Neutering Tomorrow

[DesertChildAZ]

Johnny Cash is just over 5 months and already beginning to hump. He's scheduled for a neutering tomorrow and I have a couple of questions.

Cash is 3.5-4 pounds now

1) Is he too young or small for such a procedure?
2) At 3.5-4lbs., can he handle the anesthesia?
3) If he has a adverse reaction to anesthesia, is there a treatment to prevent death in such cases? How does death result from an anesthesia reaction? What happens to the body? Is the death caused by the resulting dehydration from vomiting, etc? Can the dehydration be treated with fluids and, if so, what is prognosis for recovery in such cases?

~ Kelly

[Hokule'a]

My Kalani was only 4 mos. and 4 lbs. when he was neutered and he did fine I have no idea about your #3 - someone else can probably help you.

[diggy4]

There is a test (my vet was 36$) to test if they react to anestetic (sp?)

Diggy humps ANYTHING and he is 12 weeks......

Not sure what is too young for boys, Bella got altered at 6 months they dod not want her to go into heat at all. Also had teeth pulled so did it all at once and she was 3 pounds.

[DesertChildAZ]

Why teeth pulled? Is that common for 6 months? Does it have something to do with baby teeth vs. adult teeth?

[Mybabyboymax]

Max just got neutered on sunday and hes 6 months 2.7 pounds he did so well! the same day he was home running and playing dont worry

[LoveMyGirlz]

Originally Posted by DesertChildAZ

Why teeth pulled? Is that common for 6 months? Does it have something to do with baby teeth vs. adult teeth?

The longer you wait for this procedure, the better chance you have of the adult teeth growing in and only having to put your baby under one time to remove the baby teeth.
They remove the baby teeth when the adult teeth have grown in but the baby teeth never fell out. Truffles looked like a shark so she had 10 teeth pullled!
I'm not suggesting you wait to have your baby spayed until he's older, that is your decision, but you may have to take him down the road for the teeth removal.
Vixxen was just under 6 months old and about 3 lbs when she was spayed! These days I try to wait till they are a little bigger in size though.
I don't know how to answer your other questions, but your vet should be able to. I do know they say to only use the anesthetic Isofloreen, as it is the safest! Ask about that.

[ChiliPepper]

Chase got neutered recently at 3lbs and he was 22 weeks at the time. He did fine and has fully recovered.

[daniellealberta]

Spike is going in on Tuesday, he is 7 1/2 months and weighs 3 lbs, 4 oz. He's also having 8-10 baby teeth pulled, AND a microchip! Poor little guy! At least this way, he only has to go through one surgery. Chances are if I didn't get the baby teeth removed now, his adult teeth would come in out of alignment and he'd need more (and perhaps more painful) surgery down the road!

[diggy4]

Originally Posted by DesertChildAZ

Why teeth pulled? Is that common for 6 months? Does it have something to do with baby teeth vs. adult teeth?

Yes very common. The risk with baby vs adult teeth is infection. Bella had to have 9 or 12 (not sure) teeth pulled. Yorkies do have a tendancy to have tough gums and the baby teeth do not fall out. Leaving this untreated, infections can develop and permanent damage to adult teeth. Picture a sharks mouth...thats what Bella looked like...2 rows of front teeth upper and lower. The vet did both procedures at once. If I were you I would ask the vet first to try and see if there are any signs of baby teeth not falling out and permanent teeth poking thru. Getting your dog altered will not always solve the humping thing either. And it is not always a specific age they start humping. Like I said, I got Diggy at 8 weeks (way too young but had to save him) anyway, he humped the first day we got him and he is still quite the "humpmiester" at 12 weeks. Just because your fur baby is 6 months doesnt really have much to do with his humping I have read that it is simply a dominance thing??? Not sure if thats true but makes sense being some girl dogs hump too! My Bella hikes her leg?? Who knows why...but told dominance. I would do your best to only have your baby only have to go under 1 time rather than 2. SHe had to eat soft food for 24 hrs. and back to kibble....the teeth extraction seems painless and not very bothersome. Good luck with your baby and again....there is a test that you can have ran to see if your baby reacts to the anestetic (sp?) inexpensive and was totally worth it to me.

