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Sam being Castrated on Thursday - Benefits?


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Wow, my vet told me two days...she kept them one. After those three days it was business as usual. I had one that got a little inflamation but they both healed up quite nicely.

 

I saw a vet site on the web that said 4 weeks! That is excessive.

I don't mollycoddle mine but it has to be remembered that there is a sutured wound that needs time to heal and any excessive stress on the wound site risks interfering with the process.

Swelling is a fairly common post op side effect and too strenuous exercise too soon increases the risk.

I've seen dogs (not mine) with swelling so bad that the scrotum still looks full.

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FWIW, the vet that I worked for said crate rest for the first 2 days, leash walks only for the first week, and no baths, swimming or anything that would get the sutures wet until they come out at 10 days. I've seen too many dogs with ripped sutures or a scrotum the size of an orange because the client apparently couldn't bring himself to leash the dog.

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FWIW, the vet that I worked for said crate rest for the first 2 days, leash walks only for the first week, and no baths, swimming or anything that would get the sutures wet until they come out at 10 days.

 

That would be the sort of advice most people would get here, I'm sure, except for the cage rest.

Mine have never had stitches to be removed but the principle of keeping the wound dry for long enough still applies.

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Chase came home the evening of his surgery as if nothing had happened. I knew I was in for it and I was. Even though he had a soft e-collar (dumb I know) on and was watched almost constantly, he still figured out how to get at his stitches. He suddenly decided he wanted no parts of his crate and started doing back flips and front flips in the crate (must have gotten at his stitches while he was in the crate). He was obsessed. Back to the vet's the next morning, stitches were still okay but he did have a hematoma going from licking himself. We had to sedate him for a couple of days to get him (and us) over the worst of it.

Years ago, my sister's dog ended up having to have his sacs removed because she did not follow the advice of her vet and didn't restrict his activity :rolleyes:

So it's really not just watching the stitches.

Please restrict your dog's physical activities.

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Nick was just 3 when I had him neutered this summer (at a low cost clinic). He had glue externally, and dissolvable sutures internally. Within four days of his neuter his incision was gaping. I took him in to be reglued. Two days later it was gaping again and I took him back demanding staples. A week later it was bleeding again - and there was pus. Took him to my regular vet and then had to do the antibiotic route. I was also told that dogs who are older at the time of neuter have a higher risk of scrotal hematoma - thus a more pronounced need for rest after neuter.

 

Anyway, Nick was on STRICT crate rest, and had a hard ecollar on. He wasn't messing with his incision, but it was still a BEAR to heal.

 

I think it makes sense to go on and stack the cards in your favor and err on the side of caution, IMO. It's a short term annoyance for a long term gain, this taking it easy thing. Sometimes you get lucky and the wrong thing doesn't have an impact (that you can SEE) and sometimes you get the bad end of the deal and the right thing just isn't enough. But why risk it? Just my two cents on that.

 

Also - editing to add - castration along with training should help with the peeing on people thing. If Sam is obedient in general maybe he'll respond to a correction *when he's thinking about* peeing on someone. This wouldn't require leashing, but it would require attention on the handler's part. If correcting him doesn't solve the problem then leashing while working on this wouldn't be a bad next step. The bad news is that the more times he gets away with doing it the more likely he will be to do it in the future IMO. Good luck!

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Nick was just 3 when I had him neutered this summer (at a low cost clinic). He had glue externally, and dissolvable sutures internally. Within four days of his neuter his incision was gaping. I took him in to be reglued. Two days later it was gaping again and I took him back demanding staples. A week later it was bleeding again - and there was pus. Took him to my regular vet and then had to do the antibiotic route. I was also told that dogs who are older at the time of neuter have a higher risk of scrotal hematoma - thus a more pronounced need for rest after neuter.

 

Rhys bach, my foster, was about 4 1/2 when he was neutered. He was neutered at the county (low cost) mobile clinic and was glued. Following the clinic's instructions, he had walks only for 10 days. He was crated at night but free to roam in the house during the day. He healed up beautifully with no licking or apparent sign of distress. Apart from the expected wooziness the first evening, you'd never have known he had been through a surgical procedure.

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Rhys bach, my foster, was about 4 1/2 when he was neutered. He was neutered at the county (low cost) mobile clinic and was glued. Following the clinic's instructions, he had walks only for 10 days. He was crated at night but free to roam in the house during the day. He healed up beautifully with no licking or apparent sign of distress. Apart from the expected wooziness the first evening, you'd never have known he had been through a surgical procedure.

 

Yep. Nick was crated, with an ecollar, and hand walked ONLY to potty. The incision still came open. I talked to my regular vet and his comment was that for some dogs there's just too much pressure on the incision (by nature) and the glue won't hold - apparently Nick's one of those dogs. He's the type of dog to sit in his crate like a vulture, so I'm not surprised.

 

Here's a good example of two similar neuters - one that was problem free... then one that wasn't.

