OH has arranged for both our dogs male & female to be neutered on Friday - what can I expect when we bring them home - I know we have to be careful with the excercise which is going to be difficult with our staffie but would like to know what else we need to do or look out for

Can't help with your female dog but we had our male dog neutered last Wednesday and I was worried about what to expect but he was fine really.  He was very sleepy on the Wednesday afternoon and did not do much at all.  He was better on the Thursday but obviously a little sore.  On the Friday he seemed to be back to his normal self.

He need to wear an Elizabethean collar for a couple of days but apart from that all was well.  He had to kept on a lead for a week and today was his first day off and he had a whale of a time running around with his friends and swimming in the Thames. 

Good luck

Pretty much the same for the female dog.  She'll be a bit dopey for a day or so, probably won't need the collar unless she starts trying to get at the stiches and will be on restricted excercise for a couple of weeks.