Hi folks,

My 15 month old Patterdale bitch was spayed last Fri (5 days ago) - it took her 48 hrs to fully recover from the effects of the anaesthetic, but despite some initial pain she has been progressing well.  I've been feeding her three small meals a day of cooked chicken, and after the 2nd day I started taking her for 2 x 20 min walks per day on a short lead.  The wound is looking good, its dry and healing nicely, and although she wants to lick it I have been keeping it covered with a strategically altered baby-gro!!!

But today I am worried - she ate a few mouthfuls of chicken without enthusiasm first thing, just about accepted her antibiotics wrapped in some cheese, but otherwise is not interested in anything.  If I put her harness on and take her outside, she is a total psycho, completely out of control and hopelessly over-energised.  But indoors she seems really down - she is just laying around with her eyes open, staring into space.  She isn't interested in the stinky tripe sticks I have put out for her, the chicken still in her bowl, or any of her numerous chews and biscuits.  She'll rouse herself enough to bark at the postman, but otherwise she is the picture of misery.

She is a "working dog" usually and accustomed to getting tons of free exercise all day every day - I suspect that all this inactivity, and limited outdoor walks on the lead, is causing her to feel very depressed.

I have made a call to the nursing staff at the vet surgery to ask for advice, and they are calling me back later, but in the meantime do you think I'm right?  If she is depressed after 5 days, how is she going to cope with another 5 before she has her stitches out?

Thanks for any comments you may have.

Susie :)

Antibiotics can make them feel very queazy.   The course must be nearly finished I would imagine so maybe she will perk up a bit after that.  I don't think any of mine ever had them prophylactically.  Did she have pyometra?  I would definately get her checked over if you are concerned though.

Yes she has 3 more days of Amoxycare.  Prophylactically?  Pyometra?  Excuse my ignorance but not sure what you mean by either of those terms, lol!!!

> Prophylactically?

Given to prevent rather than treat.

>Pyometra?

Uterine infection.

Ohhh, thank you!  You learn something new every day!  Gosh I thought I was well educated haha :)

Antibiotics are pretty much a given after major surgery, as I understand it - to prevent infection at the incision site (and no doubt all the incisions within).  No, she had no infection, she was fit and well at the time of the surgery.

> Antibiotics are pretty much a given after major surgery, as I understand it

No, not necessarly.  As I said, my vets have never done this and it is not that common for women having abdominal hysterectomies unless they are thought to be at a particular risk.  It's up to the clinician though and having started it it is important to finish the course.

Oh, really?  It never occurred to me that this was unusual, I thought it was routine!  I did tell them that Metacam made her vomit, so they only gave her Rimadyl anti-inflams after the op, but she has finished those now.  I know she was a bit sicky on the last lot of Penicillin she had with a nail bed infection, so perhaps she is just feeling queasy.  Only 3 days to go of those.

The postman just came and she launched herself at the front door with a volley of hysterical barking, even managing to pick up a letter and give it a feeble shake.  I'm sure she just deadly bored.....

My border terrier was spayed 2weeks past Monday after a pyo, and she had a long acting anti b, and painkiller, and was out and about in the field 2 days later, wouldnt even know she had been operated on, I would start increasing the exercise, my terriers are exercised 3 times a day in a 56acre field, and she missed not getting out, which she enjoys so much, but 2 weeks on shes as fit as a fiddle!!

I'd be delighted to up her exercise, but I'm following instructions from the vet - no running or jumping, strictly lead exercise only for 10 days!  This is to prevent the stitches - outside and inside - from getting torn, as she would have to have another GA for them to make any repairs.

Poor girl, she's sooooo bored.  As for no jumping, thats a laugh - she pogos around at the end of the lead anyway, I might as well just let her off!

My vet never mentioned lead exercise, my BT is never on a lead, but she had no external stitches, only dissolving ones internally.
Well I'm sure your Patterdale will make up for lost exercise when she gets off lead!! lol

All the best
Fiona

My vet is emphatic that bitches are kept on a lead for 10 days after spaying.  My most active Beardie drove me almost demented, but the vet knows best.  We wouldn't go jumping in the air after such a big op.  Bitches have been known to haemorrhage racing round after this surgery.

I have had bad experiences with both of my girls being spayed. ONLY because I didnt keep them quiet!!!!!
Gemma was spayed because of Pyo at age of 9 :(
But it was only 5 days before I moved house in the middle of the summer. So I had to take her to the house with me. and she just wouldnt settle. If it was cooler I would have left her in the car but it was too hot.
The day I moved in, she was with me all the time, and very unsettled as she didnt know what was going on,
As she had been moving too much her scar started weeping,. Took her to the vet and she said it was beacause she was doing too much.
Ebba, a lively 2 YO Rottie.
I had her spayed routinely just after 2. She hated being kept on a lead. And I let her out in the garden un leashed, Nooooooooooo she jumped the wall and the fence as she always does :o :o :o
She ended up with a huge lump on her scar that was liguid filled.
Toook alot longer to heal than the rest of the scar. and that was only from a day of giving free rain to her!!!!!
So best advice I can give is, even tho she looks so down, just keep her quiet and follow vets advice!!!!
Lea :) :)
Lea :) :)

Thanks, Jean and Lea - my vet was also fairly insistent about lead exercise only and no running or jumping, clearly with good reason.  No matter how depressed poor Nellie is feeling, I would never do anything to compromise her recovery (not purposefully anyway)!

Luckily for the first couple of days after the op, she was really poorly from the anaesthetic, so she didn't move much at all.  After that, she managed the occasional jump (she did it in the car from the back seat to the parcel shelf 3 TIMES when I was driving - stupid me for not restraining her - and jumped up on the bed a couple of times when we were too slow).  She has bounced around at the end of the lead on her supposedly "sedate" walks as well.

But the scar is looking okay - it isn't weepy, it has knitted together quite well and we have managed to prevent her from licking it (again with a couple of slip ups early on).  I inspected it with a torch last night (lol) and it looks alright to me - a bit puckered perhaps, but there is hardly any redness apart from around a puckered stitch at one end, which I remember was like that when she came home - just an iffy stitch I think.