# Riley's was spayed last Thursday..some?'s



## RileyStar (Mar 24, 2008)

My pooooor baby Riley has been such a poor pathetic thing!! All she wants to do is go outside and play with her big sis, she has a great appetite, energy, and been going #1 and #2 just fine.

I've read in some other posts that people keep their pups in their crates to keep them less active. I dont have a crate, she sleeps on the bed. I lift her up on everything, and up the stairs. She has jumped onto and off the bed once and the couch a few times, do I have to worry? She doesn't seem in pain, the vet did give us 4 Rimadyl and we give her half every 12 hrs.

The incision looks good, she had the internal stiches and surgical glue on the outside. She wears the cone just fine and doesn't want to bother her tummy but wants to lick her leg where the IV was. It looks like the vet cut her with the clippers 

I'm trying my very best to keep her from jumping and I am carrying her up the stairs, how long should I do so? The vet says 7-10 days, Riley wants to do it on her own NOW should I limit the stairs longer than 10 days? (Riley tends to get very excited going down and up the stairs, she growls and pulls on my pants legs..we're workin on it :doh

Last thing, how do I know if she has ripped her incision? There is a hard scab of dried blood on the incision, should I clean it off? I have been keeping her on very clean surfaces. I have never seen wet blood from her incision. Also she has a small cut/scrape thing on her front leg fron either the clippers or IV, she always goes for it if I take the cone off, should I clean that with peroxide or anything? I feel like such a spaz, but thankfully I can be with her 24/7 and have the help of my family. :


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## Wrigleysmom (Dec 30, 2006)

I would not wash the scab off, it could cause it to bleed, on the incision site. The leg I would just wash with soap and water, keep it clean. My vet never gave me restrictions on my animals when they were spayed, and we did not get pain meds either for some reason. I did ask him and he told me animals were smarter than people and they know their limitations better. Maybe that is why he never uses pain meds.... so they don't get to active. I think you are doing all the right things but there are many more knowledgeable people on the forum than me. I definately would *not *clean off the scab on the incisional site.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Bumping up****


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## Aprilpa (Mar 24, 2008)

The front leg probably has a little bit of clipper burn or even a scrape from pulling the tape off when they took the IV out. You can clean that with warm water or peroxide, it won't hurt anything. Try to keep her from licking it though or she can cause irritation.

We never sent pets home with pain meds either after routine spay/neuter surgery. If they feel too good they are more prone to over do it. Sometimes a little bit of discomfort isn't a bad thing. It sounds like she is back to her normal self, so I wouldn't think she would even need the Rimadyl at this point. 

It is a good thing she isn't licking her incision. That will help it heal faster. You can put some peroxide in a spray bottle and spray her incision to get the dried blood off. Just let it soak and then you can gently wipe with a cotton ball. Don't scrub at it though. And if it has a scab, not just dried blood, don't remove it. 

The incision in the skin will seal closed in just a few days, but the incision through the muscle layer takes longer to heal. You don't want her pulling out her internal sutures by being too rambunctous. We always told clients 7-10 days to restrict their activity somewhat, and we rechecked the incision and pulled any sutures in 10-14 days. I don't know if you need to carry her, but I would try to slow her down from jumping up onto the bed, or racing up the stairs. When you take her out, take her on a leash only. I know this is all easier said than done. She can do her normal daily routine, just try to stop her from being a crazy lady. Once she gets through this week, she should be fine to do as she pleases.


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