# Alright, I am getting very nervous!



## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

For those of you that have followed my terrified posts about Versailles hips, you know that her OFA prelims came back as Moderate HD.. and in that, we are getting spayed on Tuesday.

Let me just say that I am very sad and nervous! This is my first female and for some reason it is just making me loopy. We are doing a gastropexy at the same time (tacking her stomach) since she has already bloated a few times, although never twisted..

Versailles is an incredibly high drive dog. She is constantly doing SOMETHING unless we are in my bedroom, and even then she sometimes makes me take the ball away from her so I can get some sleep. She dives into my pool if I'm not out with her, she chases the cats around, jumps around like a lunatic.. and I'm worried about keeping her quiet for a long period of time.

I know, lots of crate time.. but have any of you done a spay and gastropexy at the same time, and what have your experiences been? Will I be able to take her out on walks still? It's so freaking hot in Arizona right now that I'm not able to do much of it anyways.. but I don't know how I'm going to get this dogs energy out. She is fine in her crate but two weeks in a crate seems like a long time. I'm considering sedatives but I'd like that to be an absolute last resort.

I work at the veterinarians office that I'm doing the procedure at and I trust the doctor 100%, he is incredible. I just need some reassurance!


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

That much energy..... may want to consider a sedative.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Have to say good luck on keeping her quiet. I've found the next day they are still abit quieter but after that, it's back to normal FOR THEM and difficult for me.

May want to stock up on frozen raw bones, and/or freeze meal kibble in larger rubber toys like the Purple Squirrel. House time and crate time.

Just keep an eye on the stitches and keep her as quiet as you can.


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

My female is also very high driven And I worried about the same thing when we did the spay/gastropexy at the same time. 

For us, we kept her inside a lot and always walked her on a leash...did not let her run free until she was completely healed.
She hated it..._she was her normal self the very next day_ and would've run wild , if we had we not done that!

Also, we weren't supposed to let her climb on furniture so we had to crate her during evening hours ... She didn't like that either.

Luckily, she didn't chew on her incisions and we didn't have use the cone. 

(She missed the truck rides, regular morning runs, etc.)

She healed nicely and life is back to " normal" now. 
I think your girl will be fine...just follow vets advice.


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## vom Eisenherz (Feb 13, 2012)

Shaina, I'm sorry to hear about Versailles. I know you had high hopes for her. I don't read this board much and this is the first I've heard of it. 

I'm sure you've thought this through, but is there a reason you couldn't wait to spay her? How old is she now? The reason I ask is because spayed and neutered dogs have a higher incidence of bone and joint problems and as high drive as she is, she's a good candidate for things like ACL tears anyhow...losing those hormones may push the odds in favor of developing more problems than she already has. 

I know I am in the minority, but I don't alter any animal with bone or joint problems. I do understand your wanting a gastropexy, but if you're just spaying her to eliminate the risk of pregnancy, wouldn't your conscientious handling accomplish the same thing? I know you're a responsible, careful owner, so I'm just curious. As I said, this is the first I've heard of any of this, so I'm sorry if I am missing a key element.


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## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

Thank you guys for your input, it means a lot. Sedatives are definitely a possibility, just not something I want to do. She went under for her OFA prelims recently and was out for the rest of the day, but definitely perked back up so I know it's coming. The bones are something I didn't think about, good idea.



vom Eisenherz said:


> Shaina, I'm sorry to hear about Versailles. I know you had high hopes for her. I don't read this board much and this is the first I've heard of it.
> 
> I'm sure you've thought this through, but is there a reason you couldn't wait to spay her? How old is she now? The reason I ask is because spayed and neutered dogs have a higher incidence of bone and joint problems and as high drive as she is, she's a good candidate for things like ACL tears anyhow...losing those hormones may push the odds in favor of developing more problems than she already has.
> 
> I know I am in the minority, but I don't alter any animal with bone or joint problems. I do understand your wanting a gastropexy, but if you're just spaying her to eliminate the risk of pregnancy, wouldn't your conscientious handling accomplish the same thing? I know you're a responsible, careful owner, so I'm just curious. As I said, this is the first I've heard of any of this, so I'm sorry if I am missing a key element.


