Things you wish you had known when neutering

[turtletime]

Hi, my two-year-old GSD is getting neutered next week. Although I kind of know what to expect, I was just wondering if there is anything I need to think about/do that I may have overlooked. I have 2 weeks off so will have plenty of time to spoil him. Is there anything you wish you would have known when your dog got the op?

Watching with interest as our two year old about to undergo the same soon.

(Our 2 year old DDog of course!)

Have you thought about what you will do to stop him licking his stitches?

BiteyDog was much younger but we ended up trying several things as he hated the medical suit and jumped about in it which wasn't good when he should have been still. He also managed to chew the vets plastic cone off so don't assume they are fail safe.

BiteyDog was very wobbly and cried for a few hours when he came due to the drugs and it was heartbreaking to hear (although I know some dogs seem pretty much ok when they came home).

Bitey that’s sad about the crying. Poor BiteyDog!

Have just found this and suggests 7 possible options for preventing them bothering their stitches, debating pros and cons of each. Anyone have an opinion on their own favs or preference?

Our dog is quite long with an agile neck so while I like the look of the inflatable one, am worried he’ll be able to circumvent it! trupanion.com/blog/2014/06/7-alternatives-cone-shame/

We tried the comfy cone and he hated the velcro noise of it fastening and unfastening. Depending on how your dog reacts to noise it could be quite good but make sure you get a large enough one that is longer than their nose. Ours didn't last long as BiteyDog managed to chew the inside of that one as well where it folds over .

The inflatable one was great because he tolerated that really well except he could still get at his stitches .

We ended up using the inflatable one in the day where I could stop him when he went near his stitches. Wearing it stopped him licking them as much as he had to really bend to get at them so I had chance to stop him.

At night we wrestled him into the medical suit when he was very sleepy and less likely to complain about it so he couldn't lick them whilst I was asleep.

Just Amazoned the BiteNot Collar, hopefully it will work on my contortionist dog. Might try the boxers/backward t-shirt approach.

Anyone used Bach Rescue Remedy Pet?

I used the cone of shame for the evening afterwards and then he was fine, when I picked him up the vets told me that the sedative has worn off, I took one look and him and said nope, this is him sedated 😂 got home and he was falling asleep standing.

Woke the next day and he was totally fine!

Even if you are VERY VERY confident he isn’t licking his stitches he probably is so use the cone of shame!

I think the main thing is to prepare yourself, that the dog you know now may change once neutered. The change in the hormone level MAY make him nervous aggressive, nervous submissive, fearful, other dogs may try to dominate him, he may get unwelcoming attention from other dogs - humping. Then again he may have a better temperament after neutering. You just don’t know until you do it. Neutering is definitely the right solution for some dogs and for others it is a huge mistake. Just as neutering can help/prevent some health issues, it can also cause/ contribute towards some nasty health issues, so read up on these so you are going into this with your eyes open. I’ve owned both neutered and entire dogs, and I am not in favour or blanket neutering all pet dogs, I think it needs to be looks at on a dog to dog basis, questioning the pros and cons for each individual dog.

Our lab cried the day he got home and into the following morning, after that he was OK.

Dh and I arranged to have the 10 days after surgery off with him and let him have his cone off very closely supervised as much as possible and also off for short walks, but we would put it back on even if it was just for popping to the loo for 2 mins . Dh slept on a mattress in the living room for the first week. We did buy a comfy cone, but he bent and ate it, he didn't manage that with the plastic cone which vet said was much safer.

Our dog was neutered on Friday. We have the cone of shame on at night & will have to leave in on when we're at work in the morning.

During the day, we've had an old kids tshirt wrapped around him & he's not been left alone so we can stop him if he tries to lick

Most of mine haven't bothered with their stitches at all, and have had their cones off when supervised from the third day or so. Only when I am literally watching nothing but the dog though, cones are on otherwise. With my most recent boy to get done, I bought a Comfy Cone as I knew he would be the type to run into my legs/the other dogs/walls with the normal cone. He came home in the nice soft cone I got him, fitted by the vet, showed no interest in the stitches and we all went to bed. Woke up the next morning and cone was still on, but the brat had managed to rip out 3 stitches and had to go back for staples. Cue him arriving home in a double length cone of shame and me vowing to never try any different fancy devices after a neuter, ever again.

On a brighter note, I haven't used the Rescue Remedy before but have used the Pet Remedy Spray with great results. Spray it on whatever blanket they're taking to the vets with them, and have their bed covered in it for their arrival home, or have the Plug-In Diffuser running in the room they'll be recuperating it. It's great for the night they come home, and seems to keep them a bit calmer until they're recovered and back to normal exercise levels.

The anaesthetic can make them feel really cold, my girl was shaky and distressed and would only settle when DH spread a quilt on the floor, wrapped her in a blanket and lay with her. Soft sod ended up sleeping there (DH I mean) but she had a peaceful night and was heaps better by morning It's a 'day to be got through' as my nan would say, not nice for all concerned but over relatively quickly and once it's done it's done iykwim. Hope all goes well OP

they can regress with toilet training (poo)

A heavy blanket is ideal incase they are shivery after the anaesthetic wears off.

You might need a cone, mine didn't, I put some of my sons old pants on him to stop him having a go at his stitches.

A quiet space if you have other dogs.

Minimal activity is probably one of the most important. Esp first week.
I was shocked to catch a glimpse of a wound on another bitch when my dog got into a bit of play with it in the park.
It had obviously just been done and the whole wound looked open in the gaps between stitches.
Guy was very unconcerned. Needless to say I grabbed my dog and told him he should get it back to the vets.
When mines was done her wound seemed to heal knit very clean within the first couple of days but I still kept her on lead for a couple of weeks.

My dog went from being really casual with food to becoming OBSESSED within about 4 weeks of the neutering. packed on weight even on diet and significantly reduced amount of food and now eats (other dog/cats/fox) poo at any opportunity.