# What to expect after a neuter?



## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

Rookie's going in tomorrow to be neutered. I really have very little idea of what to expect post neuter. How long will he need to wear the e-collar? I know I need to keep him from running around, but what other kinds of limitations do I need to put on him? How out of it is he going to be when I pick him up?

Basically, anything you can tell me would probably be helpful.


----------



## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

My 5-month old foster was recently neutered and based on his reaction when I picked him up from the vet, you would have never known he had had surgery. I did my best to limit his rough play with his foster sis and made sure the incision area was kept clean as he's a mud magnet...the whole thing was non-eventful. He had no e-collar and paid no attention to his stitches. Perhaps cause he was so young he wasn't aware that anything was "missing".


----------



## spruce (Mar 13, 2008)

I always figured the neutering was no big deal, been thru it 3 times. Dog comes home sleepy, rest for a day, easy play for a week...

well, Bridger was different. Kept going after his stitches (disolving), got him coned the day after he came home. He was acting odd, hiding in "safe places" for 1-2 days. He had to wear the cone for 10 days to let stitches heal. 

Vet pronounced him a "nervous nellie" -- actually, he was calling us that. We took him back to vet a couple times, called a couple more times - we were hysterical parents. We gave him benydrel & 80 mg non-bufferred aspirin.

Really, biggest problem was keeping him out of water and he got used to life in the cone.


----------



## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

They come home pretty sleepy, well at least mine did, the next day there back to normal and want to do everything the normally do. You will have to keep him from jumping for a few days and might have to use a collar on him, depending on how he act's!


----------



## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Lucky never had a cone. He occassionally licked his stitches but not obsessively. He was really out of it for about a week. And hated the vet for months. Being 18 months....he had a harder time. I was distrought.....for those days but it seemed that suddenly all was fine and he was his normal self.


----------



## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

Do I have to keep him from jumping up on the couch? What about stairs? I have about 10 steps to get into the house. Will he be able to navigate the steps when we come home from the vet?


----------



## sophiesadiehannah's mom (Feb 11, 2007)

keep the answers coming, d.b.cooper is being neutered on thursday. i have never had a male dog and he is 2, all the girls were spayed at 6 months and had no problems, is it different for a male?


----------



## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

mdoats said:


> Do I have to keep him from jumping up on the couch? What about stairs? I have about 10 steps to get into the house. Will he be able to navigate the steps when we come home from the vet?


Yeah keep him from jumping and stairs at least for a week, I carried mine up the steps, I know it's gonna be hard!


----------



## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

Heidi36oh said:


> Yeah keep him from jumping and stairs at least for a week, I carried mine up the steps, I know it's gonna be hard!


Yeah, I wondered about that one. I'm not sure if I can carry him up the stairs. Gonna have to think about that one. Maybe I can rig up a ramp.


----------



## Nanika (Jan 10, 2008)

If the dog is on a leash and you can keep him from running up the stairs he should be fine. I always walk mine up and have never had a problem...if I carried them up then we would have a huge problem (sore back and arms hanging to the ground) Good Luck!


----------



## Celeigh (Nov 29, 2007)

For Fergus, he was groggy when we left the vet and getting him into the car without giving him a boost in the area I normally give him a boost was the first hurdle. He slept a lot when we came home and left the stitches alone the first day. The stairs were not a problem when he went to bed that night. The next two days he was messing with them, and we had a rough time with the cone. That was honestly the hardest part. By the third day he was having zoomies. Day 4 the cone was gone and he jumped in the fountain even though he was supposed to stay dry. It didn't cause any harm. The rest of the time there were no issues.

I have noticed a few other changes - he seems more interested in cuddling and he is marking at least half as much on walks (haven't tried the dog park to see if the impulse to mark people is still there :doh. He has totally blown his coat this last week and I have no idea if that is just a coincidence, but his coat looks really ratty. Aside from that, it's the same old Fergus and he sailed through the surgery and recovery with little drama!


----------



## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

I just picked Rookie up from the vet's. He's REALLY groggy. When they came out with him, he was staying very low to the ground. Almost crawling along. I lifted him into and out of the car and he did fine going up the stairs to get in the house. He's already going after the incision, so I had to put the E-collar on him the second we walked through the door. I turned my back for one second and he climbed up onto the couch himself, whined a little, and then fell asleep almost immediately.

So, he's now snoozing. I think he's probably going to be out of it the rest of the night.


----------



## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

Aww - Griff wasn't groggy at all! He was ready to go - but it was probably about 5 hours after his surgery - that may have made the difference.

I'm sure they already told you the instructions

Leash Walk 5 days - no jumping. 
Due to the fact that Griff ripped all but 1 stitch out (I had to bring him back for a couple of staples.) - he was sentenced to "the E-collar" for 13 days - until he got his stitches out. 
I kept my bedroom baby gated for 10 days so he wouldn't jump on the bed - the couch is low so even though he got up on it - he really didn't jump.

My bruises on my calves are almost healed from that darned collar - they get used to it right quick and Griff found new excitement outside scooping up dirt and leaves in it and throwing it about. Yes - he was FILTHY! :doh:

It goes quick - hang in there.


----------

