# Spay Surgery and behaviour



## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Hi guys

I'm sorry I post so erratically and haven't responded much to recent posts again: life is so busy and a bit complicated with Miss Lills.

To recap: she had her first season Jan / Feb, developed a major systemic infection towards the end and became very fearful. Then a mild-ish phantom pregnancy. She has only really bounced back during the past 4-6 weeks and during this time I was using an adaptil diffuser to which she seems to have developed some kind of odd reaction (strange breathing episodes - like 'fire breath' in yoga). The manufacturers have been very helpful and are continuing to advise.

Anyway, yesterday Miss Lilly underwent her spay surgery. I thought that, given that she is a bit of a complex doggie, it might be helpful to others if I try and diarise a little of her progress.

Miss Lilly had the traditional op - womb and ovaries removed, incision on her tummy and internal sutures. She was sent home the same day having eaten a little and being able to walk. She was discharged with a buster collar which I removed on our return home and put her in her onesie. She was also given an oral anti-inflammatory to start the next day.

Miss Lilly came home and essentially slept until 3am. She had two brief visitors who she (and I) was pleased to see but after welcoming them, she went back to sleep.

She had a small amount of sweet potato and boiled chicken in the evening (she is grain intolerant) and was clearly hungry. She had a wee later in the evening. 

She did jump up on the sofa and on my bed - each on one occasion and before I could stop her - but apart from this was happy to sleep on her vet bed and blankets on the floor.

At 3am, Miss Lilly jumped on my bed minus the onesie. She somehow managed to chew through the fabric where the poppers are and remove it completely. I have no idea whether she managed to lick her wound although I suspect that she cannot actually reach and was more concerned about keeping her 'bits' clean. So the buster collar was put back on. From this point onwards Miss Lilly has been wide awake and found it impossible to settle: she tries lying down and then jumps up and dashes across the room as if bitten by a flea a few seconds later - and bashes into walls and furniture due to the stupid collar. She is occasionally whining and desperate to go out. We have been for a number of 5 minute on lead pavement walks - not really advised but there is no way that she will do any of her business in the garden.

Throughout the night she had small portions of sweet potato and chicken which she enjoyed. On one occasion she got a number of her toys out to sniff but for the most part she is either sitting with her head dropping when she nods off, jumping up if she has tried lying down or sitting by a door indicating that she wants to go out.

She is absolutely responsive, has a waggy tail if I stroke or talk to her and from what I can see whilst she is sitting, her wound is dry and only minimally swollen, although still red. She has had her oral anti inflammatory this morning but I'm not sure its made any difference.

I've left a message asking to speak to the vet (reassurance really) and will update once I know more.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Poor Miss Lilly  hope she is happier soon.

When Chance was spayed she also had traditional spay but I did not put a collar or onesie on her at all. I had the week off work to keep an eye on her and she was not left at all during this time. She was allowed the briefest of looks at her underside before I told her enough and did not worry at her wound at all. 

She did have a slight after complication with lumps under the wound which the vets thought were probably a reaction to the internal stitches but that cleared with time too.


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Thanks 2ndHand 

Chance sounds like a superstar! Miss Lills on the other hand is very interested in what's going on down there and keeps turning her head back to try and reach.

When she lies down, she jumps up a few minutes later as if bitten by a flea and then does a mad dash across the room. She even does it when she is walking. I have now spoken with the vet who says that its possible that she's feeling a little prick now and again from the ends of the sutures. He also said that although it's ideal to keep a dog as quiet as possible post surgery, that is all that it is: the ideal and some dogs (aka Lills) will be a lot more active.

The sofa has now been turned to the wall, the bed blocked off with cardboard boxes: she only really has the floor to enjoy...

