# Lethargy one week after a spay?



## buiscuitsm0m (Jan 28, 2014)

My six-month-old cocker spaniel was spayed 6 days ago and has been having an ok recovery. She was clearly in pain the first several days and we had to go back to the vet for an additional pain shot and she took metacam (sp?) for several days as well for her pain. During that time, she ate normally and but was certainly not her normal self. Her main activity was rushing from rug to rug to lay down (I assume because her incision site was itching her, and with her e-collar on, she couldn't get to it). Her incision site looks ok but has leaked clear and pink/brown fluid ever since we brought her home from the vet.

Yesterday, she was up and about and playing with her toys, but today there has been a marked change. She is very, very lethargic and either sleeps or just stares without moving. Whereas she used to writhe a little bit when we would try to look at her wound or put socks on her back feet (to stop her from scratching), now she just lets us handle her however we want, I assume because she isn't feeling well. We've had to really coax her to eat, and she has eaten a little bit, which I assume is a good sign, but she's not eating like she was even just yesterday. Something is clearly wrong, and I don't know whether this is a situation where I can wait to take her into the vet tomorrow (Monday) morning (I've called our vet's emergency number for weekends but have received no call back, which happened the last time I called the vet's emergency number), or whether we need to search out a different emergency vet today. 

For what it's worth, she has also been on an antibiotic since we brought her home, and her gums look pink. I am worried, though, that she has an infection and don't know what to do! It's especially strange to me because she was acting much more like herself the last two days, so I don't understand the sudden change.

Please help!


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## [email protected] (Nov 18, 2013)

BuiscuitsmOm, given your dog's history I encourage you to have her checked out as soon as possible. Significant complications are very rare after a spay, but what you are describing is concerning (the marked lethargy and the significant loss of appetite). Without having her seen it is impossible to know if this is a serious problem or not, so better safe than sorry. Good luck!


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## buiscuitsm0m (Jan 28, 2014)

Thanks so much. I am going to give the emergency number another call and then, if that doesn't work, try to search out another emergency vet. Thank you for your advice. I'll post back once we have an update.


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## buiscuitsm0m (Jan 28, 2014)

I just spoke with our vet, who asked me to remove her e-collar and see if she would take a few steps toward a treat. It took a LOT of coaxing -- she was just laying there for about five minutes looking at the hotdog, but we were slowly able to get her to sit up and then she got up and took a few steps toward the piece of hot dog and ate it. She then promptly decided to lay back down and hasn't moved again since. The vet also suggested giving her more metacam, which I just did. 

I then spoke again with the vet, who is not sure what it is going on with our puppy but thinks it may be pain from the incision site. I'm not so sure, just because she is so lethargic and doesn't seem to be bothered when we check the incision site, and we have a language barrier (as we are in a non-English-speaking country), but I'm also not a vet. The vet asked us to update her about our puppy's status in a couple of hours and, in any event, to bring her in tomorrow first thing. I am hoping that the metacam will help her and that it will be ok to wait until tomorrow morning to have her seen. I am so worried. 

Keeping my fingers crossed that all will be ok with our sweet pup.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

One thing you can do is take her temperature. As she is on antibiotics it may be normal but if it is up, there is obviously something going on.


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## buiscuitsm0m (Jan 28, 2014)

Thanks, Kyllobernese. I was going to do that if she hadn't improved. As an update: our puppy seems to be doing much better this morning and the pain medication made all the difference. She has been eating well and actually romping around after her toys -- such a marked improvement. The vet hypothesized that perhaps she pulled something around the incision site, but whatever it was, the pain medication worked. She goes back to the vet tomorrow to get her stitches removed, and hopefully that will go smoothly. Thanks again to you both for the advice -- I was so panicked yesterday!


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