Nervous wreck before neuter?

[Mike_and_Me]

We are scheduled for neuter this Friday, 22nd. Oh please tell me how you go through this worry? I trust the vet completely, but I'm so worried about our boy. He hates being at the vet and always glues himself to me while there.. and now I will have to leave him alone When they wake up after anesthesia - is it scary for them? How fast can I see him?

Also, on the practical side, do I have to buy the medical after-surgery shirt for him (vet suggested)? Or is it possible to get by with baby onesies?

[Lovetodream88]

It’s normal to freak out. What my vet does is once she gets there she checks them out then gives them a sedative and then the tech will put the IV Cath in and they will be sleepy until their surgery. Afterwords they are still pretty out of it and just generally wake up sleepy. None of my dogs ever had a licking problem but I had an old member make a soft cone and I only put it on them at night. From what I have heard your vet sounds pretty awesome.

[maxdog]

We always worry too. But we also trust our vet and it always works out.

[mrssabes]

My vet said to drop Fabian off and go shopping. Of course not! I stayed in the waiting room the whole time. We did the onesies and tossed them afterwards. (Get the cheap ones, cut a hole for the tail, and buy about twice as many as you think you'll need.) As I recall, there was also a test to make sure he'd be OK with the anesthesia? If so, well worth the money for peace of mind. I also scheduled the appointment for a Thurs early enough in the day to go back if there was an issue. I also took the next day off from work. by Monday, he was feeling OK enough that I was comfortable going back to work. He's a chewer, so the "cone of shame" was a must.

[JennaPenny]

It's pretty nerve-wracking, but these ladies have given you excellent advice. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you need reassurance.

[Mike_and_Me]

Thank you so much. I did get a couple of onesies today, it seems more practical to have more than one on hand and change when it gets dirty and toss them afterwards instead of one expensive medical shirt. Will try to keep myself calm, don't know about sitting in the waiting room, but for sure will be as close as possible to the clinic tomorrow.

[yavenay]

I've had pets my whole life (55 years) and every one of them has been spayed or neutered, over 15 pets and fortunately all of them live with no issues or complications. All of them recovered within 48 hours. The hard part was keeping them contain with stiches.

The procedures for spaying and neutering is very safe. Just be sure to get the pre surgery checks like bloodwork. Of course everything comes with risk but the chances are extremely high that your baby will be okay.

As for recovery time, I went to pick Duchess up and when I got there she was ready to play. I was started to wonder if they put her to sleep because she had almost no effects. She did sleep the rest of the day but once she woke up, she was off and running. I had to put her in her expen to try and keep her calm.

[yavenay]

Originally Posted by Mike_and_Me

Thank you so much. I did get a couple of onesies today, it seems more practical to have more than one on hand and change when it gets dirty and toss them afterwards instead of one expensive medical shirt. Will try to keep myself calm, don't know about sitting in the waiting room, but for sure will be as close as possible to the clinic tomorrow.

Also be sure to give him a bath before the procedure. When Duchess got hers done, the vet told me she couldn't get a bath for like two weeks and trust me when I say the little stinker got into something and stunk the entire two weeks. I had to use baby wipes to wipe her down

[Mike_and_Me]

Originally Posted by yavenay

Also be sure to give him a bath before the procedure. When Duchess got hers done, the vet told me she couldn't get a bath for like two weeks and trust me when I say the little stinker got into something and stunk the entire two weeks. I had to use baby wipes to wipe her down

Ah thanks a lot for the advice! The vet will do bloodwork tomorrow before the procedure as well as an ultrasound again, because our boy is cryptorchid. So it seems everything is covered and I just need to take a big breath and get through this.

As for the bath we try to wash him once in 3 weeks because his skin is on a dry side and surprisingly he smells good even with such big breaks in between. By the way, he had flaky skin, kind of like dandruff, even though we do a thorough job rinsing him out. For the last two baths I switched to Organic Oscar shampoo with aloe vera and oatmeal and no more dandruff! I'm so happy with it.

[matese]

The blood work before surgery is very important and you have that covered. These furbutts bounce back after surgery so fast it's amazing, the hardest part is going to be after the surgery trying to keep him calm and not zooming through the house. My girls, the day after surgery wanted to be off and running it was really hard containing them lol. Spay and neutering really are simple and safe surgeries even with your furry being cryptorchid your vet has all basis covered.

Many, many years ago when I had a Poodle, she was my very first dog as an adult, she was 6 years old and needed surgery to have a lump removed, I was such a nervous wreck I had to get tranquilizers from my Dr. just to be able to get her out of the house and to the car, then I had to have a neighbor drive us because I was kinda groggy lol. I took a week off from work because it was in the summer and i was afraid to leave her alone, afraid a fly or flies would get at her incision lol. so I know how you're feeling. Little Mike will be just fine (((hugs))).

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Mike_and_Me

Thank you so much. I did get a couple of onesies today, it seems more practical to have more than one on hand and change when it gets dirty and toss them afterwards instead of one expensive medical shirt. Will try to keep myself calm, don't know about sitting in the waiting room, but for sure will be as close as possible to the clinic tomorrow.

Callie has been under anesthesia so many times I developed a kinda OCD anxiety system to try and deal with my anxiety. After I drop them off I go get pancakes for breakfast and then I go and buy them something at the store.

[Mike_and_Me]

Originally Posted by matese

Many, many years ago when I had a Poodle, she was my very first dog as an adult, she was 6 years old and needed surgery to have a lump removed, I was such a nervous wreck I had to get tranquilizers from my Dr. just to be able to get her out of the house and to the car, then I had to have a neighbor drive us because I was kinda groggy lol. I took a week off from work because it was in the summer and i was afraid to leave her alone, afraid a fly or flies would get at her incision lol. so I know how you're feeling. Little Mike will be just fine (((hugs))).

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Callie has been under anesthesia so many times I developed a kinda OCD anxiety system to try and deal with my anxiety. After I drop them off I go get pancakes for breakfast and then I go and buy them something at the store.

I feel like I'm in the right company here )) thank you so much ladies for kind words and advice.

[Mike_and_Me]

Mike is back home now, very weak and sleepy, wrapped up in a blanket. It's so sad to see him like this, but i'm soooo happy the surgery went well. The vet was kind enough to let me in the operating room and see him from afar after they finished. She showed me the testicles they removed and shared some disturbing info(( apparently with cryptorchid babies one or both of the testicles can be sometimes hard to find/remove or can be very very small and vets sometimes might just skip on removing it and call it a day. Which then of course can pose big problems later in dog's life. Very disturbing.. and something to remember just in case.

They also removed his upper baby fangs and luckily there were no more retained teeth. Each tooth had a double root so it was impossible for them to fall off on their own.

Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow morning!
p.s. peed all over the 1st baby onesie already, so had to change him into a clean one. Thanks again for the advice!!!

[nanajoy]

I am so happy to hear your good news! He should be feeling much better tomorrow, and back to himself in just a few days.

[matese]

So happy to hear it's finally over and they were able to get both testicles. Sleeping is good for the baby, soon he'll be looking to run around. Double rooted fangs yikes. You have a really good vet and that's so very important. Please keep us updated on lil Mikes recovery.