Changes to dog after neutering

AryaStark

Hi All. I have my dog booked in to be neutered on the 21st of this month.

She is a Husky and was two in August. I wanted to wait until she was fully grown until I neutered her. There are so many different opinions on this but after a lot of reading and research(and because I knew I could keep her contained while on heat) I decided to wait until she was grown. And that time has finally come!!!

I am just wondering what to expect. I have been told that she will go in in the morning and can come home that evening. That is great as she has never been away from me and it would have been hard on her staying overnight.

Is the recovery a long one? I am surprised that she is coming home the same night and wonder how she will be. Does she have to go back to get stitches removed?

Will I have to change her food? She is on Barking Heads Tender Loving Care which she loves and does really well on. I have heard that they can put on weight after spaying and should be on a diet after.

Thanks in Advance!!!

tk123

With Lucy I dropped her in on the way to work at 8:30 and she was ready to come home around 3:30. She had 8-10 stitches with a "plaster" over them which they said would come off itself - we tried to keep it on as long as possible lol!! I think it was 3 days for a wound check and 10 days to have the stitches out. She was groggy the first night and back to herself the next day - not a bother on her. She did have a bit of razor burn and scratched at her tummy (not the stitches thank god) so we put a tshirt and on her tied a knot at her back o keep the wound clean and in case she scratched again but she was fine. I already had an inflatable collar from Bailey so had that on her at night to be safe but she was good as gold! I got her hips and cruciates xrayed while she was in for reference and all good with them too!

Food wise I did cut her food back a bit but it was more that she was still on puppy/growing dog portions and I gradually cut it back over a few months but she's perfect now.

Her saucer eyes when I walked out of the vets and left her and she looked out the window "Eh where are you going?!" - OMG

Wizard!

Is there a specific reason you want to neuter your dog?

“It is important to remember, however, that because different dog breeds have different vulnerabilities to various diseases, the effects of early and late neutering also may vary from breed to breed"
...
the increased incidence of joint diseases among early-neutered dogs is likely a combination of the effect of neutering on the young dog’s growth plates as well as the increase in weight on the joints that is commonly seen in neutered dogs
...
Joint disorders and cancers are of particular interest because neutering removes the male dog’s testes and the female’s ovaries, interrupting production of certain hormones that play key roles in important body processes such as closure of bone growth plates, and regulation of the estrous cycle in female dogs.
...
Furthermore, the new study showed a surprising 100 percent increase, or doubling, of the incidence of hip dysplasia among early-neutered males. Earlier studies had reported a 17 percent increase among all neutered dogs compared to all non-neutered dogs, indicating the importance of the new study in making gender and age-of-neutering comparisons.

Source: http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10498

The odds of MCT and LSA were higher for neutered than intact animals. The odds of HSA was higher for neutered females than for intact females, but there was no relationship between neutering and HSA risk for males. The odds of cancers other than these three were also higher for neutered than for intact animals. For all of these cancers, the odds were higher in those neutered after 12 months of age than in those neutered earlier.

Source: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2014/02/benefits-risks-of-neutering-an-evidence-update-cancer-and-behavioral-problems-in-vizslas/

AryaStark

Wizard! wrote: »

Is there a specific reason you want to neuter your dog?


Source: http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10498


Source: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2014/02/benefits-risks-of-neutering-an-evidence-update-cancer-and-behavioral-problems-in-vizslas/

I was always planning on getting her neutered once she was over 2. She first came into heat when she was 6 months old! She has now had 5 heats. The first three were fine but after the fourth she was a bit unwell but I was away so I brought her to a new vet and he diagnosed an infection in her mammory glands and gave her antibiotics.
After this heat she was also unwell and my own vet said diagnosed an infection in the uterus and gave her antibiotics. He knows I don't want pups so we are going to go ahead and get her done now because the worry is that she could develop pyometra ... he has tested her now and her white bloods are up which means she had an infection but he said they are not up enough to indicate that she has pyometra. It is just a possibility that she could get it as it is more common in middle age dogs apparently.

