# Post op care & pain treatment (spay)?



## pi1otguy (Jan 1, 2011)

My girl was spayed 4 days ago. Due to a possibility of complications the vet boarded her for a few days. When I picked her up I was told to keep her calm (limit jumping, running, etc) so that the incision won't rupture. They also told me that she is moving around normally and doesn't appear to be in pain so they don't see a need for meds. 

Last night she was whimpering for hours and tossed and turned more then usual so I will visit the vet and get something for her as soon as the vet opens. I don't know what I expected the human equivalent of major abdominal surgery to not have any post surgery pain.

Cause of the e-collar she can't groom herself as she normally does. Is it ok to use baby whips to clean her rear end? 
For the day or so I've had her home she doesn't have much of an appetite and not much has come out the other end either. Since I'm not walking her during recovery I've reduced her feed to 2/3 of normal, but she seems to eat just over half of that. She's drinking water, but is the lack of appetite something I should worry about?

Until I see the vet tomorrow for pain meds is aspirin (buffered and in appropriate doses) generally ok post surgery?


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Aspirin is a blood thinner, and may cause bleeding complications. It also increases the risk of ulcers, and since the dog isn't eating much, it can make it more easily a problem.

If the cone is bothering her, I might put a pair of men's underwear/boxers on her backwards so the tail comes out the crotch hole, as long as she is 100% supervised by you. You don't want her chewing/licking the incision. From my experience, the cones bother them more than pain. A little cortisone cream, applied on the shaved belly area (but not on the incision), can help reduce the itchy/prickly feeling of shaved hair growing back.

Lack of appetite is common a few days after a spay.


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

Sophie was spayed a few days ago and she came home a bit loopy. The next day she didn't seem to be in too much pain but she didn't want any of the other dogs near her. Our vet told us to look for spots that looked like golf balls or oozing around the stitches. So far so good. We also have rimadyl if she seems like she's in pain but she didn't appear to need it after day 2.

She hasn't been eating well either but her appetite seems to be picking up each day.


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## mslala (Mar 19, 2011)

My dog was neutered on Friday. When we picked him up later that day & he was prescribed with Deramaxx because during the observation, the cone they used on him wasn't long enough so he was able to lick his " area " & irritated it. We were told to minimize his food & water intake since he had anesthesia but he was very hungry so we ended up feeding him as much as we usually would on a normal day. He managed to drink half a bowl of water, & ate 3/4 of his food. We kept an eye on him all night to make sure he wouldn't vomit it all out, & he didnt So far he's hop off & on the bed a few times. * tsk tsk * He's very active & has a lot of energy but ive been forcing him to rest. His bowel movements hasnt been very pleasant but thats normal after neutering but today it seems to have gotten better. Other than that he's been a trooper, & definitely getting a lot of tlc.


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## pi1otguy (Jan 1, 2011)

Update:

She seems fine now (reletively speaking). Most of all she just doesn't like the e-collar. I tried the underwear, but the second I took off the collar she tried to go right for the stitches. The cone went back on immediately.

I can't wait for those stitches to come out. It really sucks trying to keep her from jumping & running around by being the most boring owner in the world. That and she isn't coping well with the cone. She's become mildly fearful of other people and gets restless at night.


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## destinyQueen (Mar 31, 2011)

she's surely suffering from the itching brought about by growing hairs and the sutured area will certainly create discomfort for a few weeks after surgery. Just follow your vet's instructions and it's good to have some pain medications in case you really need to give them.


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## luv2byte (Oct 21, 2009)

destinyQueen said:


> she's surely suffering from the itching brought about by growing hairs and the sutured area will certainly create discomfort for a few weeks after surgery. Just follow your vet's instructions and it's good to have some pain medications in case you really need to give them.


That is exactly what bothered both of our dogs the most - razor burn. After 3-4 days the red started to go away and they were less interested in their sutures. We only used the cone at night & when unsupervised, otherwise we left it off and used it as a time to reinforce "LEAVE IT!"


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