Shared Experiences on NEUTERING

[EDDEL]

Yes, I definately want to neuter Naughty Harley. ANYTHING TO CALM HIM DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to admit that I'm scared to death of having him go through surgery! He's just a little over 3 months now so I still have some time to get over it. MY POOR LITTLE GUY! And he's such a baby about pain!

Oh, I can imagine your anxiety Donna!? I suffered the usual bout of "am I doing the right thing for my baby?" / "will it hurt?" before I sent Bianca for spaying.

Perhaps, there can be a thread for SHARED EXPERIENCES ON NEUTERING for all male Bichon mommies !? On our local doggie forum, we had a thread like that, and it was wonderful for those who had sent their dogs for neutering AND for those who were about to send their dogs for neutering to share their experiences, feelings, anxieties, questions etc.? I know Meranda (Cubby's mum) is planning on neutering Cubby too, and she and Susan (Max's mom) talked about it in another thread.? Susan, care to start a new thread?

I will start one for SHARED EXPERIENCES ON SPAYING seeing as how I own a female.

[lavenderfields]

Thanks so much for starting this thread.  It's like ya'll read my mind.  My husband and I have been discussing neutering Snoopy all week.  I know it needs to be done but I'm so scared for the little guy.  I've had surgeries and I'm so worried he's going to feel like I did afterwards.  Will he have a lot of pain and for how long?  I discussed the procedure with the vet and she said he had to be kept quiet and calm for ten day and also had to wear a cone for ten days until the stitches came out.  How do I keep him quiet for ten days?  How do I get him in his crate with that cone on?  Will it hurt when he goes to potty?  Please share your experiences I'm a nervous wreck and haven't even scheduled it.   

[Donnalee]

[ Will he have a lot of pain and for how long?? I discussed the procedure with the vet and she said he had to be kept quiet and calm for ten day and also had to wear a cone for ten days until the stitches came out.? How do I keep him quiet for ten days??

OH, NO!!!!!!!!!!!  10 DAYS WITH A CONE HEAD??????????  Naughty Harley will NEVER accept that one!!  I'm beginning to hyperventilate just thinking about him (me!) going through this!  Does anyone know what age is the best for this procedure?   Will it really, truly be painful??  I'm freaking out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JenBow]

Does anyone know what age is the best for this procedure?   Will it really, truly be painful??

I had Gunner neutered when he was six months old b/c that is the youngest age my vet will perform the operation, but I have heard of people getting it done as early as four months.  I didn't have any problem keeping Gunner quiet for ten days.  He pretty much just slept until the stitches came out.  And he didn't act like he was in a lot of pain either...I mean, he never cried or anything and he had two incisions. 

Yes, I definately want to neuter Naughty Harley. ANYTHING TO CALM HIM DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  I must warn you...I was thinking the same thing when I got Gunner neutered.  (Although for medical reasons he had to be neutered, I thought a calmer puppy would be one of the benefits.)  Gunner was back to his bad self  after a few weeks.  I didn't notice any change in his behavior...of course, now I'm glad b/c I wouldn't want it any other way!

Hang in there, Donnalee.  Everything will be fine with Harley.  I freaked out too!

[Donnalee]

Thanks, JenBow...I don't even care if it doesn't calm him down, I just want him to be ok!  He's just so sweet & little...my Naughty Harley.

[RenoirAndWrigleysMommy]

Renior's Daddy and I have only talked about it briefly. When we took him to the vet the first time, she said should would ask us what we wanted closer to the time. She did say one of Renior's testicles hadn't "dropped" and if it didn't drop by six months she would insist on neutering him. I'm sure Renior will kill me when he finds out I told you his "private issue".  I do hate the part about putting him through surgery!! He's my baby!!!

[BenjisMommy]

Benji did great after his surgery. For like the first few days (like 2-3) he was a litle tired and not himself but that quickly changed. As soon as I brought him home i took the cone off and he did great. I watched him like a hawk though. But he never even wanted to lick or anything.  As long as you watch them you can take the cone off and when theyre alone just put it on. But i dont think Benji even needed it for that long. He was really good about the whole surgery. I just hated seeing him all tired and not himself at first but thats very normal. Another thing, he kept needing to pee....like A LOT!!!!!!!! he even peed in his sleep...poor lil guy... But other than that, within a few days he was back to himself and i dont regret doing the surgery one bit.

[EDDEL]

lavenderfields, donnalee and ReniorsMommy for responding !
And JenBow and BenjisMommy for sharing your experiences

I hope all male Bichon mommies will benefit from this thread.... it's always great to hear how others cope/coped with the actual procedure/experience than read all the usual why-you-should-do-it prose isn't it ?

