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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Tips before/after castration

8 replies

LittleMilla · 08/09/2015 20:25

About to book our 18mo lab in. Before I do it, does anyone have any pointers - I'm a bit naive about what to expect.

Also, not expecting many changes aside from his weight (vet advised he might gain a bit but we'll keep a v close eye). Having read lots on here, behaviour changes are all myth. Right?

OP posts:

lighteningirl · 08/09/2015 20:33

My boy is being done tomorrow morning we have cancelled it twice but he's humping everything so I know it's time. I am really stressing about taking him to the vets and leaving him. Would it be unreasonable to ask to stay with him til he goes under my dp thinks I've gone a bit mad but he's never been taken anywhere and left before. I have had dogs in the past both were done at about three or four years old and definitely noticed less humping and aggression, never noticed any weight gains tho the vet has warned us to keep an eye on his eating.

Noitsnotteatimeyet · 09/09/2015 17:47

Our dog got done just before his first birthday (medium-sized breed so had finished growing).

He didn't react very well to the anaesthetic but once over that was ok. He tried to get to the wound site so had to wear the collar of shame when unsupervised for about a week (we tried an inflatable version which lasted about 5 seconds..)

He's not put on any weight - in fact a few months ago he was struggling to stay heavy enough as he's very active.

His essential, easy-going, non-aggressive character stayed the same but he stopped humping and marking immediately and was no longer a target for other male dogs so it had exactly the right effects as far as we were concerned

Hope your dog is fine

TheMotherOfHellbeasts · 09/09/2015 19:58

We have hard floors and when our male rescue dog (ddog2) was done, we had a huge bath sheet for him to lie on, then I could drag (with great difficulty, he weighs eighteen stone!) the towel across the room to the back door for him to go outside so that he didn't have to walk far to go to the toilet.
We have a wrap around verandah on our house and to save him going up and down the steps, DH made up a huge wooden tray which we filled with dirt so that he could go to the toilet on the verandah. We also slept downstairs until he was able to manage the stairs again.
His character and behaviour didn't change one iota and he didn't put on weight.

I stayed with him until he was out cold with the anaesthetic, and I was in theatre with him and remained with him the whole time. We're not in the UK, but given ddog2's breed and general character the vet was extremely grateful that I was there, and said he would have refused to do it without me present for the whole time. I wanted to be there anyway, I would have found it very difficult to just drop him off and pick him up again.

LimeJellyHead · 09/09/2015 20:08

Get a Medical Pet Shirt www.dfordog.co.uk/medical-pet-shirts.html and take it to the vets when you take him in and ask them to put it on him after the op. It will keep him warmer and feeling more secure as the anaesthetic wears off and then he is in his protective vest and ready to go... no cone of shame needed

Original poster

LittleMilla · 09/09/2015 20:35

Thanks itsnottime good and reassuring to know.

He's been getting increasingly growly and bullish when out. I think it's part fear and part hormones so it'll be really interesting to see. Is it immediate?!?!

He doesn't hump (aside from his blanket, in the dark!!)

OP posts:

Original poster

LittleMilla · 09/09/2015 20:40

Lime - I've never seen those. Look great!

Hell - you got me at 18 stone!! . Wow that really is a beast. How long are they incapacitated for? I obviously need to book some time off work but not sure how long (DH and I share doggy day care so need to make sure we can both be at home FT before we book him in)

Thanks

OP posts:

TheMotherOfHellbeasts · 09/09/2015 20:59

He is quite a demon, his head is far bigger than mine! Hmmm, well ddog2 was incapacitated for less then 36 hours, but his breed (Caucasian Ovcharka) is notoriously tough and don't ever seem to feel pain, let alone notice they've been hurt (which meant he didn't need a cone of shame). I made him be careful for about a week, but about 48 hours after he came around from the op I caught him mid leap over the verandah railings as he hurtled across the yard . No damage done luckily.
All of the other male dogs we've had have already been done when we rescued them, and our ddogs1 and 3 are female, so I'm not sure I'm afraid.

Our dogs have raw diets (we own a ranch, no shortage of meat here!) but I made sure ddog2 had plenty of fish as he was recuperating, its always seemed to really help our dogs get over injuries. Tinned sardines seem to work well too. I confess that I hand fed him for the first day after the op, I wanted to show him how much I love him, DH thought I was being daft.

WeAllHaveWings · 10/09/2015 21:29

our lab was neutered at around 11 months. He was a bit lethargic/out of it for the first 24-30 hours, but ate/drank/pee'd/went in garden fine in that time. After that he was ok apart from the cone and 10 days of walks on lead was a bit boring.

I took a week off work so I was home with him and took cone off whenever possible and stayed near him so he didn't bother his stitches. Cone was only really on at night.

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