# Post neutering



## redroses131 (Jun 19, 2017)

Hi everyone,
I just got puppy, Charlie, my 5.6lb shorkie neutered today. Is it normal for them to cry in pain here and there? How long before he is back to normal?. I feel so horrible, they did give him tramadol. I will give him the pain meds at 8 pm tonight. He tried to walk sometimes fast and then starts crying. But as soon as I put him in his little bed he stops crying. He is a licker, so i had to put the cone on him. He already tried to lick himself tonight and it is causing him aggravation since he cannot. This is breaking my heart. I am not even sure if I should crate him for the night, since he has slept in his crate since he was 9 weeks old.


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

If he's already on painkillers, it's possible he's crying more because he's disoriented from the anesthesia than because of pain. Those drugs can make a lot of dogs (and people!) feel pretty weird, and it's extra scary for an animal who doesn't understand what's happening to them. I'd say that if he still seems uncomfortable and is crying a lot tomorrow, even with the pain pills, ring the vet and talk to them about what you're seeing. Phonecalls are free, and your vet would have a better idea of what to expect based on the details of his specific surgery.

Is his crate big enough for him to comfortably get up, turn around, and stretch out some, even with the cone? If so, I'd stick to routine. But if his cone's going to be hitting/getting stuck on the top or sides of his crate, it might be better to set him up somewhere he has more space, but you'll hear if he gets up in the night, like next to your bed. If you have a play pen, that could be perfect.


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## redroses131 (Jun 19, 2017)

He ended up sleeping on the bed with my fiancé and I. He started miserably crying at 11 30 pm in his crate. Lucky he slept pretty well on bed rearranging himself every few hours and at 3 30 am wanting to give us kisses. I rather have him not cry even if it is for attention and not necessarily pain. Since they only gave me tramdolol to last till tonight if he still has pain tomorrow, I will give the vet a call. I heard dogs recover within 24 hours and the rest of days is for surgical healing site and not necessarily pain related. So hoping by tonight he is better. Atleast he has stopped crying as long as one of us with him.


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

Only one night of painkillers? That's a bit old-fashioned, imo. Our boy was just in for a minor surgery - more minor than neuter - and we have painkillers for up to seven days, if we feel it's necessary. With him still being fussy I would request painkillers for a couple more days, personally. Neuters ARE often very simple and have quick recovery times, but that doesn't mean the dogs are in no pain whatsoever after the first night. Glad to hear he's settling when you're there, though, that is a good sign.


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## redroses131 (Jun 19, 2017)

Yeah you are right, I called the vet this morning. He actually has not cried since last night, so I am happy. But, he has turned into being very hyper active wanting to play. So I talked to vet to figure out a plan to keep him calm so he can heal well. The vet prescribed me 10 days worth of trazodone. He is also on apoquel that was started few days prior to surgery for severe allergic reaction to mosquito/flea bite he picked up at a park. The vet said that should also help with the surgery itchiness, since he is a licker. He has 10 days of that left still. So I am hoping trazodone and apoquel should be enough to keep him calm and healing well. I was debating on calling the vet this morning, and you made me realize I had too for my baby. Thank.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

DaySleepers said:


> Only one night of painkillers? That's a bit old-fashioned, imo. Our boy was just in for a minor surgery - more minor than neuter - and we have painkillers for up to seven days, if we feel it's necessary. With him still being fussy I would request painkillers for a couple more days, personally. Neuters ARE often very simple and have quick recovery times, but that doesn't mean the dogs are in no pain whatsoever after the first night. Glad to hear he's settling when you're there, though, that is a good sign.


Tramadol is relatively tightly controlled because it is an opioid. It wouldn't surprise me if a vet prescribed only 1-2 days worth with the expectation that if it wasn't sufficient, the owner could get another day or two at a time or switch to an NSAID to avoid having situations where people use a day or two of the Tramadol for their dogs but then have a bottle sitting around with the potential for abuse. 

For dogs that I have had in for surgery, I prefer not to use Tramadol for more than 2 days anyway because it often causes digestive upset (if pain relief is needed past a couple days, I like the NSAID Deramaxx and as its not an opioid, my vet has no problem with letting be buy a full bottle to get a steep discount and dose "as needed" for Chester's arthritis). One vet that I have used typically prescribes 2 days of Tramadol and then a few additional days of Previcox for routine surgeries as an example. 

To OP, my guess it that it was mainly the affect of the anesthetic that was causing his distress. Hopefully the meds will keep him calm while he heals- it can be tempting after a few days to let them have a bit more activity when they are going stir-crazy and driving you crazy but its definitely worth it to keep him calm the full 10 days to avoid complications.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Yeah, everything Shell said about Tramadol. Having it passed out for more than about 2 days at a time is rare, even with fairly invasive surgery. It's highly abused - by people - and therefore highly regulated and rationed.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

CptJack said:


> Yeah, everything Shell said about Tramadol. Having it passed out for more than about 2 days at a time is rare, even with fairly invasive surgery. It's highly abused - by people - and therefore highly regulated and rationed.