Edited to add that I am not even going to read the arcticles that you posted! I worry about her health all the time even though she had always been really healthy!!! I am just hoping that this is now the best thing for her.

Cherry Blossom

My plan was always to have Poppy neutered at 10 months to give her a bit of time to mature (being small so maturing a bit faster). However she then went into heat at 18/19 weeks and I took her to the vet. They recommended either testing her for hormone problems or neutering at 6 months. She was neutered at 6 months, she was going to be done anyway so I didn't really see the point of expensive tests for the sake of just four months.

Teddy, my male had both testes undecended, if they came down I would have left him intact. They didn't so he was done at 18 months being a little bit bigger he got a bit more time.

I would always neuter a female, I think there are more benefits to spaying than not and there are management issues as well.

I noticed no difference at all in either dog personality wise. As for the dog's weight just monitor her and if she starts to gain weight just cut her food back a bit. There is no reason to change foods.

Latatian

You shouldn't need to change her food. Dogs don't get overweight because of spaying- they get overweight because they eat more calories than they need. Just keep an eye on her and reduce the food if she starts putting on weight, as Adrenalinjunkie says.

The vet will tell you if you need to go back to get stitches removed.

My dog was a bit whimpery and clingy afterwards, whining to get what she wanted. Once she whined at me to run around the house playing ball with her, I reduced the coddling and stopped worrying! It wore off after a couple of weeks, and then she was back to exactly the same as she was before.

Toots

I didn't experience personality change or weight gain with either of my two. Bella (cocker spaniel)didn't like the head collar thing afterwards. The main thing we had to watch was if she tried to jump up on the couch cos she'd pull the stitches.

Lola (Labrador staffie cross) wasn't at all bothered by the lampshade collar and was completely back to normal the next day. The only real casualty was numerous cups and glasses that she knocked off the coffee table with the cone.

Both were 6 months old when they were done. We were warned about potential weight gain, some get it and some don't. Keep an eye and if you notice it, try reducing food a bit and adding an extra few mins to the walks and see if that stops it.

DBB

At this stage, I think the research suggests that the risk to your dog's health is hugely diminished because you've held on til she's that bit older. I think your reasoning is very sound

I would strongly suggest that you get an inflatable collar for her so that she doesn't have to endure the Cone of Shame, which seems to be more stressful for many dogs thatn the operation or the scar! The inflatable collar is designed for dogs that have had abdominal surgery, I use them exclusively now with my rescue dogs, and my own dogs.

I've fostered and cared for dozens of just-spayed females at this stage, the vast majority of them are virtually back to normal the next day. Some of them can be a bit drama queeny, but that's okay, that's allowed under the circumstances

As others have said, weight gain isn't an issue as long as you keep a close eye on her waistline, adjusting downwards if need be.

Good luck op! It is ridiculously worrying when you've to entrust them to someone else!

AryaStark

DBB wrote: »

At this stage, I think the research suggests that the risk to your dog's health is hugely diminished because you've held on til she's that bit older. I think your reasoning is very sound

I would strongly suggest that you get an inflatable collar for her so that she doesn't have to endure the Cone of Shame, which seems to be more stressful for many dogs thatn the operation or the scar! The inflatable collar is designed for dogs that have had abdominal surgery, I use them exclusively now with my rescue dogs, and my own dogs.

I've fostered and cared for dozens of just-spayed females at this stage, the vast majority of them are virtually back to normal the next day. Some of them can be a bit drama queeny, but that's okay, that's allowed under the circumstances

As others have said, weight gain isn't an issue as long as you keep a close eye on her waistline, adjusting downwards if need be.

Good luck op! It is ridiculously worrying when you've to entrust them to someone else!

Thanks very much! Can I buy the inflatable collar in the vets?

DBB

AryaStark wrote: »

Thanks very much! Can I buy the inflatable collar in the vets?

