Stella is getting spayed next week, any good advice to offer?

[Katrine]

We've been told that she has to wear the cone for TWO weeks... I've also heard that she can't be around un-neutered dogs for two weeks as well so the dog park and daycare are out. Any suggestions on how to burn her energy and keep her occupied indoors? Sadly we don't have a yard... Any help would be appreciated! 

[Katrine]

Kim, she's going to be fine :) We dropped Stella off and picked her up on Monday. Although most of Monday afternoon she whined and just stood in one spot with her head down not knowing, I suppose, what to do with the cone on her head, she made it through the rest of the evening. The next day was better! They heal pretty quickly. All said, if you can do buy a Comfy Cone, it's the best! We bought ours at Petco. Keep us posted and we'll do the same. 

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

I didn't read the other suggestions so I dont know if this has been said. 1. ask for pain pills. not all vets give them. give her one when she comes home. after the first day at home (second) after surgery, she didn't need them, but it is good to have them. 2. go to the store and buy little boy underwear- put them on the dog backwards so the tail sticks out the back. this will keep her from licking and you don't need to use the cone. (I got this information from someone here) We live so far away from a store I put a pair of my granny panties on her and well.. it didn't work. (you can read the adaventure in my blog)  but since I am home and ws with her all the time, she didnt lick- see if you can get the laser (?) done instead of stitches..it cost a little more but easier healing..good luck.

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

my blog post after Lilly's surgery-

Lilly was spayed yesterday.  I felt for her since I had the same surgery a few years back. We paid more to have the laser elective surgery and I requested pain meds. Previcox and Tramadol. We had the home again microchip put in at the same time. Total for everything 181.53. nebraska city, ne. I could not believe the cost was that low but I am still getting used to living in the midwest and living in small towns. I.love.it. except when you need something right now and have to drive 70 miles to Lincoln to buy it.

Lilly slept with me last night as she does every night now. I did not put the cone on her and was not smart enough to buy littl boy underwear for her to wear.  I put a pair of my older grandma white cotton underwear on her with a hole cut out for her tail. I know she is a smalll dog and I know that I have a big butt, but I did not expect the underwear to come up over her ears and for her to be able to lick herself through the leg holes. So my underwear lasted point. zero. seconds. If anyone dumpster dives and chooses to pick this pair of underwear they are going to wonder about the old lady that owned that pair of undies with a hole cut out in the bottom.

I tried to keep one ear open to listen for her licking and a few times I caught her and said " NO licking Lilly" and she stopped. She may have listened with one of her ears opened for me to start snoring she she could go back to licking herself. Her incision looks good this morning so that is good news. She had a bit of water this morning, went pee (first time since yesterday morning) and a bit of food.(She still has not gone poop).  I am giving her the pain meds for the next couple of days. I know dogs heal quicker than humans but I remember the pain after my surgery and I don't want her to be uncomfortable and she doesn't know how to say the f word that I used quite a few times those first few days after my surgery.

She is sleeping in her day bed right now or she is in la la land from the drugs. Glad this milestone is over. Is 7:20 in the morning to early for wine?

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Thanks for all of this. It is helping to keep me calm. I don't believe my vet offers laser, but he did say all of the stitches will be under the skin and dissolve naturally. So that is good. I plan to go get some boys undies or maybe a shirt/tank for her to wear. Thankfully I will be with her at home for the next three days. So I can watch her.

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Ah, relief. The vet just called to say Abby is out of surgery and waking up. I have to wait a few hours before I can go pick her up. At least some of the anxiety is down going away.

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Quick question: what size boy briefs did you buy? I don't want to get something too big.

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

depends on how big the puppy is. maybe measure her tummy and then you will have a better idea when you buy them. you will have to take them off when she goes outside to go potty but it sure beats a cone IMO.

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Well, I didn't have time to get a tank top, but had an adult size small vneck. It worked perfectly. I just cut off the arms. Slipped the shirt over her rear. The tail and privates were sticking out of the neck of the shirt and her hind legs are through the arm holes. The rest of the shirt pulled up to her front legs, where I tied it in a knot. She can't reach her stitches to lick and having the neck hole there allows her to go potty without removing the shirt.

Little girl has been napping most of the evening. I had to wake her up to give her antibiotics. While I hope she is a bit more alert tomorrow, I am glad she is calm now and leaving her wound alone.

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

you done good... glad she is home.. won't be long till she will be getting in to things again..hugs

[Julie and Maggie]

Hope you and Abby are doing well. I just read this thread only now. All I can say is that when Maggie was spayed back in November I kept her on the pain meds and we also were given a sedative after a day or two because she was still too jumpy. It really knocked her out which felt really strange to me, but at least I knew it was giving her body time to heal. And she was also kept in her crate for as much as possible. 

Having had a few abdominal surgeries (c-sections and others) I do know and appreciate how the meds are very important to get a jump start on. Being super attentive to those details in the beginning go a long way in a good recovery. 

Good luck!

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

I just wanted to update you on the spaying situation. Abby has some swelling, well actually fluid buildup underneath her stitches/incision. The vet says it is completely normal and will go away.

I did want to share my cone alternative. It worked great. Although, it has been a week and Abby hasn't even tried to like around her incision. Abby is around 40 pounds. So I used a kids size xl tank top and put it on her backwards. As I said, it worked great. Every once an a while it would slide down, but never really came off or exposed the incision area. She could even go to the bathroom with it on without soiling the tank.

The only issue I had with Abby was keeping her calm and resting. She was up and ready to go the day after surgery. As you can tell from this photo, she was not happy with the "spay means no play" rule.

I hope that information helps!

[Katrine]

Stella has done great so far, two days left to go! Normally she's super duper hyper and I was worried for her and the idea of controlling her energy, but she did great. The incision is healing nicely too. All in all not as bad as we thought it would be! Can't wait to permanently take the cone off on MOnday... yes!