# Odd behaviour after spaying



## waterfif

Dear Cockapoo Boffins, 

I hope you can help. Maddie, our cockapoo, was spayed on Wednesday and is starting to exhibit some odd behaviour. We have had her checked up at the vets today (Friday) and she appears to be fit and healthy. 

Unfortunately, yesterday and today she has been displaying some weird behaviours including: not interacting with her toys, not interacting with my wife and I, constantly wandering around the sofa and then stopping dead and standing staring in to space for 4-5 minutes. We had originally thought that the behaviour was related to a painkiller called Loxicom prescribed by the vet, however, as she did not seem to be in pain this morning we decided not to give her any more - but the behaviour continues.

When we took her for her checkup at the vets today, she was happy to jump up the nurses and have some fuss, however, now she's back at home she is repeating the same odd behaviour as above. 

She was ok when I took her for a walk today , although not affectionate as normal. 

Has anyone seen this before?

Thanks in advance,

Frase


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## JulesB

I would give her a few more days and see how she is then. Betty was doing some very odd things when she was spayed, she wouldn't eat unless she was sat down, kept trying to get into corners, or hiding under things. She's normally tennis ball obsessed but i could throw it in front of her and she wouldn't move. At one point i was feeding her while she sat in her bed as she wouldn't get out of her bed.

It took 6 days and suddenly she snapped back to her usual waggy, happy self.

I have read that the change to their hormones can make them a little depressed at first.

Fingers crossed she is back to herself soon.


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## Soo

It may be an after effect of the general anaesthetic. People can be a bit off for a few days after one so it may do the same to some dogs depending on how quickly they metabolise them from their system.

Hope she is soon fighting fit


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## Sezra

Hi.

I think this is probably normal although I cannot speak from my own experience as we have not booked Daisy in yet for her op. If you think about the operation she has gone through although routine it is quite major surgery. This will take up to a week for her to recover from and I would expect her hormone levels to be effected post operation. I am sure you will have your normal bouncy girl back very soon though!


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## waterfif

Hi All,

Thankyou your replies. We took Maddie to the vets again tonight and they gave her another pain killer and prescribed some anti-biotics. Unfortunately, although the painkiller also has a sedative effect, Maddie is still fighting the urge to sleep and trying to keep standing. She seems to be whining and cannot be comforted. I hope to have better news soon.


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## JulesB

waterfif said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Thankyou your replies. We took Maddie to the vets again tonight and they gave her another pain killer and prescribed some anti-biotics. Unfortunately, although the painkiller also has a sedative effect, Maddie is still fighting the urge to sleep and trying to keep standing. She seems to be whining and cannot be comforted. I hope to have better news soon.


Poor Maddie, i hope she feels better soon.


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## Soo

Wee soul.

Hope she is quickly on the mend. Its horrible to see them distressed :-(


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## Freddies Mum

Poor little girl, I hope she feels better soon. It does sound like she is in pain and of course her hormones will take a little time to settle down. Had she had a season? A friend's dog had a phantom pregnancy just after being spayed so did some very odd things, although not really the same as you are describing.


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## JoJo

waterfif said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Thankyou your replies. We took Maddie to the vets again tonight and they gave her another pain killer and prescribed some anti-biotics. Unfortunately, although the painkiller also has a sedative effect, Maddie is still fighting the urge to sleep and trying to keep standing. She seems to be whining and cannot be comforted. I hope to have better news soon.


I hope your Maddie is back to her normal self very very soon ... I am sorry I have no experience of spaying yet ... but you have done the right thing asking your vet .. sending your girl a hug x .. keep us posted please


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## Mogdog

Hi Fraser,

Poor Maddie, it's a shame to see them like that. What size is she? My Maisie took a week to recover and the vet told me that it seems to hit smaller dogs harder (Maisie is 5.4kg).

It's only been a couple of days so give her a bit more time, I'm sure she'll pick up soon.

Bless her :hug:


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## Jedicrazy

waterfif said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Thankyou your replies. We took Maddie to the vets again tonight and they gave her another pain killer and prescribed some anti-biotics. Unfortunately, although the painkiller also has a sedative effect, Maddie is still fighting the urge to sleep and trying to keep standing. She seems to be whining and cannot be comforted. I hope to have better news soon.


Oh poor Maddie  Is she eating and drinking ok? If you feel she is getting worse go back to your vet again and ask them to check her over again. When my Obi got sick with Meningitis he did a lot of very slow pacing and staring in to space, very little lying down. I'm not saying Maddie has meningitis but these are all symptoms of pain. Keep us posted.


