# Spaying Question



## Redrider469 (Jul 19, 2013)

I'm getting my 7 month old girl spayed in two weeks. Can anyone tell me what to expect afterwards and how long before she can exercise?


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Redrider469 said:


> I'm getting my 7 month old girl spayed in two weeks. Can anyone tell me what to expect afterwards and how long before she can exercise?


Are you SURE you want to spay her before her growth plates are closed?

Here are two articles that you might find helpful.

Early Spay-Neuter Considerations For The Canine Athlete One Veterinarian's Opinion By Chris Zink DVM,PhD, DACVP: http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/...tions_2013.pdf 


Neuter Medical Facts by Barbara Andrews: SPAY & NEUTER MEDICAL FACTS, HEALTH RISKS


Moms


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

They may or may not request to keep her overnight at the vets.

The first & second day she'll probably still be very dopy and quiet as the drugs wears off. Hopefully they'll send you home with some pain medication, make sure to ask as it does make a big difference

As for exercise, no running or jumping for at least two weeks, possibly three. It's extremely important that she doesn't stress the sutures which can not only leave you with a huge vet bill but delay healing and other possible complications. Walking is fine, just a leash to make sure she stays quiet. Stock up on raw bones and stuff a few Kongs for when she might start to be restless as they'll keep her occupied. Quiet unleash walks to give her exercise and get her out of the house will help but keep them slow and short, be mindful of pain thresholds even if the dog isn't.

Some dogs are extremely irritated by the surgery and will lick the site constantly, if that happens use a elizabethan collar or inflatable collar so she can't reach it. Other alternatives are having them wear a large tshirt to cover the site or mens boxer shorts. Keep her in eye site as much as possible and discourage licking and hopefully you won't have to use any preventative.

Hope that helps  She's young and should recover quickly


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

I had Roxy spayed at 7 months ...she did fine. I didn't even attempt that cone of shame...I knew that wouldn't work for us...so we took a Ramones t-shirt...* hey a girl's gotta look good* put knots in it to make it fit. Worked GREAT! When we took her outside to do her business we just put the knot higher on her back so she didn't pee on it. 
The first couple of days it was easy keeping her quiet..after that ...not so much. You just have to do the best you can. Once that energy kicks back in though it's really hard. We did a couple of short walks during the day and kept her confined to the blocked off kitchen area so she didn't get the zoomies. 

You should be fine


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

Such an early spay isn't really ideal or advisable, but as for recovery it's pretty much a case by case basis. A lot of dogs can go without the cone if they'll leave the incision site alone. A t-shirt seems to work well. If she's normally a high-energy pup, I'd keep her confined- penned in somewhere when not crated, and otherwise leashed to you- especially outside. My dobie was a lunatic after her spay- all the confinement amped her up even more- so we did a lot of games, etc.


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## Redrider469 (Jul 19, 2013)

Thank you all for the responses. I appreciate it. 


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

I have a little list of things I do before the spay and then after.

DogAware.com Health: Caring for Dogs Before and After Surgery
Stopping any supplements or if she's on any medications, asking about that

I ask for a BMBTT: https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/sects/coag/clinical/bleeding.cfm and I ask for that in advance so that they are ready for it. Google for more about it - it's not diagnostic for bleeding disorders, and may only give me a false sense of security but read and decide. 

I ask about what kind of pain meds they will use during surgery not just after and typically ask them to not use a NSAID at all.

I ask for pre-anesthetic bloodwork for sure. 

Fluids during surgery for sure. 

They don't get fed if you bring them home day of surgery, and safely watch water - all of this depends on your vets' post-care instruction and you will want to ask for those (though I am sure they will be covered). 

After the surgery for about a day you've got a dog that typically doesn't want to do much. And then...they start to feel better! So I leash and crate. If they are not tethered to me, they are in the crate with something to chew on (safe) so that they forget it might be cool to lick their incision. She may get a cone to wear. If she needs it, use it. 