[DesertChildAZ]

Johnny Cash is not getting neutered today as expected. Despite passing the pre-op testing (checking, in particular, his liver and kidney functions), when they started the anesthesia, his blood pressure and respiration dropped so low that they couldn't continue with the procedure. They said not to worry because they were able to bring him back up to normal levels and that he's "come to" and doing fine. They want to do a thorough blood work and xrays of his chest to find out what the cause may be. If those tests come back okay, they want to do the procedure another week and try a different anesthesia. (Needless to say, I'm not even comfortable with the idea of ever getting him neutered now.....) I asked what could cause this to happen and aside from having problems with that particular kind of anesthesia, he said that he could have esophagus or trachea problems that are preventing the flow of oxygen to him via the tube they inserted into his throat. These dogs are notorious for having collapsed tracheas, but that usually develops over time (from pulling on the leash and from tight collars). Cash is too young for that yet.

[Hokule'a]

Oh dear, how frightening! I can understand you not wanting to put him under any anesthesia now. My Hoku has a serious heart murmur so she can't be spayed or have her teeth pulled Will keep your little Cash in my prayers that he does not have anything seriously wrong. Keep us updated!

[DesertChildAZ]

I'm now concerned about the fact that if he has problems requiring surgery or teeth removal, how do we manage that if he's allergic to anesthesia?

[DesertChildAZ]

After my last post, I went to the vet and picked up Johnny Cash. Apparently, the situation was worse than previously expressed over the phone. They had Johnny on the anesthesia gas (Isoflovin?) for 4 minutes when the assistant looked in his mouth and found that it was completely white and he was essentially not breathing. She said she screamed for the doctor who came over and they revived him with the oxygen.

The doctor wants to try again in a few weeks with another anesthesia, but I don't want to. He is now telling me that if I don't neuter Johnny, that he has an incredibly high risk of prostate cancer. He says that if the sevaflovin alternative doesn't work, they want to use injectables. Am I just an idiot or is that even worse? I mean, if he's allergic to gasses, flatlined on the table and only rescuscitatable because the oxygen, I imagine, flushed out the gas....then wouldn't it be ridiculously impossible to reverse the effects of an injectable if he's allergic? It's not like they can suck the anesthesia out of his veins...

You know that if we do this he's going to say "well, with any procedure there is a risk..."...so it's MY fault if I give in to my prostate cancer fears and he dies as a result of it. Despite the doctor's urging against my instincts. I love my vet and I trust him, but the risks are too high. What if we were just "lucky" this time? What if the next time we're not so lucky? I mean, if he gets prostate cancer when he's like 10...I'd rather see that than see him die at 6 months.

~ Kelly

[xxmxaxrxyxx]

sorry to hear about your experience...i too would probably not agree to trying again after the 1st episode...

[Hokule'a]

Originally Posted by DesertChildAZ

After my last post, I went to the vet and picked up Johnny Cash. Apparently, the situation was worse than previously expressed over the phone. They had Johnny on the anesthesia gas (Isoflovin?) for 4 minutes when the assistant looked in his mouth and found that it was completely white and he was essentially not breathing. She said she screamed for the doctor who came over and they revived him with the oxygen.

The doctor wants to try again in a few weeks with another anesthesia, but I don't want to. He is now telling me that if I don't neuter Johnny, that he has an incredibly high risk of prostate cancer. He says that if the sevaflovin alternative doesn't work, they want to use injectables. Am I just an idiot or is that even worse? I mean, if he's allergic to gasses, flatlined on the table and only rescuscitatable because the oxygen, I imagine, flushed out the gas....then wouldn't it be ridiculously impossible to reverse the effects of an injectable if he's allergic? It's not like they can suck the anesthesia out of his veins...

You know that if we do this he's going to say "well, with any procedure there is a risk..."...so it's MY fault if I give in to my prostate cancer fears and he dies as a result of it. Despite the doctor's urging against my instincts. I love my vet and I trust him, but the risks are too high. What if we were just "lucky" this time? What if the next time we're not so lucky? I mean, if he gets prostate cancer when he's like 10...I'd rather see that than see him die at 6 months.

~ Kelly

So what does your vet say they do if your baby has a reaction to the injectable anesthesia? I'd have to have some really good answers before I'd even 'consider' risking it again, that's pretty scary