What to expect after a spay??
 

So Marley is doing good now. She was spayed yesterday morning, they kept her until 3 that evening. They said that she did really well and they had given her some pain meds b4 giving her to me so she wouldnt need anymore. When I got her home we laid on a pallet on the floor and fell asleep. Then I woke up to her jumping onto the couch! It's her "spot" on the couch that she wanted to get to. I let her lay there and sat there with her all night while she slept. She was having the shakes on and off. She just started to eat some wet dog food thing morning. I made her sleep in her cage with her doggy bed and blanket bc I did not want her jumping again while I slept. When I went to her cage she was all excited and seemed normal but that went away after about 5 minutes and she was tired again. Poor baby has cotton mouth so bad that I force fed about 1 tsp of water with a syringe just to help her out, she still seems so miserable. Can anyone else give me advice on what to expect?? Behavior changes? I am doing my best to keep my other furbutt away from her , hes so young and just wants to play all the time. Right now i have her cage in a room with nothing she can jump on and the cage is blocking the door way so she cant roam the house. How long should I keep her pinned in one room like that while I am gone?

Ahhh it seems like yesterday but it was a few weeks ago that Laci got spayed, she looked delerious to me and out of it I did the same with the water and kept offering her boiled chicken.. it took her a couple days to come completly out of the anistehia and she was back to normal... It was scary and sad watching her... she will be fine Im sure... I just think its the after effects of the anesthea ( sp). She did have diarehea for a day or two also!

Many vets only give pain meds after surgery and don't send any home. However, she did have a hysterectomy and dogs can hide pain very well. In my opinion, unless there is an underlying condition making it dangerous to give pain meds, it is not really fair to the dog to withhold them.

She should be back to normal in a week or two.
Ellie got a little bit more crabby than normal after her spay (hormonal change perhaps) but that seemed to get better within a couple months. It doesn't happen to most dogs.

I thought she should have some pain meds as well just in case but they said they loaded her up with pain meds right b4 they gave her to me. I still don't agree with not giving her some to take at home. She has been in a "hazy state" since I got her, her eyes are all starry looking and she just wants to be next to me when I let her out of her cage. The hubby is gone so I can give my undivided attention to her now, when she needs it most.

I'm surprised they didn't send pain meds home with you. If nothing else they do keep her sedated, keeping her jumping to a minimum. Are they in pain. Think about it, if you'd had major surgery you'd be hurting too. They do hide it due to the pack mentality that is in bred into them. Survival of the fitest.

My furbaby is male, so his experience will be a little different in some ways but alike in others. Mainly in the fact that he kept jumping up on furniture and off of furniture. This is very dangerous because they could pop open a suture, or cause bleeding. Essentially during the day I just resigned myself to sit my butt on the couch all day holding him so he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself lol.

Periods of playfulness and lethargy are normal. Just like with a human after surgery, sometimes you feel okay so you get up and do stuff you really shouldnt and end up over tiring yourself. She may have a little diarrhea, if so feed her some bland food. I fed Shiloh some boiled chicken and plain rice. Shaking on and off is normal, it is one of the ways that dogs react to pain. If she starts shaking non-stop though you should prolly get her to a vet as there could be an underlying problem.

Keeping her isolated while you arent around is a good idea until her stitches have healed pretty good, I would say around 2-3 days(ish). Just remember that this is an estimate based on personal experience. When in doubt be safe and call the vet for advice :)

Hope that helps, and your lil girl starts feeling like her old self again soon!
Hugs!!