Important question regarding spaying!!!
 

Hello everyone,

Well the dreaded day has come and I need to get Nala spayed(not sure how you spell it) :( !!! I just spoke with the vet and she said I could drop her off next friday at 7:45am and won't be able to pick her up until saturday at around 12:00....is that normal? When we got our boy Jack Russel, cinco, fixed he came home the same day and was immediately back to normal. She is used to sleeping next to me at night and I am sure they keep them locked up in kennels and aren't around to let them out at all. I asked her if I had to leave her overnight and she said "no, but we HIGHLY recommend leaving her!" What should I do, I don't want her to be in pain if she does come home too soon, but I also don't want her to hate me for leaving her there!!! I need advise as to what others do in this situation.

Thanks!!!

Is that your regular vet?

Where I had Kacee spayed, they do same-day surgery. I took her in before 8 a.m. and picked her up before 5 p.m.

I'm just guessing that the vet you talked to won't be doing the surgery until later. IOW at their convenience and not yours.:)

If no one is going to be with her there I would just ask to take her home. Shes not going to be in any more pain than if she were there and she will have you to comfort her.

It is the same vet I have gone to for both dogs shots/checkups/etc. She did say I could take her but they did not recommend it. I understand she will be in pain but since the surgery will be on a friday. I will have the entire weekend to watch over her and I think I can do a better job than they can, especially having more animals to look after! I understand that if, god forbid, she has problems they need to keep an eye on her, but if she goes through it fine I don't see why they needed to keep her....Has anyone left their baby overnight after the surgery?

Cali was spayed at an ER vet because of some other problems so they kept her 36 hours. My regular vet keeps them overnight but noone is there during the night so I told them that I would take her home and stay up all night and watch her. They said I could but she ended up having it done as an emergency. I live 5 minutes from the Er vet so I could get her there is anything happened.

When I had Oscar neutered, I insisted that I pick him up that evening and he come home with me, where he would be MUCH more comfortable - it didn't make sense to me to leave him there when NO ONE was going to be in the office with him, he would just be in a strange place along, wondering what was going on. I thought it was bad enough that he had to go through the surgery, I wasn't going to make it worse on him by leaving him alone - that's just me though - I was a big boob just leaving him there for the day!

My vet was absolutely fine with me picking him up - they just scheduled a follow-up appointment for the next day to check him out. Maybe you can do the same?

i would ask your vet to book the surgery on a day where he can do it first thing in the morning.. that is what layla's vet did... they watched her all day and then i picked her up around 6pm. If no one is going to be there to watch her overnight.. i would take her home... there should be an on-call vet if you need something. I tried staying up all night with Layla but she was so doped up she just slept and so eventually i did the same thing. You will definitly get no sleep knowing she is alone in a vet office. I think she will be more comfortable and less scared in your arms rather than a cold cage. good luck and let us know what you decide!

I agree with everyone! It's bad enough that she has to go through the painful surgery and has to stay there for the day. I couldn't imagine her staying there all night too, without someone there to watch over her. How much better could it be there if she is alone. I definetly will not get ANY sleep b/c I will be up wondering if she is OK. I never leave her in her crate for more than 4 hours and I am sure she will be there all night without any time out of it, so I think if anything, that will cause her more pain than coming home the same day. I am just worried about what could happen if she does come home early...I would never forgive myself if something happened because i didn't leave her with them :( ! It looks like almost everyone got to take their babies home the same day, so I guess it would be the best thing to do.

i definitly think she should go home. but just make sure she hasn't had the surgery at 3.. and you pick her up at 6... i think as long as she has it in the morning and is there all day for them to watch.. things will be fine.. just watch for her breathing and make sure she eats and drinks a lot. Layla got done last wednesday and i bought her wet food.. whcih she thought was a treat.. and she had no problem eating it. now i can't get her off of it :p things will be fine and you know there is always someone on here to help answer your questions. i think i posted 3 different msgs the day after layla got spayed :(

When Sissy was spayed, she was done as a first appointment, but did spend the night at the vet. She was kept in their intensive care unit because of her small size. I did visit her later in the afternoon of her surgery and it was very hard to leave her. I was at the office as soon as they opened the next day to bring her home, however.

I think you should do what you feel most comfortable with - but if you bring her home, you need to be with her. I would also make sure the vet sends home pain meds for at least a couple days.

Kacee was quite uncomfortable that night, but I slept next to her on a blanket on the floor.:D She was quite restless and would sleep just short periods of time. At least, I was there to watch her and care for her needs. The next day she started showing improvement and I think four days later she was playing ball again!:D

Thanks for all of the help... I just called the vets office again to see if someone will be there w/ her during the night. She said "no, we leave at 5:30pm but come back at 7:30am so I can pick her up then" So I asked why it would be better to leave her somewhere that no one would be there to watch over her, she didn't know what to say.....all she said was its a "clinic policy"! I just still don't understand how it could be better to leave these small dogs alone for 14 hours after they have had a major surgery and say it's better than taking them home where you can keep a close eye on them and make sure they stay quiet and comfortable! This is stressing me out, and making me really nervous!

Have you called around to other vet clinics to see what their practices are? My female cats all had to stay overnight for their spays. This is abdominal surgery, major surgery for girls. Being kept confined in a kennel means they can't run around and disrupt the sutures. I too would be concerned that no one is there at night to watch over her. My gut says take her home and keep her crated for the first night unless someone will be there all night at the vet clinic to watch her.