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Yep. Nick was crated, with an ecollar, and hand walked ONLY to potty. The incision still came open. I talked to my regular vet and his comment was that for some dogs there's just too much pressure on the incision (by nature) and the glue won't hold - apparently Nick's one of those dogs. He's the type of dog to sit in his crate like a vulture, so I'm not surprised.

Rhys bach came with a problem with left hind leg (apparently had some surgery done as a puppy), so he prefers to lie down rather than sitting. After the first couple of days, he was coming with us for our usual morning walks (1hr) and we did park walks (1hr) in the evening until he was ready to visit the dog park again. Clearly there's a difference in the dogs, but I also attribute some of his easy recovery to the neat and tidy handiwork of the vet who did the neuter.

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Wow, my vet told me two days...she kept them one. After those three days it was business as usual. I had one that got a little inflamation but they both healed up quite nicely.

 

Neutered dogs go home the same day , with limited exercise ... 2 weeks gives the site time to heal and less of a chance for infection and/or irritation..I would say 99 of the dogs seen after the 2 weeks , had no reported problems..

Each vet has their own rules , i guess. :rolleyes:

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Neutered dogs go home the same day , with limited exercise ... 2 weeks gives the site time to heal and less of a chance for infection and/or irritation..I would say 99 of the dogs seen after the 2 weeks , had no reported problems..

Each vet has their own rules , i guess. :rolleyes:

 

 

Nah, it makes sense. My wife has a hysterectomy and she's down for 6 weeks. We expect a dog to be up and going in 3 days? These BCs are TOUGH! I'll give them that. I'd have to hogtie mine to keep them down.

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There is no reason for there to be any type of swelling near or on the SX site. If there is , there is infection.

However it was caused , there area needs to be cleaned and possibly left open to drain. If a dog becomes "inglued" or pulls the sutures out , which are going to be subcuticular , which is going to be a HUGE mess , there is NO WAY any vet would close the site up ..it's not sterile anymore . Now the animal must undergo painful cleansing of the area and a hospital stay , IVs and all. How much fun !! And even more medications pumped into him . That he wouldnt have needed if post-op protocol was followed.

If there is the slightest of redness , the owner is probably going to be given a topical to apply . The lamp shades do stop the dog from licking and pulling at the stitches if sized right at the hospital . If the dog is crated the cone wont be able to do it's job , because its bendable and the dog can manipulate it against the walls of the crate so he can reach the SX site.

I found many owners reluctant to use them because they feel their dog is "embarrassed" or he wont eat or drink.

Its worth the time to acustom the dog with it , show the food and water to him , give some treats in his food bowl , he will be able to feed and water himself , really he will. And if you still feel he cant , take the cone off when you are with him . The minute you leave him , the cone goes back on...is very simple . If your dog doesnt "notice" the SX site at all , he doesnt need the cone , unless left unsupervised . I think the thought of what "could happen" outweighs a few days of wearing the cone. If you are home all day with the dog , I usually say no cone , only at night .

Simple post-op instructions are given and some make it like we want to make the animal "suffer" for a prolonged period of time , but really , it's not the dog we worry about , it's the owners. :rolleyes:

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I actually made Z a homemade "bite not collar" out of dishtowels and a wide collar when she got staples recently - worked like a charm without the hassle or stress of a cone. For her spay we used a long tanktop tied over her back for the first two days.

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I actually made Z a homemade "bite not collar" out of dishtowels and a wide collar when she got staples recently - worked like a charm without the hassle or stress of a cone. For her spay we used a long tanktop tied over her back for the first two days.

 

Excellent ! Some people think "oh , he/she wont bother the sx site , I'll know if they do". Well , my question to them is if they plan on staying awake for the time allotted for recovery , and they just have this blank look on their face..

Way too many dogs/cats have pulled stitches out or become "unglued" from licking right in front of their owners and they swear up and down they were with them the whole time...it's just real sad.

 

I will admit though one dog that had us perplexed on how he got his stitches out on his belly .

We knew the owners well and they knew it was going to be hell for two weeks with their very rambuncous 6month old boxer. He was neutered and had a small laceration on his belly he aquired that morning which took all of 3 stitches to close . No biggie , along with the neuter , all went well. The boxer ended up back 2 days later with one stitch gone . Checked him over , cleansed the area and told them to watch it , if redding got worse , get him back in immediately. Honestly , these people were red faced that this happened , knowing how well they kept an eye on him. To make this story short , this dog was watched 24 hours a day , the husband took the dog to work with him , and the wife worked nights and was able to take the dog to work with her. He had a nice quite spot in her office , and wasnt alone for a minute.

This very smart boxer figured out how to scratch his SX site on his belly by dragging himself along the rug.

Something he did before , so the owner thought nothing of it . For three days we didnt have any idea how he would get to these stitches . That was a "ah hah" moment for all involved that day... :rolleyes:

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