[Alicia]

I'm planning on going into the vet this Thursday to set up an appointment and talk about having Lola spayed.  I was just wondering if there's any specific questions that I should be asking?  I know to ask about "ace" and if they use it.  Also, what are the procedures when she comes home?  Should I plan on taking a day or two off of work?  Thanks for your help!  I'm very nervous about all this.

 

[tootsie]

I know it's hard when we take our "kids" in to be fixed, or for any procedure really, but try to relax. Lola will be fine. The only things I would ask your vet about are:
- do they use ace, which you know about already, a definite no
- when to start withholding food the night before
- will Lola be staying overnight or be allowed or come home that evening
- will there be stitches that need to be removed
- how long before you can leave Lola home alone after surgery....this will tell you if you need to take off from work. Maybe you can schedule it on a Friday or a day where you have a couple days off after her spay.
That's about all I can think of right now. Let us know when she will go in.  :wink:

 

[AbbyandBrady]

I had Abby done on a Friday so that I was home for the next couple of days with her. Most places keep them overnight but this place said I could get her at the end of the day. Check friendsofanimals.org.  Not sure if it is only local to Connecticut, but you can purchase a spay certificate online for $90. Then you find a participating vet. The only things you get charged for are then things like pain meds. Our vet had said the normal fee was like $350. So this was a good savings.
Definitely bring home pain meds, specially if she is coming home the same day. Find out about dosages, etc. Ask about how to check the area, what to watch for, oozing, etc. Abby had a very small amount of fluid that evening that was discharged but it was clear and clean and no more came.  I kept her on nice soft towels for the next couple days and gave her lots of loving and naptimes. She was a little groggy until half way through the next day. When I brought her home, she actually kept trying to go into the garage rather than the house. I think she was confused. She had only been with us for 2 weeks at that point also, so she was not entierly familiar with the area yet. Make sure she drinks, etc. Typically, they can be a little too sleepy to bother drinking much or eating. Don't worry about the eating so much, but do make sure she drinks. I believe we were told not to feed her until the next morning.

 

[Honeyec]

The only problem I had after Tink was spayed was trying to keep her quiet enough not to damage her stitches!  She was allowed home that evening and was a little groggy, but even by the following morning she was trying to zoom around the place.  The vet told me not to walk her or allow her to exert herself in any way until her stitches came out, which was 10 days after the op.  She had to go back in 3 days after just so that they could check that everything was healing ok, which it was, and that was it til the stitches were removed.

We were also warned that she may lose her appetite for a day or two, or even throw up the evening of the operation, but she did neither.  The whole thing just seemed to go swimmingly, she didn't even have any bruising - which would have been very noticeable seeing as she's white, but she had none at all.  Literally just the very clean incision and the stitches.

Like I said, the worst aspect of the whole thing was that she was a bit stir-crazy by the end of her enforced rest period!  I'm sure everything will go just as smoothy for Lola.

 

[Alicia]

Thanks for all your good advice and stories.  Made me feel better
I'm going to stop by the vet tomorrow after work to talk to them and set up an appointment.  I want to make it on a Friday so that way I'll be home all weekend with her.  Thanks again!

 

[lillyzmomma]

Take some time off work if you can and be firm about them not giving her pain meds after surgery!!!  It takes three days for the anesthesia to come out of their system.  When we add more pain meds, we are suppressing their system!!!  Boxers have a very HIGH tolerance for pain!!!  If you give them pain meds they think they are okay and will screw around and hurt themselves because they don't feel pain that is there to let them know to take it easy!!!  I'm not saying this to cause a riot!!!  I have friends who have lost their Boxers to this sort of thing.  Lilly didn't get pain meds when she came home and 1.5 days later she was up to her old antics on her own!!!  They heal way faster than we do and they need to feel the discomfort so that THEY can gauge what their riate activity level is!!!!

Liz and Lilly

 

[Alicia]

Lola is going in this Thursday.  I drop her off at 8:30am and they said I can pick her up anytime after 5:30pm, depending on how well she's waking up.   I met with the vet last Thursday...they don't use ACE and they send the pain meds home so it's up to me to use them or not.  No excessive playing or running around for a week after..yeah that's going to be easy!  And they don't use stiches so won't have to go back to get them removed.  I'm a nervous wreck!