[SuperMax (Susan)]

My experience with Max's neutering was not as easy as I thought it would be.? ?

I had expected him to "bounce right back"? like so many others had experienced with their pets.?

Unfortunately, Max "took it hard" and couldn't even lay down the first night.? He just sat there with this horriblly sad? painful look on his face and couldn't sleep.? I called the vet in a panic ? and was able to get a pain killer for him so my poor baby could at least get some rest!?

I should also mention that he had TWO incisions, because he also had an umbilical hernia taken care of at the same time.? And in my opinion, it appeared as though the hernia incision was what was causing him the most pain.

Of course, he (and I) pulled through!? But it was several days before we even saw his TAIL wag again!?

One thing I did for Max (who HATED that stupid cone!? ) was to put a baby's onsie on him (cut a hole for the tail) and that enabled him to not have the cone -yet not get to his stitches!? ? Plus, since Max "freezes"? when he has any sort of "clothing" on - it kept him mellow!?

[Lynn]

Even thou Shiloh is a little lady, I have the same questions that you do for when I go to get Shiloh spayed. Infact the big day will be 11/16.... ? I am worried about her licking the incisions and being in alot of pain.? But from hearing everyones story it sounds like they start to feel better after two or three days.

[lavenderfields]

So sad about Max.  Did the vet send you home without pain meds?  Is that what they normally do?  I was hoping they just automatically give you some pain meds. 

[SuperMax (Susan)]

So sad about Max.? Did the vet send you home without pain meds?? Is that what they normally do?? I was hoping they just automatically give you some pain meds.?

No, they did NOT give me pain meds to bring home.? (I don't know if that's "normal"?)? They instructed me what to "look for" to see if he needed "help".? He pretty much had ALL the symptoms, some of which included ... not eating/drinking .. and appearing "depressed".? ? I know some may think he was "playing" me - but believe me, I know my BABY? and he just was NOT himself? and it was WAY different than normal "sulking"!?

The vet was fine with giving me the pain meds.? He just doesn't like to give them unless they are NEEDED. And he was VERY adament that I would ONLY use them if he had those particular symptoms (not JUST being sad/uncomfortable).? As it turned out, I believe he only had to have the medication one - maybe two nights.? And we were with him 24/7 those first few days.?

[Donnalee]

Does anyone know the going rate for neutering?  Harley seems to be growing normally, and without a hernia.  I have no idea what to expect price wise.

[zdk753]

It cost me $60 to have Duke neutered plus an extra $20 for pain pills & antibiotics.

[SuperMax (Susan)]

Does anyone know the going rate for neutering?? Harley seems to be growing normally, and without a hernia.? I have no idea what to expect price wise.

I think under $100 US dollars.  Boys are less expensive than girls! 

[Meranda]

geesh everyone around here in louisville ky has quoted me $200 including hospital stay and everything.

[zdk753]

Duke didn't have to stay over when I had him neutered. He went in at 8 a.m. & at 3 p.m. they called & said he was ready to be picked up. What about the spca? Do they have a spay & neuter program there?

[Meranda]

i dont know, i havent checked iwth them yet. i think we are going to wait till the big spay and neuter your pet promotion in spring so we can save some money.  but around $200 is the going price around here for the laser.  the only problem with waiting is that our vet doesnt really want to microchip cubby till hes under anestetic to get neutered since its a really big needle.  i may just have to have them do it anyways with just a local or something like that.

[Donnalee]

HOLY MOLY!!!!  I took Naughty Harley in for a shot last night & got an estimate for neutering.  Between $350-$450 dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So...I'm thinking...how BAD would it REALLY be for Naughty NOT to get neutered???  Ok, I'm kidding (not really)....oh dear!

[SuperMax (Susan)]

the only problem with waiting is that our vet doesnt really want to microchip cubby till hes under anestetic to get neutered since its a really big needle.?

 ? You know I've seen local pet fairs doing the microchip - so they must do them all the time w/out putting them under?

HOLY MOLY!!!! I took Naughty Harley in for a shot last night & got an estimate for neutering. Between $350-$450 dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Make sure you are comparing? "apples to apples"!? ?I had shopped around too.? And I found one place that had a really LOW "base price" then added all these "extras" if you wanted them.... for example they charged "ala carte" for things such as "a warm blanket", heart monitor during surgery, preliminary blood tests, etc.? Basically they were saying "The more you LOVE your dog, the more you'll spend"!!!?

The vet that ended up performing the surgery had just one price - as the nurse told me "We do everything to make your pet comfortable and ensure that he is safe - we don't charge EXTRA for that!!"?

