Shared Experiences on SPAYING

[Kinzie Bear]

Hello it has been awhile since we posted anything on the website..however, we really enjoy reading everyones responses. Kenzie bear went in to be spay on Tuesday.. She stayed the night and I felt so bad...when she came home last night she was really energetic..almost like herself.. late in the evening she became really tired..this morning she didn't have much energy and now it's early evening and she is still tired.... I can not wait for her to bounce back to action... By the way when I took her on a short walk to use the bathroom..she seemed happy..Once we got back inside..she seemed all over again...

[BenjisMommy]

DO not worry... it just takes a few days for them to recovery.... I am sending Kenzie many hugs 

[shannonv]

We had our little bichon spayed at 6 months.  Our main concern was that we didn't want her personality to change.  Our vet said that it is best for them to get spayed before going into heat...and that it is more often that a personality can change if bred.  We had her spayed, she stayed one night, but she wouldn't leave the stitches alone.  She had to wear a cone on her head, which she hated, but it kept the area safe from her licking.  She pulled through perfectly.  We are glad we did it.  There are other things that concerned us.  We have a large backyard that is fenced in.  She has the entire run of it when outside, but if she went into heat (and our vet said you don't always know at first that they are in heat), there was a chance a roaming dog could smell her and climb our fence and get at her.  This could be dangerous to her health.  If she were to make it through that and then face having a larger breed's puppies, that could have been too much for her.  I know it is morbid to have thought of that....but knowing that a dog in heat attracts other dogs, we had to think of it.  I didn't want her to only go out on a leash when she has the opportunity to play so freely.  I am just not cut out to breed her anyway, which made the decision easier.

[BenjisMommy]

I don't think spaying and neutering changes these fluffers personalities one bit.......... they will always be the sweetest lil babies.. no matter what.. 

[Chellie]

  I hope it doesn't  ... Mollie is such a little scamp but that is per personality and I her for it I don't want her to change a hair on her head (and she has a lot  )  I never really noticed Bon cause the surgery was done pretty soon after she got home    I her to bits anyway She's perfect just how she is 

[BenjisMommy]

Chellie.. don't ya worry.. Mollie will still be a lil monster even after surgery 

[Chellie]

I hope so ... I'm afraid she really is a "mammys baby girl" and Bon is "mammys big girl"

[sophies_mom]

Sophie was spayed at 13 months. Later than I planned. I was chicken. I knew it must be done. She's a hormonal maniac. She loves the boys. She was so hyper.
We have a wonderful vet. It went well, and quick, no problems with surgery. I hated the groggy, painful part over the first 24 hours. I had an issue with recovery. Sophie would not leave the incision alone. She would constantly lick and chew it. I got no sleep. I read on this board about using onsies and it worked for a while but then I needed to leave her for an hour and she got to the incision again. The vet decided to put a satellite dish on her ;-) (she received 545 channels). Eventually she was back to herself... but much calmer now. 

Tip: The onesies work GREAT!!!! Just keep an eye on your cutie if she's biting the incision.


   

[BenjisMommy]

Glad to hear Sophie's surgery went well..... and now it's all over with 

She looks soo cute in her onesie.. and with her satelite on 

Thanks for the update 

[IServePrincess]

Princess had to get to 5.5 lbs.  So I think she was about 7 mos old when it was done.  I took her to a clinic where they do a lot of spay and neutering (LOVE THAT PLACE ) and dropped her off in the a.m.  The staff loved her so they held her in their laps all day.  Picked her up about 4 and there was some sort of artificial skin over the incision.  No cone or collar and no special instructions. She healed up great and there isn't even a scar.  Her behavior didn't change then and she seems to be developing her personality rather slowly as she is 18 mos old and just now starting to play with toys by herself.  No interest in boys - whew!

[BenjisMommy]

Good to hear Princess has her surgery behind her...... It must have helped a lot knowing she was in a good place.. 

[Bella]

Oh my all these stories really make it better for our big day tomorrow. Bella is getting spayed. As anyone I' am scared of what may happen, but reading those stories makes me a little better

[Ali]

When Ali was about 6 months we had her spayed, she is now 4 years.  I cannot say it was a good experience  for us but am glad it's done.  Our vet at the time(I have since switched) had a terrible bed side manner.  Later when Ali had to have bladder stone surgury at about 21/2 years our new vet told us that she hadn't even been stitche together in the inside. No wonder we had problems.  Ali wouldn't even lay down on her own after surgury, she would look for a place to hide and taking her outside for a pee was a nightmare. I took a whole week off from work to tend to my baby!  She is a little spoiled but I do believe now that she was in a lot of discomfort.  We were not sent home with the cone to keep her from licking, so I cut the leg of a pair of mens long underwear and fashioned a nice "socK' to pull over her body, this definitly helped.  I also did this for her bladder surgury. I had spares to keep a clean one on her all the time and it worked really well.  I hated the cone that they sent home after bladder surgery!  Ali hated it too!  Anyways it did take quite a while for Ali to return to herself after spaying but she did and I don't regret having it done, I think most dogs that I know have gotten over it fairly easy.

[Suzy83]

Lily's daddy and I are trying to make the decision whether to get her spayed or not and we really cannot decide. It's such a terrible decision to make.

She has a great personality and we'd hate to see that change in any way. Plus I've heard all the other stuff, like the hair becomes coarse, weight gain etc. There are so many different opinions on it all, makes our heads spin.

[MattiesMom (MaryEllen)]

I've been through the spay surgery with both of my girls in the last 2 years.  Mattie was first.  She was spayed at 8 months.  She did pretty well after.  She was sore and tired for a couple of days.  She had to wear the E-collar when I wasn't right there watching her.  Mattie would rub her belly along the carpet while lying down (it must have been very itchy).  Anyway, she got an infection in one of the stitches and we had to go on antibiotics for awhile.  Everything got better after that.  In talking to one of the techs at the vet, I found out how common this is (about half of all spayed dogs!) Now, with Sassy, I was prepared.  She was spayed at 6 months.  Things started off about the same.  But here is where I stepped in to prevent the infection.  After 3 days of healing (so a scab had formed) I started putting Gold Bond Medicated Powder (triple strength) on her incision.  I also kept the e-collar on her so she wouldn't eat the powder.  I put the powder on twice a day.  Not only was Sassy a lot less itchy, but she healed very fast!  When I took her back for her recheck, they couldn't get over how good the incision looked.  I'm so glad that a good friend told me about this powder (good for hot spots, wounds that could get infected, and moist itchy spots).  You still have to prevent the licking of the site, but it heals without getting infected and a lot faster with a lot less discomfort.  MaryEllen