My Chloe going to be spayed today. Is it worse than neutering?

[BusynMember]

I'm so worried about my little girl. I always thought it was more of an ordeal for a female dog to get spayed than for a male dog to get neutered. I have almost always had male dogs and cats so this is different for me. I'm so worried about my precious Chloe (she isn't really precious; she is a difficult child with a Terrier temperament, but I love her to pieces). We have an excellent vet!

 

[SuZir]

It is much bigger operation than neutering, but of course the biggest risk is the anaesthesia and that is same in both. But she will likely be in more pain than neutered dog afterwards (ask for pain killers!) and you have to be little more careful with treating the wound. I'm sure you will be getting instructions for that, but basically keeping it clean, not letting her lick it and showering it regularly.

 

[BusynMember]

Thank you. Poor little girl. To stop her from licking may require a cone.

 

[SuZir]

To stop her from licking may require a cone.

Yes, that is usually needed for a week or two

 

[SearchingForRainbows]

It's been a really long time since I've had to have a dog spayed and I'm glad SuZir has already given you some good advice. However, I do remember when my "favorite sanity saver" was spayed, I was a total nervous wreck worrying about her! I remember her vet telling me that having a dog spayed reduces her risk for a certain type of cancer (can't remember which one). This made me feel a bit better. And, honestly, I did all that worrying for no really good reason.

It was difficult seeing her in pain when I brought her home. However, in my humble opinion, the discomfort is definitely worth it in the long run. There are so many unwanted dogs in shelters, tossed at the side of the road like sacks of garbage, it just breaks my heart... I know you love dogs as much as I do but even so, it's impossible for any of us to save all of them. It's better to not take a chance because even if you were to manage to find good homes for the puppies, for every puppy born, it might mean one less chance for one already in a shelter, on the streets, to find a loving family and a permanent place to call "home."

Thinking of you and Chloe and wishing her a fast recovery with as little pain as possible... SFR

 

[AnnieO]

I've had less trouble with the females than the males. Also - talk to the vet but licking is how they help it heal. As long as they are not ripping at stitches...

 

[witzend]

She'll be sore and tender, and you have to watch for infection in the incisions. Be sure to make sure she keeps drinking water and going potty.

 

[Hound dog]

I've never had a male neutered. Just the thought would turn Fred green. lol

Females? Never really a problem, more of an annoyance because then you have to keep them from rough housing, no walks ect, and just make sure they don't lick the wound.

I always have my vet give me a couple of pain pills, just in case, even though they make sure they come home with one already working. She may be a little stiff and quite sore for the first day or so.

 

[donna723]

I can't really compare it to neutering because my little Trace was the first male dog I've had in years and he had already been neutered when I got him.

Are they keeping her overnight or are you bringing her home after the surgery? In my experience, if everything goes alright, they are much more comfortable at home than staying at the vets overnight ... no need for it really. My girls were always groggy when I brought them home and spent most of that first day sleeping it off in their crates. They might get up a time or two to potty and get a drink of water, not interested in eating. By the second day they were moving around a lot more, eating and drinking normally and a lot more active. By the third day they were wanting to play and going up and down the steps freely. My girls had an incision about 2 inches long.

ALWAYS ASK THE VET FOR PAIN medications to give them at home for the first few days! It may cost a little more but they need it. Dogs are instinctively very good at covering it up if they are in pain - an animal that shows weakness in the wild will become a victim. But that doesn't mean that they are not hurting just as much as a person would. Just imagine if YOU had major surgery and were given no pain medications afterwards!

 

[DammitJanet]

My experience with Abby and Ziva was that it went okay but they were groggy upon coming home and poor Abby was miserable. She was a big baby. She didnt want to do anything but lay on the couch. I could tell she was in pain because she wouldnt actually lay down completely but would sort of prop herself up against the back of the couch and wedge in there where the arm meets the back and we put a pillow there so she could keep her tummy exposed and not lay on it. Yes we are suckers for a pitiful sad face...lol. I gave pills round the clock. My vet gave tramadol and if you already have some at home you can use those but I didnt have any. Cory had some so I didnt buy Ziva's. It took Abby about 3 days to get back to her normal happy self BUT she favored the leg they gave her the IV in for months after that. If we even touched that leg she was upset.

 

[donna723]

Another little trick I learned ... only works with smaller dogs though. If they want to pull and bite on their stitches, you may be able to avoid making them wear the dreaded "cone of shame". If you can find a pair of baby "onesies" that will fit on the dog, they serve the same purpose. They can't get at the stitches to pull at them, PLUS they will look extremely cute in them and you get to laugh at them while they're wearing them! They will hate you for making them wear it but they would hate the cone more. It gets worse a few days later as it starts to itch as the incision is healing. Funny story - several years ago my Katy (my chubbiest Boston) had to have surgery to remove her back pair of mammary glands. It was pretty extensive surgery with two big incisions. Rather than put her in a cone, I measured her and went to the Dollar Store childrens section. They don't make onesies big enough to fit her. The only thing they had that would completely cover her was a size 2T bright yellow ruffle-butt sunsuit! I bought the thing, brought it home and put it on her. I still have pictures of her wearing her little sunsuit, glaring at me with laser beams of pure hatred coming from her eyes! We finally made a deal - she would agree not to bite at her stitches if I would agree not to put the sunsuit on her. If she ever did start to bite at her stitches again, all I had to do was to pick up the dreaded yellow sunsuit, wave it in the air, and say, "Do you see this?" ... and she would stop immediately! Funny but it does work and it's a lot more comfortable for them than the cone.