Tell them you will be picking her up before they close and you will return the next morning for a follow up

I have to agree with everyone that the best thing to do would be to take her home with me and monitor her and let her stay in her crate, where she is familiar with her surroundings and can sleep peacefully. I just hated the way they said "you have to sign a release form that we are Not liable if something happens to her"....like being at the vet alone, is better than coming home where she will be watched like a hawk!!!!

Also, I made an appt for our other dog, Cinco on the next day, so I can easily bring her back when I go for them to check on her and make sure everything is looking good!

When Maddie was spayed, I took her there at 8 AM and picked her up at 4 PM. She was uncomfortable, but had pain meds and I know she was much happier being home than in a cage at the vets. I agree with everyone. As long as there's no one at the clinic during the night, why leave her there to be alone and scared. She will do much better being with you!!! Best wishes on the surgery!

There's really no reason for them to stay overnight. EXCEPT: some people are very, very careless and don't watch their dogs well and may end up jumping and there you go...trouble!

Kizzy just got spayed 3 weeks ago and I personally would leave mine over night. I know I did. At least if something were to go wrong they would know what to do, and I wanted to make sure they could keep the pain down. I dont think my nerves would of taken it the first night. My neice didnt let them keep hers over night, brought it home and altho she took very good care of hers, it got infected and it took longer for her lil one to get over that.
JMO. No way would I not leave mine. We had to be there before 9 and pick her up by 12. I was there about 9 the next morning. goodluck to you and your baby. Hope all goes well and I feel sure it will. theirs no telling how many of these they do a day.

I worked for a vet and he also kept them overnight. The main reason he kept them is invaribably he would tell the owner no food or water until the next day and loving owners that we all are would give food and water the same day and the animal would start vomiting. He got tired of phone calls after hours at home with panicked folks that did not follow his instructions.

I have always brought mine home the same day with no problems. Most of the time if the vet knows that you will go somewhere else to have a spay done they will let you take them home the same day. Spays are more invasive than neuters.

If you must give them water only give them a tiny amount and wait for an hour and give them a little more. The same goes with food. Only about a teaspoon of chicken baby food wait a while and give them a little bit more. If you let them drink alot of water or food they will get sick everytime. I know how hard it is for them to fast before surgery and not be able to eat until the next day but if you wait several hours and give little amounts of food and water they will do much better.

Hope this helps answer why some vets do what they do.

Judy

Here are my 2 experiences...
I had Sammi spayed by VET X (UGH!) @ 8 months old...dropped her off at 10am and had to pick her up at 5pm!
She was still HIGHLY SEDATED...Sammi did not awaken for a WHOLE DAY...(I know that now this had to do with her liver...Puppies/Dogs with liver problems have a hard time "waking up" from anethesia)...When I called to ask the dumb vet why this was he said it was because she had hernia surgery at the same time AND GOT DOUBLE MEDS!! UGH!! I COULD KICK MYSELF FOR USING THIS VET FOR AS LONG AS I DID!! AND he never even suggested doing a blood panel b4 spaying, and I had no idea about it becuase Sammi was my first dog! Cost of her spaying/hernia repair was $153 dollars...

Now my new vet (who is WONDERFUL) spayed Sophia yesterday...He suggested I leave her overnight (there is a crew there 24/7) so she can be monitored...I never questioned him...I want Sophia to have the best care and if that means her staying overnight to be watched that is ok with me...I am going to pick her up @ 10am...During this spay she was on an EKG to monitor her heart and had a blood panel done b4 surgery...WITH OUT EVEN ASKING...The new vet said THATS THE NORM...You should do a blood panel or mini panel to know where you are at with the inside functions...This spay cost me $429 dollars and I feel worth it for having my dog taken care of like she should...

Guys I am sorry if I sound so angry and bitter with my first vet...My heart breaks when I think about having ever having Sammi under his care!
We are actually looking into vet malpractice...Sammi had a problem with her liver that should have been picked up when I first brought her to VET X!!! :(

I had the then six month old Debbie spayed and she was only 2.7 pounds at the time. She got to come home with me that afternoon and other than being sleepy she didn't seem to be in any pain.

That night when I made a quick trip to the video store, I decided to pick up some milk and a couple things from the grocery store. On the way out I was car jacked but did get away. When the police finally got me, I also asked them to pick up my son who was 13 and home alone with the recovering Debbie. I told him to make sure he brought her too. We spent several hours in the police station and didn't get home until after 2 a.m. Debbie was none the worse for this experience and I think it beat staying at the vet's in a cage.

Hope her spaying goes well.

Well tomorrow is the day!!! I have been dreading tomorrow since I made the appointment, I just want her to be the same dog that she is now. I hope this procedure doesn't change her personality or attitude. i have heard some people say that it changes their pets, so i hope this doesn't happen to Nala. I have been worrying myself to death! I just spoke with the vet's office and she told me they would be doing the surgery first thing in the morning so she will have the entire day to recover and by the time i can pick her up they should know how she handled it and if there were any complications that would cause her to need to stay overnight. I do have to sign a release form if something happens to her during the night, but I would much rather her be with me than in a cage alone for 14 hours!! So, I will let everyone know how it goes tomorrow. If I have any problems, I am sure someone on here will be able to help me.....hopefully it goes well! thanks for everyones comments, it really helped me make my decision to take her home with me!:(