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The doghouse

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

Original poster

Routines after spaying operatopm

12 replies

QuietLifeNC · 09/06/2022 06:47

Hello

My pup is getting spayed in a few weeks; she'll be 6 months old.

I know we have to restrict exercise, so day care is cancelled, and I'll of course follow the vet's instructions. However I'm worried the recovery period will be dull for her, as we're normally pretty active. Maybe I'm overthinking it though, and she'll want to take it easy anyway.

Does anyone have ideas for safe, relaxing activities to break up the monotony ?We do the snuffle mat, etc, already so that will be good, and I'm getting boxes/egg cartons to hunt for treats but any other creative suggestions :-) Also any general experiences of how you found the recovery period would be awesome.

Thank you!

OP posts:
EdithStourton · 09/06/2022 07:18

IME the spay recovery is incredibly quick... They're wiped for about a day, and the next week goes rapidly with a few long-lasting chews.

What breed is she, and has she had a season? I ask because the advice on spaying, based on a fairly recent piece of research, varies a lot between breeds. If she is a larger breed, I would definitely wait quite a lot longer for her skeleton (and her brain!) to mature.

KangarooKenny · 09/06/2022 07:28

It was fine, mine didn’t even need the collar, she didn’t bother about the stitches.
She was back to normal next day, and we took her out for a potter about a couple of times a day to keep her entertained.

Original poster
QuietLifeNC · 09/06/2022 08:29

Oh that sounds encouraging - time to stock up on lots of new kinds of chews then :-)

She's a Coton de Tulear so a small(ish) breed, and matures pretty quickly, and hasn't had a season yet. Advice from the vet was to do it at 6 months before she has a season.

We normally do a daily sniffari in the park - hopefully we can do those again after a few days, as long as I'm mindful and stop her charging about/getting stuck into the horse/sheep dung LOL

Thank you!

OP posts:
KangarooKenny · 09/06/2022 10:27

I have a toy breed, and I would never spay any dog before the first season. However if she goes to day care I suppose you’ve no option.

KangarooKenny · 09/06/2022 10:28

Sorry, mixed up with another post - you do t say she goes to day care !

TerrierOrTerror · 09/06/2022 14:16

Our girl was spayed (keyhole) in April. She was pretty sleepy for 48 hours. I did take her out for a sniffy walk after 24 hours to encourage a wee as she hadn't done one, we literally got about 200 yards from our house in ten minutes. We did the same later that day, a bit further the day after. We had a check up on day three and we're able to do 2x 30 minute walks (we were out longer but with her sniffing lots). Tbf on Day 3 or 4 she got free from her slip lead in our garden and zoomed to the point she was bouncing off fences. Make sure you restrict furniture access. We also popped a lead on for her getting upstairs to avoid too much strain.

I would say she was sleepier than usual for about a week though.

coffeecupsandfairylights · 09/06/2022 14:38

Six months is very young for a spay - personally I would want to wait until she's at least 12 months old and fully grown, both physically and mentally.

EdithStourton · 09/06/2022 16:05

coffeecupsandfairylights · 09/06/2022 14:38

Six months is very young for a spay - personally I would want to wait until she's at least 12 months old and fully grown, both physically and mentally.

Likewise.
Our terrier was spayed at 9 months, and looking back on it, I'd be inclined to wait a bit longer.

I want an actual dog, not a perma-puppy, and I think that dogs need their hormones until they're fully grown.

Original poster
QuietLifeNC · 09/06/2022 16:54

Thanks all - am taking on board your comments. I was going by what they said at the vets; they were pretty adamant that early spaying will help prevent long term issues (e.g uterus tumours etc), so it was the right thing to do

Will continue to think on it and do more research...

OP posts:
EdithStourton · 09/06/2022 21:05

Your two big risks with an unspayed bitch are:
pyometra (womb infection, can come on very fast and can be fatal; I know two bitches who had it, one survived, one did not)
Mammary tumours (these are much more common in some breeds than in others, and it's worth reading up on the rate of malignant vs benign, and how they are treated and the success rate).

This is interesting if you are prepared to unravel it - and it does have c de ts as a separate breed in the analysis:
research paper

coffeecupsandfairylights · 09/06/2022 21:13

I have no issue with early spaying but I do think dogs should be fully developed before they have the surgery.

Pyometra is a risk but generally not after one season, so you should be fine to wait until then.

Stellaris22 · 09/06/2022 21:21

I would listen to a qualified vet OP and if they are happy to go ahead then it’s fine. Ours was on lead walks for a while after spaying but was fine.

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