I could kick myself for not having bought an inflatable collar as originally intended. I read so much about the onesies and was convinced they would work for her because she is so easy about wearing her equafleece. Ah well, I'm going to try and get hold of one today.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Poor Miss Lily. Honestly she will feel much, much better in a couple of days - but this is the worst time. It does take quite a long time for some dogs/people to get over anesthetic.
All mine had traditional spays.
The vets called me early when Kiki was spayed (I panicked majorly ) but it was only because she was making their ears bleed because she was wailing incessantly. I picked her up straight away, she came home had a wee and then slept for about 6 hours, went out and she had a wee and a poop ate her food and was fine. She was happy in the onesie. My vet had told me to let her clean herself after she had been in the garden and I did before refastening.
Dot was awful - really, really groggy - she had drunk water and eaten and been very sick before I picked her up. She was smelly and had obviously also weeed herself. Her throat was sore and she sounded raspy and was so slobbery her chest and muzzle were slick. She stood all hunched up, couldn't work out how to lie herself down and was completely miserable. I rang teh vet twice I was so concerned (and this from some one who is generally a 'wait a couple of days and see what happens' person). Eventually I got her comfortable slightly propped up with blankets with her snuggle pup and she slept for a long time. No interest in food that night and only drank if I syringed a little water into her mouth a bit at a time. The next morning she drank a little - throat still horrible - and ate a little off my fingers. Fast forward 24 hours and fairlie was muttering darkly about dogs splitting their stitches as I recounted my failed efforts to stop her bouncing... I ended up having to keep her on her lead in the house or shut her in the kitchen on her own.
Inzi had to have the lampshade collar and bashed everyone and everything with it. I ended up only putting her lampshade on if she had to be left on her own. I f I was there I could uhuh her if she started to investigate her stitches.
Poor you. Honestly it is worse for you.


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## Lindor (Feb 3, 2014)

Miss Maggie took to her bed for a full week and wouldn't leave it unless I picked her up to take her outside for her business. She even took her meals in bed. . When she walked outside she was very bothered by the close shave they gave her on her belly. I think the hairs were prickling her as well as the stitches and that's why she stayed in bed.

Hope Miss Lilly feels better soon. :hug:


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Thank you everyone! Its kind of reassuring to hear the stories of your poo's recoveries from surgery. I wish Miss Lilly was a bit more like Miss Maggie (although if she took to her bed for a week I'd probably worry too!!).

Miss Lilly meanwhile has had a poo. Yay!!

I don't know if all poos are like this, but Lills gets kind of silly when she needs a poo - she rolls around a lot and starts to play madly with her toys. If we go out, she drags me at an almost running pace to where she deems is the perfect spot (thankfully not always white lines anymore) and it is always quite a distance from our house.

It is not cool seeing your dog roll and jump around, or dragging on her lead, a day after major surgery :-((

My friends dog was spayed 2 weeks ago - her recovery was also a lot different from what we are experiencing. Her dog wee'd and poo'd in the house, did not want to eat and was only really more active on day six. She also had no interest in examining her wound. Miss Lilly (I thought) would surely find it even more difficult and I was perhaps more prepared for that than her actual presentation. Funny that they are all so different - it seems really extreme!

Anyway, having had a poo she is much calmer and finally able to lie down for a bit longer. 

Her inflatable collar arrives tomorrow: I am hopeful that she will be a lot more comfortable with it and able to manoeuvre furniture and walls. She will also be able to sniff again - her favourite occupation when we go out. Currently her lampshade is getting caught in the grooves of the pavements and I feel so sorry for her trying to manage. 

I'm sure it will all be fine in the end. Did you all wait the full ten days before letting them off lead? I suspect I will have to...


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

oh I hope miss lilly recovers well. sounds like she is doing great. 

From the moment we brought Cricket home, it didnt even seem like she had had surgery, it was all I could do to stop her from Jumping. 

Lady was alot more like Miss Lilly


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

and yes...waited the full 10 days before off lead.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Glad to hear Miss Lilly is a bit more comfortable now. 

Just to reassure you slightly about activity, when I picked Chance up from the vets I opened the car boot, turned to lift her in and she attempted to jump, misjudged it and fell (I thought I had broken her before we even got 10 yards from the vets door!!) 

