Spay And Neuter: What To Do Before And After Your Dog Has Surgery
Preparing your dog for their spay or neuter can be scary and anxiety inducing. You may be worried about the procedure itself, or maybe more about what you have to do later. Will they be painful? How will they take having to wear a cone? What else should you do to prepare for the surgery? Try not to worry, I’ll talk you through the basics of what to do after your dog comes home from their spay or neuter.
This article will dive into the few things you need before and after the procedure and you’ll be surprised at how easy it will be. I’ll explain some frequently asked questions like:
How to prepare
Quick checklist
What to expect afterwards
Preparing For The Spay Or Neuter: Before And After The Surgery
Thankfully, there is very little you need to prepare for. Many owners worry too much, you’d be surprised how resilient and quickly these animals can bounce back from a surgery. Especially if they are young. But if you want to have your house and heart ready, here’s a few things you can have prepared.
Before surgery:
Make sure your female does not go into heat just before surgery (many vets will postpone if this happens).
No food after midnight the day of surgery.
You can bring a comfort toy to stay in their kennel so they’re not as scared.
Lots of love - who doesn’t enjoy some extra snuggles with their furry companion anyway?
Ask the staff questions if you’re worried.
After Surgery:
Blankets and bed set up on the floor. You don’t want them doing a lot of jumping, as we want to avoid tearing any stitches with unnecessary activity.
Follow instructions given by your vet! And have a number for an emergency facility in case anything goes wrong that evening.
Keep them calm and give pain meds as directed.
Extra snuggle time.
How Will Recovery After A Spay Or Neuter Be?
I will have to say that this can depend heavily on the age of the dog that was spayed or neutered. Older pets will always have a harder time with surgery, which is another reason why veterinarians advise having these procedures performed when they are very young.
The recovery of a puppy should be relatively smooth. In rare cases, they will be puny and lethargic afterward, but most of them leave my clinic bouncing and running like they came in that morning. The much smaller canines can take a little longer to recover because the anesthesia hits them a little harder. This doesn’t mean that they are at a higher risk of issues, they are just… more fragile little babies.
The Takeaway
Recovery from spaying and neutering will most likely be a pretty uneventful process, especially if they are performed early in life. Postponing for unnecessary reasons will only mean a more difficult time with the procedure when you inevitably choose to do it later. Make sure you are prepared for the few things you need to keep your recovering puppy comfortable, and they will be bouncing back before you know it!