I've never seen them for sale in vets, but then again I'm not visiting lots of clinics! My own vet hires them out. It'd be worth calling your vet to see do they do something similar.
You can get them in Pet Mania, and they may do them in Maxi Zoo too (SillyMangoX works there, maybe you can let us know SMX?!), and if you've time, you can get them from any number of websites.

AryaStark

I have plenty of time as she is booked in on the 21st so I will get one...

SillyMangoX

DBB wrote: »

I've never seen them for sale in vets, but then again I'm not visiting lots of clinics! My own vet hires them out. It'd be worth calling your vet to see do they do something similar.
You can get them in Pet Mania, and they may do them in Maxi Zoo too (SillyMangoX works there, maybe you can let us know SMX?!), and if you've time, you can get them from any number of websites.

Yep they are indeed in maxi zoo, have one here for emergencies, wouldn't be without it!

tk123

This is the collar we have OP - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrive-BCC3-Comfy-Collar-Medium/dp/B00GROXCPS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452026895&sr=8-1&keywords=comfy+collar

AryaStark

tk123 wrote: »

This is the collar we have OP - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrive-BCC3-Comfy-Collar-Medium/dp/B00GROXCPS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452026895&sr=8-1&keywords=comfy+collar

Ill get her one and try her with it before the op. She won't like it!

DBB

AryaStark wrote: »

Ill get her one and try her with it before the op. She won't like it!

You might be surprised! All the dogs I've used them on have had an initial "ehhhh... Wha?" reaction, but it's short-lived and they end up using it as pillow
One thing I can guarantee you... She'll prefer it a hundred times more than a Cone of Shame

AryaStark

DBB wrote: »

You might be surprised! All the dogs I've used them on have had an initial "ehhhh... Wha?" reaction, but it's short-lived and they end up using it as pillow
One thing I can guarantee you... She'll prefer it a hundred times more than a Cone of Shame

She is like Houdini at getting in and out of things and can be so single minded when she wants to be!

She is so clever and I know she would hate the cone so this will be better!!!

tk123

DBB wrote: »

You might be surprised! All the dogs I've used them on have had an initial "ehhhh... Wha?" reaction, but it's short-lived and they end up using it as pillow
One thing I can guarantee you... She'll prefer it a hundred times more than a Cone of Shame

Same here!! The snoring from Lucy with it on though lol!!

fishoutofwater

It took my female dog a while to bounce back after her op, probably the guts of a week.

She was very very sleepy that evening and not really interested in food. I had a big batch of chicken and rice done to keep her going over the first few days rather than he regular dog food as she was really out of sorts. She improved a little bit everyday til she was back to her normal self in about a week. Didnt notice any major changes personality wise and she hasn't gained weight (in 3 years) and she was about 2 at the time. She didnt wear any cone and didnt really need it. We just kept a very close eye on her for the first few days and any licking was met with a swift "ah ah" and she stopped.

Male dog was fine almost straight away. He needed a lot more intervention when it came to licking the wound. without the cone he was fine but did need near constant watching for the week or so. That was last summer and he has gained weight since but he was very skinny beforehand so needed to but we are keeping an eye on it He changed a bit in that he stopped pee-ing on every lamp-post on walks and stopped "bothering" my female dog every time she was groomed . I had hoped it might ease his anxiety levels but I don't think it has.

ShaShaBear

DBB wrote: »

You might be surprised! All the dogs I've used them on have had an initial "ehhhh... Wha?" reaction, but it's short-lived and they end up using it as pillow
One thing I can guarantee you... She'll prefer it a hundred times more than a Cone of Shame

And your shins will thank you for it :pac:

aonb

Im a great fan of anything that avoids the CONE - as DBB says its nearly more stressful than the surgery - my dogs all freaked with the cone!
The first night can be worrying if your dog is very woozy and disorientated with the anaesthetics, but that quickly wears off, and as everyone else has pretty much said, back to normal next day pretty much. If shes very bouncy/jumpy, you might just try to keep her calm for a day or two, or at least not too much jumping up.