Spay & Gastropexy Surgery - After Care Advice?

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

So my baby girl goes in this week for the double surgery, I'm just reaching out for feedback/advice on aftercare.  I know the gastropexy is much more invasive than the spay and I know I'll get a checklist of things to do from the vet when I pick her up but looking for feedback from those who have already been through it (hits, misses, things to watch for, etc).  I'm just real nervous for her, she's my odd little wild child so I'm concerned about her plus the surgery facility is not local so any issues will fall on my vet and/or at an emergency facility. The more I know the better prepared I'll be. This poor girl had a rough start in the beginning so I want to make this as easy on her as possible.

It's been a while since my other two were spayed and neither had any interest in the stitches luckily but Sassy was extremely hyper (spastic) the week following her surgery so keeping her calm was a real challenge.  I'll be home with her the first few days then will do a tag team with my daughter.

Any advice on keeping her from the stitches if it poses a problem, resuming her normal diet (vet office briefly mentioned transitioning slowly back to kibble), walking, stairs, downtime, etc.

Thanks in advance

Jolene and Miss Maisie

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It seems that these days, many vets are sending dogs home with tranquilizers as well as pain meds. It also seems that the tranquilizers do help to keep them quiet and maybe from messing with their stitches as well.

I imagine they will send her home with a cone. I hope she tolerates it. There are many discussions here about various onesi-type garments, T-shirts, underwear, and soft or inflatable cones. Every dog seems to be different with this in terms of what works best for the individual dog.

The vet mentioned transitioning slowly back to kibble from what? Are they recommending a soft diet after surgery? I sure hope they aren't sending her home with Rx garbage food, lol.

I want to commend you for being so proactive with this, Jolene. Way too many people neglect to protect their dogs from the tragedy of bloat. There is nothing worse. Nothing. I'm so glad that Maisie and you will never have to go through what Jackdoodle and I did. 

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

I'll try to do whatever I can to prevent any issues, my biggest concern after seeing you and Nancy go through this is something happening on one of our camping trips.  We are at the least 60-90 miles from the nearest town let alone a vet.  They said it's not full proof but would buy us some time if it happens.  

As far as food they said she'll start with smaller servings then build up to her regular meals over a period of days unlike a normal spay where they can resume eating the next day?  I know I'll get more info and yes she said they would most likely send me home with extra antibiotics and pain meds.  The office manager was surprised to hear I was doing this for a poodle she said most of their clients are great danes.  I think this surgery is less common in California as it was hard to find someplace that does this surgery preemptively.  

More on the scuffing, I have not heard it since our trip mid April but my daughter said she notices it only when she first gets up from a long period of laying down/napping?  I do notice her morning stretches are backwards, where my other two do the downward dog (praying position) she does just the opposite where she arches her back pushing her hips to the ground then sometimes stretches both back legs (one at a time) straight back?  I've never in my life seen a dog do it that way before?? We attended the American Pet Expo this weekend so I stopped and spoke with the Poodle Breeders, she thought it could maybe be early arthritis, but said if it continues to have her hips and acls checked out and she was glad to hear I was doing the surgery as well.  She said not knowing if this is common in her lineage it was smart to do.  She also suggested I wait till 2 or 3 yrs of age before spaying and the gastropexy but I can't chance an unwanted pregnancy.  She'll be 9 months in a week so hopefully this time has allowed enough development I think being so sick early on didn't help her any.  Too bad insurance can't cover this but since I'm opting for it before an emergency Care Credit will have to do.

Are there any limitations I should strongly adhere to?  Obviously no playing but should she avoid stairs as well, our bedroom is upstairs but if need be I can crash on the couch for a few days. I think my biggest issue if she's feeling spunky is chasing the cats. 

[Stacy]

I will share what my vet and I talked about before scheduling Willow for her gastropexy (not until Sept.) They have seen very very very rare cases of dogs whose stomachs are able to twist around the gastropexy. The caveat is, if you think it should be impossible for your dog to have a torsion, but they are exhibiting signs of bloat and torsion, don't immediately discount it as impossible. I think what he was saying is that diagnosis took longer because they didn't think the stomach could have torsed. 