I had the week off with her, but she was back at my friends the following week playing with her collie and being a general hooligan.


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## bearthecockapoo (Mar 17, 2015)

Oh dear, I hope she recovers quickly! Sounds like she is on the mend though. Bear was full of beans after his neuter, practically like he didn't even know he had a major surgery. I was concerned for the first few days because I thought he would be sleepy, but he was tearing around the house even more than usual!


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## Mazzapoo (Jul 28, 2013)

Aw, I remember a Poppy doing those sudden jumps like she'd been pricked by her stitches. It's horrible to go through, I spent last Feb half term living on the floor on the settee cushions under house arrest! I did wait the full 10 days but she was very active after the first couple of days so it was a challenge. I remember the day she got the all clear and I asked the vet how much exercise she could have and was told 'completely back to normal, so as much as you like' so we went straight from the vets for a lovely romp in the fields - your day will come!! Poppy was ok in her onesie - good luck with the collar.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Kiki was quite calm and I took her out for lead walks. Dot was a nightmare if I took her out on her lead she would do vertical Dotty bounces, it was very stressful. Fairlie scared me so much that we ended up only doing walks in the back garden. 
Seems to me that if magically on day 10 they can go back to normal they must actually be ok to build up to that...
Anyway much better safe than sorry. 10 days is not such a very long time.
(Poppy looks very, very sweet.)
Hope Miss Lilly is feeling much, much better today.


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## Mazzapoo (Jul 28, 2013)

All she needs is a waistcoat, a fez and a little drum, she's a monkey through and through  But thank you


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

Lexi made a full round of doodle dashing the first time we went into the back yard to pee. And Beemer, who was neutered at the same time, joined along. She got a huge bump under her wound. I thought I broke her as well. The vet said everything looks fine and that's it's probably just a reaction to her internal sutures. But the bouncy all over the place - that was Lexi until I took her off her meds. The anti inflammatory also works to diminish pain. Sadly I needed Lexi to feel a bit of pain so she wouldn't injure herself more. And we did lots of short walks. Lots because the two of them just had too much energy. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Calm (for the most part) has descended on the House of Lilly...

She is now wearing an inflatable collar which is far more comfortable and allows her to clean her bits but not get to her wound. 

Last night she managed to jump over the back of the sofa  (I had turned it to the wall to try and prevent her from jumping on to the seat. Thankfully, her wound looks fine. A little red but not hot or swollen and not broken.

Our compromise now is that she can go on the sofa but I've taken the cushions off so that its much lower.

I've also reduced the amount of pain relief she was getting, just like Lexi&Beemer. It sounds entirely mean but I figure that if she feels a little sore then she will be much less likely to do her usual acrobatics, so good to hear that that worked out ok for you. I spoke to quite a few people in the doggy park who were surprised that she had been given pain relief at all as theirs hadn't. That seems cruel to me but lowering the dose has definitely calmed her down a bit. No more prickly stitches it seems as she can now lie down for much longer (thank you Mazzapoo for sharing that Poppy did the same thing - its scary to see it but knowing that Poppy recovered OK makes it less so. She looks absolutely adorable btw).

Marzi: what you say makes total sense. They can't just magically heal during the 9th night so increasing exercise slowly is probably the way to go. I definitely won't be letting Miss Lills off lead until day 10 but I think we will go on longer (and therefore nicer) walks in the build up to her regaining her freedom.

I found this yesterday: http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/dog-spaying.html#post-spay

Its the most informative article on the spay procedure I have been able to find. It is very graphic tho so please only look if you're not too squeamish!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Glad she is doing better now with her inflatable collar. We did not have any pain relief either.


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Its day 4 post surgery and I'm starting to regret that Cockapoos don't come with an on/off bounce button. I have fantasies of making little booties with Velcro soles and covering the floors in my house with the stuff too. I have aged - considerably - I think as a result of all the mini heart attacks I have when the doorbell goes or she sees someone she knows in the street. Roll on day 10 when she can go back to being herself and I can go back to living my life upright.

