Does your vet insist on shaving a band around the leg for surgeries?

[Donna P.]

Last year my beardie needed to have her teeth cleaned and when we picked her up she had a 2 inch band shaved around her front leg for the catheter. When we took Bayley in at 6 months to get her spayed, I asked if they could please not shave her leg. My vet said that it was absolutely necessary, and that the hair would grow back. I told her my beardies hair had not grown back in over a year, but she just gave me a look that said "You silly woman". We've been using the same vet for 15 years, and have had many proceedures, and prior to the teeth cleaning, had never had a leg shaved.

It has been 2 months since Bayley was spayed, and unless I cut all the hair off her front legs, she's going to have a band around her left leg for a long long time. Have any of you had this issue with your vets? If not, I want to have some good arguments the next time I have to have a dog anesthetized.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have had this with my son's poodle who lived with me a while. I would assume it's a safety precaution so they either have an IV line in and ready to go, , preferable, or have easy access to a vein should they need it. You would not want them to try to find a vein when things go haywire and it's urgent.

[Heather & Brinkley]

They did this for Brinkley when he was admitted and had to have an IV.  I told him that he looked like he was wearing "Ugg" boots.  I just kept getting Brinkley trimmed when he needed it and told the groomer not to touch the shorter part... and eventually the hair caught up.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I have gone through this several times with my vet and am taking both of my 2 in on Friday for a dental cleaning so I'm already preparing myself for the unsightly bald leg. The first time it happened with Cubbie, I turned to the grooming group for some help:  http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/doodlegrooming/forum/topics/how-d...

 

[Donna P.]

Thanks for sending the link. Bayley's leg looked just like that when I picked her up. It's grown in about 1/4 inch in 2 months. I just wish there were a better way. The photo does make one laugh!

[ERIC A. NATER]

All the Dogs I have owned or Fostered that have had Surgery have had this type of Leg shaving, and it has always grown back.  With Heart Worm treatment, there is an area shaved on the side of the Dog that seems to grow back even quicker, so maybe it just grows slower on the Legs.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I think this is pretty normal whenever a dog has any kind of surgery.  They need to be able to see the veins, and it is very difficult to do with all that hair.  My goldendoodle had three types of anesthesia when he had a little surgery and his teeth cleaned.  I wish it was just a little line around his leg!  He had an allergic reaction to something in one of the anesthesias and ended up with his face, feet, and top part of the tail shaved.  It took the longest for his tail to grow back.  The allergic reaction ended up costing more than the surgery.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

You could ask them to shave both legs the same way as a fashion statement :o)

I think it is necessary for reasons already stated, and yes it takes on long time to grow back, some longer than others but it does grow back.

[Donna P.]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll try not to be so vain. I'm glad to know that it's common practice.

[Frances Pendrous (Horan)]

Hi Donna...Tis true.....Being in the medical world myself, I think the real reason they shave the entire leg and not just the portion that has the IV catheter inserted, is because they need to actually "tape the IV in place" once it is placed. As with hairt people, the tape does not stick and therefore, because our doodles are so "hairy" one has the shave the entire leg around to make sure the IV stays in place during the procedure, because it can "pop out" so very easily and as someone said, for caution's sake, one needs IV access not only for sedation but also if anything goes wrong, you have an entry to instantly medicate. You are not the only one who is vain with your dog, we are all like that but as with our own bad hair cuts, it will grow back in time...Happy Days...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yes, and when Guinness had Pancreatitis they shaved both legs.  They rotated IVs between the two legs.  I waited a while to let some of the hair grow back and then I had him cut down so it would be all even....it's slowly growing back now.  I understand why they have to do it, but it does look kind of odd for a while.

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

Not only do they shave doodle legs but look what they did to my poor sick diabetic kitty's legs...He looked like he had a pair of Ugg boots on...Poor pitiful guy, he was such a sweetie...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack did have an IV last fall when he had his endoscopy and colonoscopy, and the hair on his leg grew back pretty fast. Of course, he has different kind of fur, but hopefully Bayley's will grow fast, too.