[Lynn]

I know this is about neutering but if I was going to just do the spaying for Shiloh it would cost me 350.00? ? but being I'm getting her microchiped it will cost me 387.00. This will happen this Wed...

[Hollywood]

I know this is about neutering but if I was going to just do the spaying for Shiloh it would cost me 350.00    but being I'm getting her microchiped it wil

Where do you live? It cost me $230 to get Prince neutered (including the check-up).


Prince was a bit sleepy when I brought him home from the Vet. An hour later he ate a bit but refused to drink any water. He was too scared to go pee so he held it in the entire night which added to his discomfort. The morning after I took him outside and he peed 5-6 times for at least 10 seconds each time. Poor baby.He was back to normal, running around, full of energy and kissing everybody in sight.

[prissybaby85]

we need to gte lucky neutered soon im scared i just dont want him to be scared and in pain o my baby

[zdk753]

Prissybaby, I know it's scary to bring your baby to get neutered, but just think of all the good reasons to have it done. Yes for the first few days Lucky will be hurting & not himself, but before you know it he will be blitzing like crazy again. Let us know when you plan to have it done. We will all be here for you  .

[Kristen363]

When I had Baxter neutered it was under $200, maybe about $150 really including the e collar they had to put on him. He was microchipped when we got him so that's one thing I dont have to do!
  There's a group called www.friendsofanimals.org that you buy a certificate from them to cut the cost of spay/neutering.  Check the website out and it'll explain it better than I can!  --I didn't know about this when I had Baxter done and havent scheduled Sam's yet--although I need to!

[Donnalee]

we need to gte lucky neutered soon im scared i just dont want him to be scared and in pain o my baby

I was the same way until I finally made up my mind to get it over with.  Harley was just neutered a week ago.  I picked him up the next day and he was already back to himself! (not necessarily a good thing!) I'm so glad that I did it now.  I never even had to give him the pain medication that the vet provided.  Maybe if you have a talk with the vet, he'll ease your worries. 

[BenjisMommy]

I never got pain med for Benji??? but i guess it's because he spent 2 days at the vets.. Here in Ontario you usually have to bring the puppy in the night before the surgery and they run some tests i believe to make sure he is ok tohave surgery????? and then early the next morning at 8am they operate and he goes go the following day after 4pm so i guess he didnt really need pain med.....

[Kristen363]

I checked Baxter's paperwork, it cost me $85 for the neutering (they dog by weight and it's $85 for under 50 lbs) then an additional $12 for the e collar. I opted not to have the preliminary blood work done for an additional $40 (they threw that at me when I dropped him off and I was like "huh"?)  They did not offer pain meds afterward--and he was fine once we took the e collar off so I really dont think he needed them. As I said, he did not have stitches and was back to lifting his leg the next day. ;-)

[Donnalee]

Naughty's surgery was pretty steep $$ wise.  Here's the breakdown I got:

Pre blood workup...................................$45.00
IV fluids................................................. 25.00
Pain meds.............................................. 26.50
Castration..............................................220.50
IV Cathetor.............................................32.00

It's amazing to see the differences in pricing for the same procedure.

[Kristen363]

I just had Sampson (lhasa apso) neutered a week ago yesterday. I bring him back Monday for the stitches to be removed.
I know he's not a bichon but I wanted to add this experience in case someone else goes through it with their Bichon.
 Sam  had a cryptic testicle (one hadn't dropped) the vet had explained to me that  if it was cryptic, then it could be a life threatening situation requiiring emergency surgery so he recommended neutering.  My husband was NOT for it, mainly because we weren't having any real dominance issues with Sam (we did have some with Baxter with mounting/humping/marking)  but because the vet couldnt tell me for sure if it was just high or not there, I decided to go ahead with it.  I was TERRIFIED last week when I dropped him off, they checked him again right there and told me they thought it was there and just high but wouldn't know for sure until later.
  Sure enough it was cryptic, so definately having him neutered was the right decision.  They had to cut him twice, once as they normally would to neuter (on the testicle) and again on his abdomen where they had to DIG (their word) to get to the other testicle. They kept him overnight, and when I went the next day to get him, he was very sore.  They did not have to use the e collar on him. He would go out to pee and squat, get up, squat again, etc--like it hurt to get in position.  He was VERY bruised, it looked blood red, the day after I brought him home he was very swollen. BUT, once the swelling went down, it's been clear sailing.  Now he's running around, peeing/pooping he's back to his old self. (as old as a 7 month old pup can be!)
   Sam also had no pain killers.  ????  Guess it's my vet?  His surgery cost me $122 

