post neuter..... wish us luck

[earthygirl74]

Well.... Cooper was neutered today at 17 1/2 months. I waited till now thanks to the articles and posts I've read on this board, so thanks! I feel good about the decision to have let him mature (mostly) before snipping him. He is still snoozing.... vet sent us home with 5 days of tramadol that he said will help with pain as well as to mellow him a bit as he's recovering. No external stiches.... and the vet said that I only need to use a cone if he seems to be licking. I haven't noticed him even notice anything is going on back there since I picked him up a couple of hours ago. Would it be wise to have him sleep with the cone on since I won't be able to monitor him while I sleep at night? I'd hate to make him unnecessarily uncomfortable.... but don't want to risk him opening the incision. Any words of wisdom for surviving these next 10 days???

[Laura]

I'm glad the surgery went well for him and he seems to be no worse for the wear so far. I didn't need a cone for Jake, but he slept in a crate in my room and I am not a very heavy sleeper. If you don't think the sound of licking would wake you, I would go ahead and put a cone on him. Less traumatic than a return to the vet to get patched back together.

[Maxx&Emma]

I didn't use a cone for Maxx either, he never showed any interest in the incision area. He also sleeps right next to me so I would have noticed anything during the night. I didn't have any issues during recovery, Maxx is very mellow most of the time. I kept him leashed outside and limited any inside play with Emma. It was a pretty easy recovery. I did absolutely hate the whining from anesthesia the first night though, it made me feel terrible. Sending good thoughts your way.

[Tanya]

Honestly, having had a VERY bad experience I would cone at least the frist few days until you assess how the dog will react to the stiches. I am replying a bit late for last night.

SOME DOGS do fine and never bother their stitches. I was at the ER (vet) in the middle of the night with two dogs that had ripped them out and were bleeding all over. They were female, the vet hadn't even sent a cone home and said "they'd be fine". Since then - I just don't see it beign worth teh risk. If I am around and monitoring they generally earn free cone time pretty fast. I don't use it on walks unless the dog is really bad.

I cone when we go to bed adn when I crate them (and yes it's no fun crating a brand new foster dog with a cone - but there were no other options).

You likely won't need that many days of pain meds. Recovery is pretty fast and you don't want them feeling TOO good as it's hard enough keeping a young down calm for 7-10 days but play it by ear.

[POPTOP]

Think you'll be surprised how fast he will heal. Definitely use the cone if you can't supervise him. The Tramadol will make his a little sleepy, which is a good thing. Keep him on a leash and outside on a leash only for potty trips.

Don't think you'll have any problems. Even as seniors, our boys healed very fast.

[Jeff]

It might help to read my story on Hemi and his Undies, his post neuter adventure.
Hemi and his undies

But I wish you much luck and hope it goes very easy for you. I know we worry about them so. Next week at this time he will be back to his normal self.

[earthygirl74]

Thanks for the advise everyone. Day 2 is going ok. Cooper is super mellow....from the tramadol I would guess. I'm not complaining!He wore the cone last night but seemed pretty restless. His kennel is next to our bed and none us us got much sleep last night because of the cone banging against the kennel. The incision looks great though and there seems to be no swelling. I'm been keeping him on a leash in the house like I did when he was younger because can go from zero to 60 in a blink whether indoors or out so I'm erring on the side of caution. ��

[JenC]

We never used a cone. Jack and Hudler never needed one...

[Moby and Barley's Mom]

I kept Barley on a cone for a bout 3 days just to be sure but he was only 9 months when he was neutered. Better to be safe than sorry. You will actually be surprised at how quickly they heal and bounce back.

[earthygirl74]

Day 3 and things are going well. I am coning him when I'm gone and it was going well till last night when I put him in the kennel for 10 minutes while I took a shower. T he petsmart design isn't the best.... and somehow Cooper figured out a way to defeat it. lol