But by 10 months he learned to hike his leg anyway...he just marks outdoors (rarely in our own yard though).  Rosco had umbilical hernia surgery, neutering and eye surgery all in one swoop.  So we really had to keep him still.  He basically lived in his crate unless I could sit right with him for the first week or when he needed to go potty. 

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

Midas gets neutered tomorrow... he is 7 months! ill let u know how it goes.. when he gets home tomorrow night... pray everything goes smooth please :)

[Audra Hicks]

Chels please let me know how Midas does!  Hope all goes well with you little boy!  :) 

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

Hey there sorry u haven't gotten back to you!!! Thursday will be 2 weeks since Midas was neutered.. He did great and came out of surgery as his happy crazy self...but that was not good because keeping him calm was really hard and he actually got a scrotal hematoma (blood clot) from being over active... They said it will absorb and they eventually had to prescribe him Xanax after Benadryl and another prescription didn't sedate him... The Xanax he also had an adverse reaction and got even more hyper I stopped that pill right away... Basically my advice is to really keep him calm or crated most of the day... Take him out on a leash and do the cold or warm compress whatever they suggest.. And like people said the worst part isn't the surgery it's keeping them calm after! Good luck and let us know when he goes!

[Audra Hicks]

Oh really?  I wondered if they eventually learn to hike their legs!  I don't mind at all if he continues to squat....ha!  :)  Poor Roscoe went through a lot of different surgeries at the same time.... but its better to just put them to sleep once instead of going through so many so that was the best thing to do!  Hope he is all good now!  ;)

[Bonnie and Kona]

Audra, Kona had an easy time with his surgery. We had him neutered just before he was 6 mo. He managed with no problems whatsoever. Owen was neutered just after 6 months and also came through with flying colors. We did not keep them quiet that long. They were sedated when they came home (the same day) and that kept them quiet for a the day of surgery and the day after. Neither one bothered with their stitches so we just put boys underwear on them with the tail out the fly. We didn't have to use a cone/Elizabethan collar when they were neutered. We didn't allow jumping but took them on walks. I hope things go smoothly for your sweet Stewie.

[Audra Hicks]

Bonnie, Good to hear that Kona & Owen did great!  I am so thankful for this Doodle board and you all who have responded to me because it makes me feel so much better about Stewie going through this!  Thanks so much!