# Spay & stay over night at the vet?



## SeaMonster (Jul 4, 2011)

Is this normal? my vet wants to keep her overnight for a spay. Wouldn't this make the whole experience more dramatic for her? I dont want her sleeping away from us. Shes just a baby....... They said they want to make sure she wakes up OK? 

Also they want us to take her back to remove stitches. is that normal? shouldn't the stitches dissolve on their own? 

should I look for a new vet or is this normal? (the real issue is that I cannot sleep away from her)


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

A lot of vets keep spays overnight. I would ask them if there is a staff member there all night. If not, I don't see why she should be there all night. All of my foster puppies come home the day of their spay/neuter, but I also live literally around the corner from an emergency vet and I have been through so many spay/neuters that I would know when to take them in if there were an emergency.

Some vets use dissolving stitches and some don't. It's not a bad idea for them to remove the stitches so they can see how her incision looks.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

It depends on the situation, I believe. 
My vet usually doesn't keep them overnight, but we do keep them if the owner requests it. This is usually because the owner feels they cannot keep them calm the first night or they have children in the house. So, if you feel that you cannot keep her calm, keep her there, but I think most are ready to go home. We don't have anyone staying overnight.

Sometimes vets use dissolveable stitches and sometimes they don't; it all depends on the situation and how the incision looks when they are stitching it up. I'd say most of the time it is dissolvable, though. Maybe you can request the dissolvable stitches? We still check every surgery about 2 weeks after the surgery is done just to be sure everything is going right, regardless if they have stitches or not.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

My vet keeps over night for spay as well as neuter.

Back to say... we returned for stitches removal for Hank's neuter. I don't remember for my last female's spay.


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## Deb_Bayne (Mar 18, 2011)

The first vet I visited doesn't keep them overnight, take him in the morning and he's home by 5 p.m. I was leary on that, the vet I use now keeps them overnight for observation. They were great with my Maine *****, even kept them caged side by side since they couldn't put them in the same cage for safety reasons. The vet said that my boys were so in tune with each other they actually reached their paws out the cage bars and held paws with each other, she wished they had a camera handy for that priceless picture. She had never ever seen that before. Bayne will definitely be enjoying his time he has to spend there.


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## mygoldenkids (Oct 4, 2010)

My vet kept both my girls overnight after their spay. They were groggy and sleeping most of the time. My first golden had stitches that needed to be removed (that was back in 2000,) but Molly had dissolvable stitches when she was spayed. In both cases they went for a post-op check-up.

Maybe you can compromise with your vet? Perhaps ask if the vet will perform the spay first thing in the morning and then observe the dog all day after. You could then pick her up at the very end of the day and perhaps get a little extra sedative to keep her calm at home. You may also want to look into a soft Elizabethan collar if the stitches are external, as you don't want her to bite at them.


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## AnimalLuver (Oct 13, 2011)

My ex-vet keeps dogs overnight for spay or neuter. I argued with them for Troopers neuter that I didn't want him to stay, because there's not someone there all night? They said it was against their policy. I didn't find out about the overnight stay until the day of his operation (my boyfriend made the appointment) I was furious, but went through it, and then switched vets.

I understand the need for keeping a spay, because the operation is more internal than a neuter. But if you don't feel comfortable leaving her, then find a vet that will allow you to take her home for the night, or at least make sure there is a vet staying overnight WITH them...or else it's useless right?. It is a good idea to go back regarding the stitches anyways, just to be sure it healed properly.


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## mayapaya (Sep 28, 2011)

My vet did not keep Maya overnight. I thought that was a bit odd, as I had heard of others who required it. If no one is watching them overnight, then it doesn't make sense to me to keep them. I slept on the floor with Maya that night--the one and only time she's been out of her crate at night--but I wanted to keep a watchful eye on my sweet girl!


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I just had a board certified surgeon spay my 7 year old girl. They keep the dogs overnight and someone is there. They routinely give the dogs heavy duty narcotics... since I am a vet, they said I could bring Tiki home. When I went to get her, she was literally in a drug induced narcotic coma. I decided to leave her there as I figured my other 5 dogs would step on her in her state... and she wouldn't know she was home.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

She had staples in her skin... my boss spayed her 1/2 sister and all of the sutures were dissolvable and subcuticular.


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