After Chester's knee surgery, he had a few days that I thought the NSAID wasn't sufficient and I called the vet that did the surgery (an hour away) and asked if they could call into my local vet a script for something else. They offered Tramadol, I did not ask for Tramadol. They couldn't by regulations even ask another vet to dispense the Tramadol and I couldn't pick up the Tramadol from them without bringing Chester into their office, which I was of course trying not to have to load up the dog fresh from major knee surgery into the backseat of my sedan. I declined Tramadol and instead got advice on appropriate upping of the NSAID dose for short term use which worked out well in the end anyways. 

I think part of it at least here might be the surging opiate crisis; as in, times have changed since a vet, I dunno, maybe 5 years ago or so, gave a foster dog of mine something like 7 or 10 days of Tramadol to start with. I gave 3 days worth, dog started to have digestive upset, I mixed the remainder with poop pick-up and trashed it. 

I'm mainly pointing this all out because I wouldn't want the OP to think their vet was not caring about or ignoring the dog's pain


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Yep, exactly re: not wanting them to think the vet's being callous or uncaring. Usually the dog's here leave with an injection of 24 hour pain killer (I don't remember what kind) and NSAIDs. Narcotic or opiate pain killers are usually only given for a day or two, max - and never after something like a neuter or routine spay. 

It used to be done more, but these days it's just not. It doesn't really bother me. If they need more than a NSAID, I am very prepared to take the dog there and ask that they use something via injection or have the vet administer it some other way in office - but I think I've had that happen once, ever. 

But yeah, odds are high that this is not a matter of the vet not caring.


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## redroses131 (Jun 19, 2017)

I am not giving him any more pain killer after tonight unless it is absolutely necessary. I asked the vet also and she said tramdolol after tonight is unnessary. Since he has not cried since last night and wanting to play hardcore instead I think trazodone is the best idea. It is just hard to keep this puppy calm. The terrier in him wants to always play plus he is such a puppy that he is only turning six months on July 6th. As far as the crate goes I think next 3 days or so I am gonna just let him sleep in our bed with us. I think only thing bothering him right now is the cone and itchiness. Also he has a hard time finding comfortable position to sleep. He currently wants to be next to us to feel calm.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

redroses131 said:


> I am not giving him any more pain killer after tonight unless it is absolutely necessary. I asked the vet also and she said tramdolol after tonight is unnessary. Since he has not cried since last night and wanting to play hardcore instead I think trazodone is the best idea. It is just hard to keep this puppy calm. The terrier in him wants to always play plus he is such a puppy that he is only turning six months on July 6th. As far as the crate goes I think next 3 days or so I am gonna just let him sleep in our bed with us. I think only thing bothering him right now is the cone and itchiness. Also he has a hard time finding comfortable position to sleep. He currently wants to be next to us to feel calm.


Since your vet prescribed it, there is nothing wrong with using the trazodone but be sure to keep an eye out for any side effects and definitely don't use any herbal or non-prescribed supplements at the same time. I've been OK (lucky?) so far that good chew toys, lots of cuddling and human interaction and general mind games have been enough to not need to medicate aside from pain. A frozen KONG (stuff with canned dog food, freeze) or a raw meaty bone might help pass the time. 


*Tramadol btw (mostly for search engine reasons)


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

Oh, I didn't mean a dog necessarily needs lots of opiates after a minor surgery! I just was surprised that the OP wasn't sent home with any form of pain relief (NSAIDs included) to last beyond the first night, from what was written. I might've misunderstood though.

Glad to hear your boy's bouncing back well! Hope he has an easy recovery.

EDIT: ah, I reread and think I got confused because of the time zone difference - he actually had pain relief for two days, not just the first? That makes a lot more sense. I just parsed it as "day 1" because I got the reply within the same day, for me. Sorry about that!


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Most dogs go through only minimal, if any, pain after neutering. Meds take the edge off, if needed, for about 3 days. More frequently, they feel cooped up and want to run around and play the next day ... And, sometimes you need to keep them quiet for about 10 days to give the surgery time to heal. Charlie sounds like he's doing fine...


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## redroses131 (Jun 19, 2017)

Thanks everyone for the over whelming help. Update: Charlie is doing great. Even with the trazodone it is hard to keep him calm but we have been trying. He gets bored very quickly with the usual toys like the kong, the max he plays with bully stick is 15 min. His favorite game is play with mom and dad and fetch. He has been using the puppy pad this week because it has been pouring every day and vet told me not to get him wet. I just trained him to go potty fully outside and finally had two weeks of break thru with no accident and I know the puppy pad has just put us back again by a lot.


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