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## waterfif

Hi All, 

Thankyou for yor support. I decided to sleep on the sofa last night as Maddie did not want to go in her crate last night, which isn't normal. Most of the night Maddie paced around the sofa and quietly whimpered. Around 4am-ish, she slumped down by the side of a chair and went to sleep. She's a tough little cookie to be able to resist a sedative for that long.

We will be popping back to the vets again today to see if they can suggest anything else. 

In response to your questionns above:

1) Maddie is eating and drinking well - which is one less worry.
2) She is around 6.9kg - not sure whether this is big or not. She is crossed with a miniature poodle.

Will keep you posted.


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## ali-s.j.

My Izzy is about the same size, she is quite small for a working or show cocker x mini poodle. I do hope poor Maddie will be better soon, what an awful worry for you.


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## Pepster

Poor maddie, glad she is is eating and drinking, it does sound like she's in pain and doesn't know what to do with herself  hope the vet can help her today.


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## Mogdog

Poor little thing, I hope the vet can help, and hope she perks up very soon. Is she going out for wees/poos ok?


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## waterfif

Just got back from the vets and we now have some Fuscilderm to apply to areas where she has clipper rash plus some tranquilizer so that she can at least get a bit of sleep. We don't really want to dose her up but if it provides her some comfort then it will be worth it. 

Btw wees and poos are fine so no worry on that score.

Will keep you posted.


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## lovecockapoo

Sorry, I can't help with any advise as haven't gone through this yet!! Feeling for you and hope she is back to her normal self soon. Xx


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## waterfif

Hello All, 

just wanted to provide an update on how Maddie has got on and a run down of what she was prescribed, just in case it's useful. 

Thankfully, Maddie is back to her normal self after some worrying days of not knowing what to do for the best. The thing that enabled Maddie to turn the corner, it appears, was a tranquilizer (called ACP) as it gave her a chance to get a good nights sleep. She is now up to her usual mischief and has been racing around like a loony this afternoon stealing my screwdrivers and assorted tools. 

Here is a day by day run down of what happened when Maddie was spayed: 

Wednesday - took Maddie in to the vets at 8:30am. As she has been to some puppy parties at the vets she wasn't particularly worried about the prospect and was happy with some fuss from the nurses. We picked her up at around 3:30pm. Maddie walked out of the vets, which I was surprised about. She was prescribed Loxicom : an analgesic. She was drowsy and slept in her crate all night. 

Thursday - Maddie woke up and was ok at first. We gave her her first dose of Loxicom. She had started to pace constantly around the sofa in the living room and would not interact with us or any of her toys - this we, probably wrongly, put down to the Loxicom. After around ten or so circuits around the sofa she would stop dead and stare at the wall for 3-4 minutes - which was really worrying. We took her to the vets, late afternoon and they couldn't find anything wrong with her. I slept on the sofa to keep an eye on her - although as soon as I went up to her she'd flinch and run back behind the sofa. 

Friday - Took Maddie to the vets again, as it was her scheduled checkup. Again they couldn't find anything wrong but prescribed a dose of antibiotics (Noroclav). Later that day, she was still in distress even after we re-tried the Loxicom. We went back to the vets and they gave her another type of analgesic (sorry don't know the make). It made her sleepy, but she fought it all the way, often her hindquarters would slowly fall to the floor shortly followed by her mid-riff, only for her to shoot back upright - think driving late at night while tired and trying to keep yourself awake and you'll be somewhere near to knowing how she was. 

Saturday - Took Maddie back to the vets as she was no better. They prescribed a tranquilizer called ACP to take the edge off her distress and a cream to apply to her clipper rash (Fuciderm). We tried half a tablet of the tranquilizer and she was out like a light. When she awoke she was still sleepy but seemed a little happier. We did the same thing mid-afternoon and last thing at night. She got a great nights sleep. 

Sunday - today is the first time we feel that we have our little Maddie back. She was really sleepy this morning, but managed to haul herself upstairs to enjoy a little sleep on our bed while we enjoyed a cup of tea. She has had a good couple of walks today and is running around like a little nutcase. 

All through the last couple of days Maddie has eaten well and wee'd and poo'd fine. The pacing and staring appear seem to be signs of real distress which we will look out for next time she has to have an operation. 

Many thanks to you all for your support and kind words. We and Maddie really appreciate it.


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## Pepster

So glad that maddie is almost back to her usual self it's such a worry when they re Ill and can't tell you what's wrong, hope you'll get a good nights sleep now too!


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