[SidneyFrankie]

Hello, I'm a newbie. This forum was reccomended by someone at work. They claim your a fabulous bunch and full of great advice. I have a two yr old CKCS called Frank who is being spayed tomorrow. I'm dreading it.

I'm dropping her off at 9:30 tomorrow morning, then I'm going to be sat near the phone all day waiting for the call saying I can collect her.

I'm about to start searching for any stray bonios or pigs ears that have been stashed away as the vet has instructed me to starve her overnight like a gremlin. I'm also going to take the divan bottom off the bed and have the mattress straight on the floor. She sleeps on the bed with me and Hubby, and I assume she's not going to be able to jump on and off for a short while.

I'm just curious what to expect tomorrow evening. I assume the vet will tell me tomorrow, but I do like to be prepared. Will she want to eat or go to the toilet? How long will she be miserable for? She is not the most lively of dogs, so I'm not too worried about having to keep her quiet as she is a couch potato at heart. How long do the stitches stay in for? Do I need to clean the wound or just leave it be and ensure it stays clean?

I would be very greatful for your experiences of bitch spays or and tips for aftercare.
Thanks, Sidney.

 

[Barcode]

You'll be fine! Our Scrabble was spayed about a month ago.

- On collection, she emerged wearing the cone of shame. At home, this resulted in her standing rooted to the same spot for hours utterly perplexed. We removed it and used a t-shirt. If you have something like a babygro, that could be good. But this will be your own judgement.

- Scrabble was a bit down for two days, and then started the indoor zoomies forgetting she had had a major operation What turned out to be the hardest was keeping her occupied whilst she was restricted to on-lead walks - you could have heard her all across York when she was finally allowed off for a run!

- In our case, the wound healed quickly. A bit red, and within a week it had turned into more a less a scar. We had dissolvable stitches. You can see it now, but it's visibly fading - she didn't scratch it or show much interest in licking, so perhaps we were just fortunate.

Good luck. On the day we occupied ourselves and sped to the vets once we got the o.k to collect her. Hated the thought of her coming round in a strange place without a clue what had happened, but it turned out to be more stressful for us than her!

 

[SidneyFrankie]

How big will the incision wound be? I'm afraid to look on google images.

 

[Rini]

How big will the incision wound be? I'm afraid to look on google images.

Lexi just got spayed recently. Have a look at my thread as there are pictures of her scar.

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-chat/269316-spay.html

She was in quite a bit of discomfort for about 5 hours after I brought her home and wouldn't stop crying. Finally she stopped crying but was feeling very sorry for herself for the first 3 days. Hard part was stopping her wanting to jump up and down on sofa.

Her incision was slightly larger as she had a hernia fixed too but was only like a couple inches long. It healed really well and her fur is just starting to grown a little on her belly again.

You've got to watch them but she'll be fine!

 

[Twiggy]

She'll be fine.

Depending on what time your vet carries out the procedure she will undoubtedly still be feeling the affects of the anesthetic, which can make them twitch, tremble and whimper. Just keep her as quiet as you can and your vet may suggest a light meal.
If she wants to go to the toilet, take her on the lead as she may be a bit wobbly.

You may well have a wet mattress tomorrow morning - be warned and put a rubber sheet on top if you have one. They can't help it. When one of my bitches was spayed 3.1/2 years ago she had an almighty pee on my bed.

The incision differs from vet to vet and also depends on whether it's a traditional spay or keyhole procedure, so can be anything from about 1" to 7".

HTH

 

[Rini]

She'll be fine.

Depending on what time your vet carries out the procedure she will undoubtedly still be feeling the affects of the anesthetic, which can make them twitch, tremble and whimper. Just keep her as quiet as you can and your vet may suggest a light meal.
If she wants to go to the toilet, take her on the lead as she may be a bit wobbly.

You may well have a wet mattress tomorrow morning - be warned and put a rubber sheet on top if you have one. They can't help it. When one of my bitches was spayed 3.1/2 years ago she had an almighty pee on my bed.

The incision differs from vet to vet and also depends on whether it's a traditional spay or keyhole procedure, so can be anything from about 1" to 7".

HTH

Lexi didn't wet herself but her bed was damp as she drooled like mad after the anesthetic. XD

 

[DirtyGertie]

We all worry, it's natural, and if we could have the op ourselves I am sure we all would.

Poppy had her spay in March 2011. She is a very sensitive little dog and the vet didn't use a cone of shame as she said she would have totally freaked (and I agree).

This is Poppy the day before the op - she went to the groomers and I asked groomer to clip her tummy closer than normal so there wasn't so much for them to do at the vets:

This is after we brought her home, feeling a bit sore and sorry for herself:

Instructions not let let her jump up were in the main ignored by Poppy so I tried as much as possible to not let her do so but there were occasions she nipped up on the sofa before I realised what she was doing. Short walks allowed but no long walks or running around on the beach, etc.

The second day after her op, nice clean wound, no blood, not had to clean it, five stitches. The incision, according to the vet, was bigger than if the other vet had done it. It was that vet's very first spay op and she was being ultra careful to ensure everything was right:

Third day on one of her short walks, not bothered by her op at all:

Stitches came out on day 10 and this is how it looked:

She was given the all clear to run, jump, etc. She didn't have as much energy as normal when we went to the beach and kept lying down for a rest, but considering it's a major op that's probably normal.

16 days after the op and this is what it looked like:

As Poppy didn't have a cone, the vet suggested making a "wrap" to go round her tummy, you can see how I made it here on a previous thread.

Your bound to worry, we all do, but she will be fine.

ETA: Sorry, forgot to say. I picked her up about 5pm and she was fully awake. I gave her some scrambled egg for her tea which she ate fine. She did go out for a wee, no problem.

 

[SidneyFrankie]

Thanks for all your replys. My daughter thinks the spay is just an injection, so I'm going to have to break her the news it's an actual operation. I'm going to show her your photos DirtyGertie, as their not gruesome. She already seemed abit upset that Frank won't be having breakfast tomorrow morning.