[lindsey]

hi im in the uk and have been in two minds about getting molly spayed ( i thought it would be nice to have a litter of puppies and keep one of her babies as i would like another bichon in the future) i have now come to my senses and have been shopping around for prices to get molly done and it ranges from ?75 at vetsavers (who only do neutering and jabs) to almost ?200 (at a vet who does everything)  if i was on a low income it would only cost ?25 molly will be due to be spayed april as she  had her first season end of jan i think the vets push to get you to neuter your dog (which i agree with) but i think they take addvantage of the the fact you want the best for your dog how can one place charge double of another for the same treatment i think vets should do neutering at a low price to help everyone afford it as it important one person i know got her dog done for free because of her postcode

[Shumi]

Acckkkkk Shumi is getting neutered THIS Thursday!!!  I m FREAKING!

Thank goodness I am reading this thread now.  Hope it helps me.

[BenjisMommy]

I hope everything goes well with Shumi which im sure it will.. Do not be worried if for a few days he is not himself, within a few days he will be blitzing again.. Just takes time to recover.. good luck and keep us updated 

[Stephanie]

Thanks to those who have posted their experiences. It really helped make me feel better knowing what to expect. We had Jackson neutered back in September and so thought I'd share his experience. Jackson did really well! I took him to the vet's office in the morning and when we picked him up that afternoon he ran out to me and seemed like nothing had even happened. The doctor said to keep him calm and quiet for, I think 10 days, but we had trouble keeping him quiet and calm for 10 minutes!! We took the suggestion from someone on here (I can't remember who, now) to put him in a baby's onesie to keep him from licking. And the onesie had the added benefit of keeping him calm. The doctor gave us pain pills to give him twice a day for 4 days.

And here's a photo of Jackson in his onesie. He hated it but he looked so cute I had to take photos!

[Terri]

Oh he looks so sweet in his onsie. 
He does look a little sad. I'll bet you had a hard time letting him lay there.
I know whenever I looked at Belle in her onsie, I just had to pick her up & cuddle.
I'm so glad you shared this adorable picture with us. Thanks Steph!

[BenjisMommy]

Jackson looks super cute in his onesie...... I just want to give him a BIG hug.......... 

I am glad his surgery went well......... and he recovered just fine............. 

[delcia]

Hi there, A few of you may know that in a afternoon I met up with at least 4 other dog walkers.  Some days there is anything up to 12 dogs on the field. Amasingly with no problems (NOT EVEN WITH THE DOGS..LOL) there is one chap with a beautiful springer spaniel 10 months old, this is his second b*t*h same breed within 18 months. Anyway his daughter is a veterinary nurse, he took both bitches a year apart to be spayed.  They both died, apparently this surgery has only ever lost 2 dogs and they were both his. One of the women from the group has broken her foot so he walks her two large silver weinmears with us, it is heart breaking.  I fully understand anyone who worries them self stupid about this operation. 
GOOD LUCK
I have my cat being spayed at this very moment, but she was calling and I could not cope with all those Toms screaming outside my house (not at the same vets I may add - my cat is costing my £56)!!!!

[lesndesi]

When Savior was neutered, it was smooth sailing all the way.  He had a little bit of trouble waking up from the anesthesia, but vitals and everything where normal.  They didn't have to keep him any longer and the vet said sometimes smaller animals tend to be a little more "sleepy" than some.  I'm a vet tech, so I ended up taking the stitches out myself which was easy sailing too.  Destrie

[amandat2704]

My 5yr old Bailey (passed away 12/08 due to auto-immune mediated hemolytic anemia 12 days after receiving his vaccines).

 Bailey was neutered at 6mths of age. We had selected to have it done via laser because we were told it causes less pain and blood loss. However, the day before the procedure was scheduled to be done, I was told the laser machine was not working. Bailey was neutered the conventional way. He came home with meds, which included pain meds. His first day home I felt so bad for him, he wimpered, did not eat, found it hard to get comfortable. We tried not to touch him because that even caused him pain. We added additional blankets to his bed to make it softer. Bailey usually slept in our beds but since he was to avoid all his usualy activies we decided he would sleep in his own bed with a wee wee pad next to him.  The next day he slowly began to start to feel like his old self. He healed up well and was absolutely healhty until he passed away.  I plan to eventually get another bichon and think I will get a another male. I always thought the spaying procedure was probably worse so when we picked our pup we choice a male.

[teddybear]

My Teddy is now coming up to nine months old......i've decided to not have him neutered after doing quite a bit of reading on the subject.
My vet says he has no reasons to give me why he should definately be done so i'm happy with my decision........for now at least!