Thank you very much. She is almost 17 months, which I was planning on keeping her in tact until 24 months but I am quitting my job at a veterinary hospital and that is part of the reason I'm doing it now (I truly trust the vet doing it). I also just had to remove a very large mammary mass off of a female dog we kept in tact and have seen a lot of issues at my office with in tact females and I just think that for me the cons outweigh the pros. On top of that, I'll be going back to my job at a boarding facility living with numerous people that I don't want to be handling her when she is in heat and obviously wouldn't be able to bring her to work during season around other dogs. Too much room for error.

I guess I just feel that now is the best time, I allowed 2 heat cycles but really don't want to lose this one to breast cancer or any other health issue.. the HD is enough for me. 

I'm definitely open to opinions, but so far I think it's the best choice.


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## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

That actually did bring up something I hadn't thought about though with the joints. If anyone else can chime in, please do. I'm having second thoughts (uh oh). I'm researching on my own now and will speak to my vet as well today.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Shaina said:


> Thank you very much. She is almost 17 months, which I was planning on keeping her in tact until 24 months but I am quitting my job at a veterinary hospital and that is part of the reason I'm doing it now (I truly trust the vet doing it).


I think the difference between 17 and 24 months is not significant enough to justify waiting in your situation. I'd definitely get it done while you're still at the vet hospital, especially if they give you a price break for it.  If she's already gone through two heats, I think she's had plenty of time and hormone "therapy". You make very good points about the situation where she'd have to be boarded, etc--some boarding/daycare facilities won't accept intact dogs.


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

Freestep said:


> I think the difference between 17 and 24 months is not significant enough to justify waiting in your situation. I'd definitely get it done while you're still at the vet hospital, especially if they give you a price break for it.  If she's already gone through two heats, I think she's had plenty of time and hormone "therapy". You make very good points about the situation where she'd have to be boarded, etc--some boarding/daycare facilities won't accept intact dogs.


I agree with this.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Freestep said:


> I think the difference between 17 and 24 months is not significant enough to justify waiting in your situation. I'd definitely get it done while you're still at the vet hospital, especially if they give you a price break for it.  If she's already gone through two heats, I think she's had plenty of time and hormone "therapy". You make very good points about the situation where she'd have to be boarded, etc--some boarding/daycare facilities won't accept intact dogs.


:thumbup:

Sounds like you've got everything under control, hopefully between the crate, leash, and toys and treats she'll bounce back quickly


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## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

The price break is awesome - I'm only paying $300 for the spay, gastropexy, and pain medications.. and it's not a cheap surgery situation, it's fully monitored including prebloodwork and all of that fun stuff. One heck of a deal. Obviously her health is more important than saving money, but if I can do both I will LOL

She could still be boarded (I worked at this facility previously), it's just that I wouldn't want to bring her in a facility with other dogs nearby and drive them crazy when she is in heat, and I definitely wouldn't want to leave her at home while I'm at work and school while my roommates watch her. Too risky for me if she gets out or if an unwanted male finds his way to my house. I'm a paranoid female owner.

She is also on phycox and has been for a few months now, which will be continued. I was also thinking about starting her on free form omega 3 since it is confirmed that she does have issues. That on top of getting good exercise, being able to swim frequently, and just being a nutso I would HOPE keeps her in good shape and therefore lessens the chance of injury.


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## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

We did it! She is very sad and tired, but ate dinner and is now relaxing on a pile of blankets. I got to watch the procedure which was interesting, and my vet did all internal sutures which was really great of him (no need to use a cone!). 

Tonight, we snuggle. Tomorrow.. hopefully she doesn't get all of her spunk back LOL


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

Shaina said:


> We did it! She is very sad and tired, but ate dinner and is now relaxing on a pile of blankets. I got to watch the procedure which was interesting, and my vet did all internal sutures which was really great of him (no need to use a cone!).
> 
> Tonight, we snuggle. Tomorrow.. hopefully she doesn't get all of her spunk back LOL


Glad it went well! Good luck with keeping her calm!


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## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

She's already back to her normal self haha. I picked up some sedatives from my work.. she just wants to jump all over the place and I'm definitely not okay with that. Hopefully I can use these just enough to keep her mellow but not knock her out.


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