The other thing I'm curious about is if she ends up with sutures or staples. I feel like with big incisions I usually see staples. You have to take the same precautions, but I always feel like staples are more secure. I'm not saying you should request staples or anything, I just feel more confident when I see them. 

I'll be going through this myself down the road, so I would love to hear how it all goes. Good luck! I'm sure it will be uneventful and great. 

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Thank you.  Thursday is the big day so I will send an update over the weekend.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One in every four Standard Poodles is going to bloat. That's a fact. Most vets do mention it to any client with a Standard, and if they don't they should. It is talked about among Standard Poodle owners constantly. I'm surprised that so few people in your area are doing prophylactic gastropexy surgery. 

I don;t know who the breeder was you talked to, but I don;t think she is very well educated, lol.  2 to 3 years is a ridiculous amount of time to wait to spay a female Standard. 18 months would be ideal, but it's better to do it a little early than too late. And I also doubt that the scuffing has anything to do with arthritis, that's ridiculous as well. It is also way more likely that if there is an orthopedic issues causing it, it's the spine, not the hips or knees. Jasper stretches exactly the way you describe Maisie stretching and there is not a thing in this world wrong with any part of him, at least not physically, lol. 

It's the twisting of the stomach that causes the tragedies with bloat, not the bloat itself. So yes, the dog can still bloat, but that is much much easier to treat and nowhere near as grave an emergency as GDV. 

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

WOW one out of every four that's way to high of odds!  There were three breeders at the Pet Expo with their dogs on display, one was painted bright green with pink ears, they provided a flyer with their contact info in case I wanted to reach out to them. Once we get past this round of surgeries we'll address the scuffing with our vet.  Interesting I wonder if that way of stretching is poodle related, I've never seen a dog stretch that way before this morning she pulled a double, back arch stretch then took two steps and downward dog stretch, I was envious lol. She shows absolutely no signs of spinal issues or pain and keeps Sassy and the cats on there toes 24/7 running and wrestling. Her version of a fitbit has her averaging 120 to upwards of 320 minutes of activity per day before I even get home and most of that is just her running around the backyard chasing birds, self play, and searching for the kitties.

[Stacy]

That sounds like the way Maggie stretches. Front feet, back feet, back arched like a cat. Sometimes she's up on her toes. She's a yoga dog.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Regarding the breeders at the Pet Expo, I'll be very honest. Top-notch Poodle breeders would not be attending that type of event. They wouldn't be wasting time displaying dogs at a public event that doesn't include any type of AKC sanctioned competition, and they sure don't need to be handing out flyers to attract customers. And wouldn't be painting their dogs, lol. (Unless the dog is entered in a grooming competition). If you need advice or information about Poodles, Standards or otherwise, I can steer you in the right direction, but I'm pretty sure those breeders are not it. In fact, I'm so sure that if you message me their names, or kennel names, or contact info, I will PM you with the reasons why they are not such good breeders, lol. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And yes, 1 out of 4 is way too high odds. 

Just think about the tens of thousands of people on FB who have their panties in a knot over this grain-free food causes DCM nonsense, and the odds of any dog getting diet-related DCM are 220,000 to 1. One dog in 220,000. Lots of doodles owners, too. But are any of them scheduling gastropexy for their dogs who are at least 50% Standard Poodle and a lot more in many cases? No, they are not. 
Cause that costs money. It's real easy to switch to a cheap brand of food. 

Let's get our priorities straight, people. 

Sorry for the rant. 

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Great point Karen on the food/DCM and gastro plus it's easier to jump on the bandwagon than not. I may have to poke the bear during one of their food rants and ask them if they had the surgery for th gastro. 

I figured as much if hanging out at the expo they'd be mediocore breeders and not top of the line, on the other hand also figured they know a heck of a lot more about poodles than I do.  You'll continue to be my main go to if you don't mind. ;)

  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't mind a bit. :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I really tried to steer my son to doing the gastroplexy when he spayed his poodle.  The cost was prohibitive so they didn't.  I pray she is one of the three.....