Chappie Just Neutered

[Dee & Chappie]

Chappie, 5 month old male, was just neutered yesterday.   He is back to normal today but with the plastic cone on.   Once in awhile he tries to lick the wound and can actually "get there", but I am home all day with him and correct him when he does it.   

My question is, how long until I can take the cone off.  I am sure it bothers me more than it bothers him, but sure would like to get back to normal.   The vet says a week, so I will stay with that, but seems like it should be healed enough to take off before that.   

His potty is normal, as is his appetite, so it looks like we are going to have a smooth transition from "male to not so male".    Dee

[Missy]

oh what a cutie!   

I am sure you just use your best judgement when it comes to the cone. The goal is 'heal the cut places'.  

I too was able to stay home with our little man when he had his surgery.  I limited jumping and running for 3 days. (we were not sent home in a cone)  I would correct with 'no licking'. And put Neosporin on it while he slept.   

Day 1 was groggy sleepy times. Lots of cuddles.  Day 2 a little more energy, so some frozen kongs for entertainment. by Day 5 we had more energy and so moved to doggie puzzles and worked on commands for mental games. (to tire him out)

I say, 'momma knows best'.  Inspect the area often to see how it's healing. And yeah, for smooth transitions!! 

[Dee & Chappie]

Thanks Missy.   I'll just hand in there and wait until the wound is healed.  My calendar is blank for most of the time the next 7days, we hired a babysitter for the nights we have to go out.  

What a cuttie pie your little guy is.   How old?  Is he a mini like Chappie?  

[Missy]

we are now 3.  We are a petite mini, but we weigh 33 pounds!  ha ha  That is genetics for you. 

The breeder has had over 6 litters of his parents and Teddy is topping the charts on all the litters.  So, it must just be meant for us to have us a 'larger one'.  

The time will pass quickly for you and great bonding and resting for you!  good call on the babysitter as I would be thinking of dog licking wound instead of enjoying my night out.  

Enjoy the time with Chappie!  

[Dee & Chappie]

Our breeder told me Chappie probably will not get much bigger.   His daddy is 21 pounds, mom, 17.   The only issue I have had with Chappie is finding the right food.  We started on Orijen, which he didn't like, then Fromm kibble with wet topping, didn't like that either, then I went for anything, Natures Balance, etc.  Finally found that Wild Calling, Beef was his choice.    It is canned only for this guy, he just does not like kibble in any form.   I give him some chopped up chicken every night before "lights out", as he was getting dry heaves in the early morning hours, and Jackadoodles mom told me to give him a snack right before bedtime.  That was the ticket!  No more dry heaves.  This site is wonderful for me, I have never had a doodle before, always yellow labs, and they will eat anything.   Dee

[Missy]

we stuck with the food the breeder uses: Life Abundance  

We found that sometimes he won't eat.  When I consulted the vet, they said he will eat if he is hungry, so we just stuck with Life Abundance. 

I notice some days he won't eat at all. (he gets treats for outside potties) and some days he will gobble 3 meals in a day. I don't stress about the food.  He eats, ok, he doesn't, ok.  You can always consult your vet. 

I love this group too.  Our first pup much less a doodle! very helpful.

[Dee & Chappie]

We fed Lifes Abundance with our Yellow Lab.   The breeder used it, and we continued.   But of course it was a lab and he ate it with gusto. 

I cannot leave the food down because our very dominant cat will eat it, so if Chappie doesn't eat in 10 minutes, it goes back in the refrig. or in the garbage.   The Wild Calling gets eaten right away, and that is it for him until nighttime. 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Every pup is different, and how the vet does the procedure makes a difference, too. A Samoyed that I had many years ago needed the cone 24/7 for a week or longer. Not only did the incision bother her, but the hair growing back seemed to make her itchy, too.

When Winnie was spayed last year, the vet made the incision with a laser, and also did a laser treatment to the closed wound. I could hardly even find the incision, and she paid absolutely no attention to it. A cone was not needed! 

It's always better to err on the side of caution and keep it on him if he is still trying to get at it. The last thing you want is for him to open the incision and it has to be reclosed again. Then you are back to square one again.

Hang in there, mama! 

[Dee & Chappie]

Thanks Lori, What a beauty, Winnie.   Chappie is a mini, so probably won't be more than 20 lbs.  He weighted 17.7 yesterday before surgery.  

He doesn't seem to mind it, went for a long walk this AM., so I'll keep it on until I see it is healed.   He tries to lick it once in awhile, but will respond to correction.  

We are going out tonight and I hired a babysitter, to make sure he doesn't lick it.  If I had crated him, I couldn't trust that he would stay away from it.   Thanks,  dee

[Emery & Watson]

I neutered my mini at 5 months as well.  He looked so pathetic in the cone but he quickly learned how not to run into things with his cone.  We kept his cone on for a week per the vet's recommendation.   Since he is a mini and he was young, his incision was so small so it probably healed fairly quickly.  He wasn't big on bothering his wound but we figured a few days with a cone was better than risking complications if he did happen to bother his stitches

[Dee & Chappie]

Thanks, keeping the cone on, just like everyone else has done.   As I said, it bothers me more than him.  He has learned to maneuver quite well!   Even chases the cat!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I would definitely recommend the soft inflatable cone versus the plastic ones you get from the Vet.  Murph has surgery last week and he hated the plastic cone....I got the soft plastic one at Pet Smart and he did fine.  I would follow the vet's advice and use it for a week.  You wouldn't want to take any chances, especially if he is trying to lick it.

[Dee & Chappie]

Thanks Jane,  Chappie was handling the cone fine until this morning, then he was trying to rub it off, roll it off, wouldn't eat, etc.  I took it off, and he hasn't licked at all.  If he seems to start licking, I'll get the inflatable cone right away.   He is a happy guy now, and sleeping.  I don't think he slept well last night.  Thanks for the info.