What is it with the bouncing? How is it that Miss Lills can so enjoy gently having her tummy stroked (i.e. there must be nerve endings there) and yet seem so unaware that she's just had major surgery and should be in pain. She is unstoppable!

She is desperate to go out poor thing and I don't think she understands why she is kept on a lead and not allowed to freely run around.

Her wound meanwhile is dry, clean and not swollen thankfully. There's a bit of a scab going on down the line of the incision and a little bit of redness just beside it but apart from that I'd say it's looking good.

Her appetite is phenomenal and she is just snaffling everything up that I put in front of her. And out and about, she is scavenging like her life depended on it :-(

Thanks for all the good wishes - I've passed them on to her.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Glad she is feeling better even if she is testing your nerves to the highest level.


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## Lindor (Feb 3, 2014)

Ha Ha! The on/off bounce button made me laugh. Glad your getting on ok and she's starting to feel much better. Lightly stroking her belly probably feels really really good as it's likely to be a bit itchy from the shave. Hang in there. Your about 1/2 way there.


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

It reminds me when my two got fixed. Dexter was completely traumatized by the whole experience, wanted to get to his bits the whole time and refused to even move with his collar on. Bonnie on the other hand was dive bombing off the sofa two hours after I brought her home ( she had key hole ) and was so lively I couldn't believe it. She tore around the house bashing into everything with her collar.


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Day 7 in the house of Lilly and she continues to be as bouncy and energetic as she has been since 3am post surgery. I cannot take her anywhere near other doggies as she just wants to play with them all which means darting, rolling and jumping around in a mad 'float like a butterfly / sting like a bee' kind of a way.

Her wound is still clean and dry but now that the scab has fallen off it does unfortunately look as though the outer glued part has opened up a little  

Lills is blissfully unaware. I on the other hand am worried and will be consulting the vet tomorrow just to check with them.

Reading everyone's posts about their poos behaviour post surgery it strikes me how differently they all respond. Miss Lilly is a happy, bouncy little soul who is still eating everything in sight (so different to before the op) and now snores when she sleeps (although that might just be the collar I suppose). I truly thought I would be in for 10 days of withdrawn and tired poo so I'm still somewhat taken aback.

By the way Tessybear: I wonder whether Bonnie and Miss Lilly are related? Was Bonnie's mum's name Bella by any chance?


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Hope the part open but is OK - glad she is happy and bouncy - but wish she stays slightly less bouncy for next few days


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Day 8 post surgery and we've seen the vet who was rather less worried than me and felt that she was healing ok and would be good to go offlead by Monday. The outer layer of skin did open up slightly as I thought but its dry, clean and healing so all is well

So she'll finally be able to do a lot of this:

:jumping:

...and we'll both be doing a bit of this:

arty2:

The inflatable collar has been a godsend but as a word of warning it does make her matt like crazy and I suspect she will have a bit of a turkey neck for a while when I cut the matts out.


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## Mayble (Nov 11, 2015)

My cockapoo pup Maybel was spayed five days ago and is still very sleepy. She has to be encouraged to eat and drink. Took her for her first walk today, not very far but just to get her out. She follows me around the house and lays at my feet when I am stationary. Maybel is usually a very energetic puppy so it is worrying when all she wants to do is sleep. I know she has had major surgery and needs to recover but it is still worrying. Is this normal. This is the first time I have used this site and don't know if this is the right place to post a question so apologies if it is not.


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## Goosey (Aug 22, 2014)

Hi my Molly was spayed last year and after her op she was very sleepy for a few days,probably not as long as maybel,but some take longer to recover than others. As long as she is eating,drinking , able to go to the wee and there's no sign of infection then I'm sure she's fine. Molly had a post op check with the vets after 5 days so if yours do the same I would just mention to them that she's still sleepy. Maybe it's just a matter of she's feeling a bit sorry for herself. Hope she's feeling better soon and back to her normal self


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