Recovery after spay?

[Anonymous]

How long did it take for your dog to recover after spay? What size incision did you get? Our appointment is coming up and we are quite nervous. We hear some vets give a large incision and some give a smaller one. Any soft cone recommendations?

[Anonymous]

a day of being groggy then totally back to normal

we ditched the cone after a day or two . the vets always over state the recovery time and after care.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on how good you are about exercise restriction. If you rest your dog well, typically they’re fully recovered in 7-10 days. A lot of vets will prescribe 3 days of pain medication so just be sure that you’re administering that if they provide. Others will give an injection of slow release pain meds that last several days. In either case, you can expect that your pet may be more subdued than usual and may have a decreased appetite. Be mindful not to get the incision wet because the vet will likely use dissolving sutures that will naturally disintegrate as the wound heals. If you get the incision site wet, these may dissolve too early.

Overall, spays are really a safe procedure and most animals don’t experience any side effects. Watch out for any redness, swelling, gaping, or discharge at the incision site and call your vet if any of those symptoms appear.

In terms of a cone, the brand doesn’t really matter. Just ensure that it’s the correct size. This can be hard to predict by weight since animals have different body shapes. If ordering online instead of fitting it on your animal in-person, I’d recommend erring on the side of going slightly too big rather than too small. If somewhat too large, you can secure the cone to their collar with zip ties.

[Anonymous]

Depends a lot on the breed (size) of dog, too. And the age as well as activity level.

Our vet made an incision that was about 2 inches long in our 100 lb Rottweiler. We had a different vet that left a 6-7 incision in a different Rottweiler. Different skill levels, obviously.

[Anonymous]

One thing to consider is how often they do this procedure. Most vets in your typical DCUM area are not that experienced and do it maybe once or twice a month. We went to a shelter in DC that does many everyday and did a great job and a much lower price.

Humane Rescue Alliance
4.6
(712) · Animal rescue service
7+ years in business · 71 Oglethorpe St NW · [phone]
Open 24 hours

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing to consider is how often they do this procedure. Most vets in your typical DCUM area are not that experienced and do it maybe once or twice a month. We went to a shelter in DC that does many everyday and did a great job and a much lower price.

Humane Rescue Alliance
4.6
(712) · Animal rescue service
7+ years in business · 71 Oglethorpe St NW · [phone]
Open 24 hours

Well they messed up my cat and had to do it twice so they do make mistakes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing to consider is how often they do this procedure. Most vets in your typical DCUM area are not that experienced and do it maybe once or twice a month. We went to a shelter in DC that does many everyday and did a great job and a much lower price.

Humane Rescue Alliance
4.6
(712) · Animal rescue service
7+ years in business · 71 Oglethorpe St NW · [phone]
Open 24 hours

Well they messed up my cat and had to do it twice so they do make mistakes!

they all do at some point even at Friendship which is a great place but I would rather have someone who does this all day than an overpriced vet in the suburbs who doesn't do it very often.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:a day of being groggy then totally back to normal

we ditched the cone after a day or two . the vets always over state the recovery time and after care.

Same. I watched her to see how she was doing and followed her lead. She would have gone nuts if we'd kept her inside for 2 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:a day of being groggy then totally back to normal

we ditched the cone after a day or two . the vets always over state the recovery time and after care.

Same. I watched her to see how she was doing and followed her lead. She would have gone nuts if we'd kept her inside for 2 weeks.

Young dogs tend to pop back up sooner than should, and aren't known for their ability to self regulate. Spays are major surgery, and they do need to be kept quiet for an extended period of time, to make sure that they do't do dumb things and disrupt their healing. I've seen way too many dogs that tore their sutures, and caused more serious problems, so it is better to err on the side of caution.

[Anonymous]

Same question but for a neuter, any different advice.

Many thanks.

[Anonymous]

When we adopted our 1 year old beagle from HRA, we were called on a Tuesday and told we could pick her up the following day. Wednesday when we arrived we were told she had been spayed the day before. We would never have known from her behavior -- she was leaping and 100% on the go.

I think for a lot of young dogs it's not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Get a recovery suit from Amazon. It worked really well for us. Dog needs to be calm, ask for more meds if activity level increases during the first few days. It was 10 days for complete recovery for us.

[Anonymous]

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

we just had out 18 month old lab puppy spayed. It's a major surgery. She was on movement restrictions for 10 days and then had the sutures removed and was fine after that. We did the recovery suits during the day to keep her from licking or pulling at the sutures, and those worked well. It was really hard to keep her from running and jumping starting at around day 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long did it take for your dog to recover after spay? What size incision did you get? Our appointment is coming up and we are quite nervous. We hear some vets give a large incision and some give a smaller one. Any soft cone recommendations?

It doesn't matter how long the incision is b.c it heals side to side.