 

[Hound dog]

I forgot to add:

Don't be surprised and too overly worried if the anesthetic makes her queasy for a few days....... Maggie didn't do so well with that part, seemed to take longer for that effect to wear off. She didn't eat much for 2-3 days following but did drink ok........then would wretch but not lose it. Made me wince for her every time as I'm sure that had to hurt.

 

[DazedandConfused]

I've had several dogs both neutered and spayed. Spaying, overall, is much more invasive (It's a doggie version of a hysterectomy) so it takes more time to recover and heal. Both my dogs took a couple of days just to recover from being under anesthesia and come out of the fog. They were good about leaving the incision alone to heal, though. I did have one male who had a difficult time when being neutered because one of his testicles never "dropped" and the vet had to perform a more invasive procedure to go get it. Then, he had an allergic reaction to the suture material which made him look like he swallowed a football. Of course, this happened on a Friday night and the only vet was an emergency vet place that wanted $$$ upfront just to look at him. Then, another surgery just to find out what was causing the swelling (allergies). Then, drains and more vet visits. So, in my experience, neutering CAN possibly be more complicated and expensive. Oy!

 

[BusynMember]

Thanks, everyone!

I just got home. I elected to hold Chloe while she got her shot and then until she fell asleep and stay in the office until her surgery was over and I knew she was ok. Yes, I know. Pathetic. So she is sleeping now (I brought her personal favorite blanket and gave it to the vet). She had all her blood work first and is healthy, which we pretty much new. Unlike Damian, she has always been very hearty. The vet's nurse asked me if I wanted pain pills and I said I did. I think I'm going to go out and buy a onsie at a thrift shop and wash it before she comes home. I have until 2-4 to get her and will call and get her when she is awake.

I'm glad I don't work. I think I'll mostly stay home with her tomorrow to make sure she is comfortable and that Damian doesn't try to get her to play or jump on her. Actually, when Damian was fixed, he was up and around THAT DAY. He did GREAT. I hope Chloe does half as well since her surgery is more invasive. I hope she can eat! She is prone to getting queasy in the car so maybe she has a delicate stomach.

I hope she doesn't mellow out too much now. Damian was a monster when he was a pup (thus, his name). But he really calmed down after his neuter and is quiet, well behaved, and very sweet. But he doesn't jump around and play as much as he did before and he gained some unnecessary weight. Chloe is a terrier all the way so far. No sign of bichon in her at all, just yorkie. I would hate for my feisty girl to lose her spunk, but will love her however s he is

 

[donna723]

MWM, I wouldn't worry too much if she doesn't feel like eating today. None of mine would eat that first day, and they only nibbled a bit the second day. As long as they are drinking a little water, going a day or two without eating won't hurt them a bit. And neutering may take away a little of the aggressiveness of a male dog, but I never noticed even the slightest difference in the temperament or personality of any of my girls after they were spayed - other than the normal mellowing out as they got older. Honestly, after the first couple of days, the only problem I had with mine was trying to keep them quiet when they were wanting to run and play!

 

[DammitJanet]

I wouldnt expect eating today unless its what you put the pain medications in. I hope you have some sort of treat to help get them down. I expected liver to do it for my dog but she actually refused to even touch liverwurst with the pill hidden in it. I was astounded. I ended up having to crush the pill and mix it with canned spray cheese which is one of her favorite things to eat. I would just crush the pill between two spoons and then squirt a bit of cheese into one of the spoons, pour the powder in and stir it up with a toothpick. She would lick off all the cheese then because she didnt feel any lumps. If she felt a lump...she spit it out!

 

[BusynMember]

She loves peanut butter. We use that.

 

[donna723]

Do you also have cats? With my dogs, the easiest way to get them to take pills is to put them in with cat food - they LOVE cat food! My Ragan takes two pills every morning and I give them to her when I'm fixing the food for the cats. I give the cats a mixture of fishy, smelly canned food, dry food, and a bit of warm water all mixed together. Ragan begs for it! I feed her several bites of this off of a spoon and just stick the pills in there with the cat food. She can't tell the difference between the hard lumps that are the pills and the hard lumps that are the dry cat food. Works for us ...

 

[Hound dog]

Spaying never had a calming effect on any of my dogs. (females) In fact, Betsy was the perpetual puppy until she was just too old to move the way she could when younger.

I've also had rotten luck with spaying helping with temperament too. Both dogs I did that for (not only to not have pups) to help with aggressive behavior..........it made them 10 times worse. No clue why.

Maybe it depends on breed.

 

[SuZir]

Spaying doesn't usually help aggressiveness, certain type aggressiveness it makes worse. When female dog is spayed, the testosterone levels get up. If aggressiveness is over resources, dominance etc. it is likely to get worse. If it solely due to fear, testosterone just might make a dog bit more self-confident and help. Neutering male dogs lowers their testosterone levels so their aggressiveness, if it is over dominance etc. can get better. Then again, if they are fearful lack of testosterone will make them less confident and they may get more aggressive.