 

[sharonL]

She will do great and it sounds like you have covered everything for Lola.

 

[samsonsmom]

She will do fine Mom..I think this bothers us more than our babies actually...I'll be thinking of her on Thurs  

 

[uridiscence]

I understand your concerns. I was really nervous when we took Macy in to get her spayed and I have known the dr. pretty much my whole life. Here's what I experienced.

They did not keep Macy overnight because they did her surgery first thing in the morning so that they could monitor her for the rest of the day. She was really groggy when I picked her up and was really hesitant about moving anything. Her tongue had been sticking out of her mouth all day and was dried up and getting crusty by the end of the night so I had to tuck that back in her mouth.  :lol:

I stayed home with her the next day to watch her, but I couldn't on the 3rd day. The vet recommended that we put her in her crate on the 3rd day anyway because she was beginning to exert herself and I didn't want her to bother the stitches.

Our vet did not give us any pain medication. She said that if we felt we needed it we could ask for it. She just provided us with the bitter apple solution to apply to her stitches if she started to lick them. The next day you wouldn't have known that Macy had surgery she was walking around and she started jumping up on the couch! I wanted to scream when she did that. I did everything to keep her from playing and jumping up and down, but she just wouldn't stop.

After the 2nd day, our vet said to give her some Benadryl and that would make her calm down some and most times would make her drowsy enough to sleep. They did say that since she is young there isn't much you could do to make her calm down. I was so nervous that she was going to pop a stitch, but she didn't.

I think it was about a week or two before we had to go back and get her stiches removed, but that was really fast and Macy didn't even know it was happening. It all turned out well even though I was a nervous wreck for that first week.

 

[Alicia]

Re: Spaying - Updated

I dropped Lola off this morning at 9am.  I'm now sitting at work.....just....waiting.....and waiting.  I felt so bad for her this morning, she just kept looking at me like "mom, how come no breakfast?"  and when I left the vet she had a sad look like "where you going and how come I'm not coming with you?"  So sad, I almost cried!  So that's the update for now, I'll keep you posted.

 

[uridiscence]

I am sure everything will go great. I was a nervous wreck while I waited for my friend to call me from the vet's office. I had to wait for almost 3 hours!

Let us know when she's done!

 

[Alicia]

Re: Spaying - Updated

I still haven't heard from the vet so I decided to call there!  They were just finishing up surgery.....at 3:30pm!  I dropped Lola off at 8:45am.  The poor thing has been there for 6 hours doing nothing!  They're suppose to have the doctor call me back in an hour to give me an update on how she's doing.  Stay tuned....
And thanks for listening to me

 

[uridiscence]

Phew! I hope everything went ok.

It does take a while for them to shave her and get everything set up. They might have had other dogs getting surgery before Lola. Our vet does all their surgeries on Monday's only so it can take a while.

I had to drop Macy off the night before so she could be there first thing in the morning, luckily she could stay with my friend who works at the vet clinic so I knew she was in good hands.

I know that the vet we went to gave all the dogs a lot of attention so I am sure that they were talking to Lola all morning.

Keep us posted!

 

[Alicia]

Update:
I picked Lola up last night.

 

[JessiesMom]

awww... lola looks so sad!

 

[samsonsmom]

Boy she does look out of it doesn't she! Poor girl..Rest is the best thing for her right now..Soon enuf she'll be wanting to get active, then the fun begins! I'll keep sending those healing vibes out to her..Glad everything went well

 

[Alicia]

Here's the scar pic.

 

[Honeyec]

I don't see any scar pic!

Poor Lola, she looks totally out of it!  You know, I'd take the cone off and see how she gets on without it.  Tink didn't get one when she was spayed and she didn't worry her wound at all.  Try Lola without it and only put it on if she starts licking.  She might be a bit more comfortable.

 

[JessiesMom]

[quote="Honeyec\";p=\"17025":1tdu4u47]I don't see any scar pic!

Poor Lola, she looks totally out of it!