My baby's being spayed!

[Marina]

Hi Everyone,
I just got my first Yorkie about 3 months ago and regret that i only found this site about a month ago. But since then i have been reading religiously and it has really helped out even just to see that other people are in the same situation that i am in.
Most topics here are discussed extensively but i havent been able to find much on what to expect when Chewy (7 months) gets home from the vet tonight. She is being spayed as i write this so obviously i am spending the whole day at work worrying about her. She is alone in a cage scared and hungry and i dont want anything more than to go rescue her. She was giving me dirty looks all morning because she didnt understand why i wasnt giving her breakfast.
Any advice would be helpful : how long will she be healing? what to feed her? pain management? ANYTHING
I got a few helpful hints from this site such as buying her a onsie instead of putting her in a cone. Im sure she will appreciate that since she obviously hates being in a cone.
I know we all love pictures and i promise to load some when i get a chance to at home.
thank you for all your help
marina

[VickiG]

I know how you feel Peanut was neutered 2 weeks ago. We brought him home that afternoon and I had to get some onsie he keep wanting to lick his stitches. The vet tech told me no food until morning, but I had some chicken and rice ready at home and he was straving. I gave him only a little at a time and he was fine. The next morning he was great and didn't bother with the stitches. They sent him home with pain meds for 4 day but I only did one day as he wasn't in pain. I would think your little girl will need the meds since spaying is more to it then neutering. Everything will be fine they do bounce back quickly.
Vicki

[Connie]

Best wishes to you and your little sweetie! I remember how worried and scared I was when I took Maddie in to be spayed. I would suggest to call there and ask if she's had her surgery yet and if she's doing okay. If you find out it's done and she's awake, you will worry less. I would also suggest that when you pick her up, be sure that they send pain meds with you. I have read on YT of some that come home without the meds and cry and hurt so much. There is no reason for them to be hurting as long as there are meds they can take. I also fed Maddie the evening that I picked her up. She ate and drank and had no problems. Poor babies are so starving after not eating all day! They normally bounce back pretty quickly and the biggest thing is trying to keep them from jumping.

The onesies work great and besides that, they look so darling in them!!! Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[Lou]

Adie is scheduled the week of Christmas and I am really dreading it. The vet tech told my husband that they would want to keep her over night. Well that will be over my dead body! There isn't anyone there at night so what purpose would that serve?

I'd like to hear more about the onsies. Are you talking about the baby clothes or do they make onesies for dogs? Adie is only 3.5 lbs and a baby onesie (even a premie) would fall right off of her!

[Brookef18]

Hi there,
Chewy got neutered last week... i know boys and girls are different but just to let you know how it went with us.

Chewy was out of it the first night. Just really slept so we didn't need the onesie at first. The second day we used the onsie but it kept coming off... even the premie was to big in the neck so if you do use them you may want to sew the neck smaller so they can't some out!

I wound up needing to get the cone because he would not leave it alone. But it was only one week and he had no other trouble. HE didn't drink much at first so we added alot of water to his dry food and he loved that so he still got water.

We let Chewy sleep with us at night. he had his harness on because of the cone so we just looped his leash through the slats of our head board and made sure that he couldn't fall off the bed. We put his dog bed on our bed between us and he loved it and I felt better knowing he was right there so we knew he was ok.

He had antibiotics and he hated it so I injected it into peices of bread and spread chicken baby food on top and he loved it...It was like the best snack ever to him!

It is very scarey going through it all but I am so glad he did ok and it is over...

[Marina]

well chewys home....shes very drowsy but doesnt seem to want to lay down...i guess it hurts her belly. so she sleeps in a sitting position.
I havent put the onsie on her yet because it hurts her to move around so i dont think shell be scratching tonight. I bought her a onsie for 3-6 months and it fits her pretty well, a little loose but the neck has buttons so you could adjust it. I will probably use it tomorrow because she doesnt like the cone.
Thank you all for your help....I will post any advice i have for those of you who havent gone through this yet after we get through it.

[Bama Yorkie Mom]

Maggie was spayed today. they took her first so she wouldnt have to be without food so long, she got there at 9, they took her about 9:15, at 11:11 they called and said she was thru with surgery, and was waking up and had done real good. I will pick her up in the morning. I believe in letting mine stay at the vets over night as they do have someone that goes home for a while and comes back to check on them. Kizzy did well like that so I feel sure she will be fine. but when kizzy got spayed we didnt have maggie jumping on her and playing rough to I'll have to keep them separated for a few days as kizzy is so much bigger and will want to play. but I cant wait to get her home in the morning and see her. kizzy has looked for her all over the house and went in and out today looking for her. so i know she'll be happy to see her too. too bad you cant explain why their lil sisters arent here for a day or so. I always dread the first few days for them. kizzy was sore, i hope maggie isnt as sore as kizzy seemed at first.

[abbie's mom]

Originally Posted by Lou

The vet tech told my husband that they would want to keep her over night. Well that will be over my dead body! There isn't anyone there at night so what purpose would that serve?

I don't want to unduly alarm you; but, I would seriously consider finding another vet for this procedure if their standing policy is to keep a 3.5lb post-op surgical dog overnight without any supervision. For the most part, she will be groggy, and should be kept quiet; but, unless you have children who won't leave her alone, or other pets that might jump on her - she should do fine in a quiet room at home where you can keep an eye on her. JMO

Yes, the onesies we talk about can be found in the infant dept of any clothing store.

[Gracie2006]

Thank you so much for starting this thread! I had planned to have Gracie spayed in a couple of weeks but I am so scared. She is not the smallest Yorkie, about 5 lbs., but I still worry about her getting hypoglycemic if she is not watched closely that first night. I understand the reason for not giving food by mouth the first day/night. Abdominal surgery causes the intestines to stop working for a bit. They have to wake up before you feed your baby. If the intestines do not wake up and you feed your baby, the baby could get a paralytic ileus and have some really bad complications, including a bowel obstruction. I guess I would feel better if my Gracie was being watched and given IV glucose, or home with me where I can give her sugar water or a bit of nutrical. Am I overly concerned about the hypoglycemia? I know I have to get this done but I am having such a hard time! I never had these fears with my cats. With them, it was like nothing ever happened. Dogs are so different, so much more like humans and so dependent!

[Marina]

Thank you all for your comments and advice.
I too was afraid of hypoglycemia even though shes around 6 pounds now. The vet told me not to feed her until morning but i gave her some nutrical. I also gave her some water through a medicine syringe because she refused to drink all day.
I didnt want to give her any pain meds because she has been on a lot of medication that was also bad for her liver. But I had to give her one pill anyway because she wouldnt be able to fall asleep. She just kept laying down and getting up in a minute or two.
This morning she seems to be doing a lot better....walking around the house and even ate some breakfast and drank on her own.Now im worried when the soreness goes away shell start licking and scratching the stiches. Thats when the onsie will go on.

[Gracie2006]

By the time the soreness goes away, I don't think there is much harm in letting her lick and scratch unless she is really agressive. There are two layers of stitches, one inside and one on the surface. The surface part of the incision heals first and usually does so quickly. One of my cats pulled out all of her sutures within 24 hours of being spayed. I ran her in to the vet totally freaking out. This was what he told me after laughing a bit. By then her skin had already healed. He did put her in a collar just to be safe, but was not at all worried about her incision. Thanks for the feedback about the hypoglycemia. I'm glad your baby is feeling better today!