You don't want the incision to open - that's the big thing that licking, running, movement can do. 

You can do brain training - low impact/movement things that she will enjoy when she wants to do something. 

No running for 2 weeks. After that, they are usually good to go!


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## Redrider469 (Jul 19, 2013)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> I have a little list of things I do before the spay and then after.
> 
> DogAware.com Health: Caring for Dogs Before and After Surgery
> Stopping any supplements or if she's on any medications, asking about that
> ...


Thank you for the links, they are extremely helpful!!


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## Jd414 (Aug 21, 2012)

Is waiting to spay proven to be beneficial or is it speculation? I'm just curious if its proven why don't vets advise to wait? Or is spaying early basically population control? Just curious...

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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Keeta was about 12 months when she got spayed - I took her home the same day. She was still a bit groggy and unsteady when we walked out the clinic door, and the first thing she did when outside on the sidewalk is squat and pee a gallon of pee - it seemed that she had not had a pee break all day - though I don't know how much of that time she was out of it from the anesthesia, and thus not able to go outside - but was still not too pleased with the clinic - (I don't use this clinic anymore). 

She left her incision alone, and I did not need to have a collar on her. For the first two three days she stayed quiet and did not try to run around. She was not on any pain medication - she did not act like she was in pain, and it helped her to self-regulate her exercise so she did not over do it. On the third day, we started short leash walks, worked our way up to longer leash walks as she got stronger. 

She was back to normal in less than a week, tried to keep her from going overboard with running and jumping. Healed well with no complications.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Jd414 said:


> Is waiting to spay proven to be beneficial or is it speculation? I'm just curious if its proven why don't vets advise to wait? Or is spaying early basically population control? Just curious...
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Please go through the myriad of old threads about it, but ultimately, you will want to do your own research, talk to doctors you trust, etc.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Jd414 said:


> Is waiting to spay proven to be beneficial or is it speculation? I'm just curious if its proven why don't vets advise to wait? Or is spaying early basically population control? Just curious...
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


 *Definitely* do research for yourself.
"Whether/when to spay or neuter has been studied by other veterinary groups. Linda Witouski, TheDogPress Legislative Editor, sent this Journal of American Veterinary Assoc. (JAVMA) report which also points out the myriad of health risks.
Spaying or neutering can cause prostate or bone cancer, obesity, urinary incontinence, thyroid problems, and much more!In a study of well over a million dogs, information on breed, sex, and age was collected and reported to the Veterinary Medical Database between 1964 and 2003. Results—Castrated male dogs were significantly more likely than other dogs to have hip dysplasia (CHD) than other dogs and spayed females were significantly more likely to have cranial cruciate ligament deficiency (CCLD).
Dogs up to 4 years old were significantly more likely to have HD whereas dogs over 4 years old were significantly more likely to have CCLD. In general, *large- and giant-breed dogs were more likely than other dogs to have HD, CCLD, or both.*

Here are the articles from below:
Early Spay-Neuter Considerations For The Canine Athlete One Veterinarian's Opinion By Chris Zink DVM,PhD, DACVP: http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/...tions_2013.pdf 

Neuter Medical Facts by Barbara Andrews: SPAY & NEUTER MEDICAL FACTS, HEALTH RISKS


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

The HD - were there pre and post x-rays? Because I have 2 males, neutered at by 10 months, both x-rayed, which most people neutering don't do, and both had HD prior to their neuter. The HD was not caused by the neuter (because they did the x-rays before  ). So how do they determine that these dogs didn't already have HD? Is that in there? 

I have had so many speutered pets and as far as obesity, that occurs when their exercise needs are not met in comparison to the calories that they take in. 

http://www.columbusdogconnection.com/Documents/PedRebuttal .pdf is a rebuttal to the Zink article. That's why it's important to read and talk to a variety of people.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> The HD - were there pre and post x-rays? Because I have 2 males, neutered at by 10 months, both x-rayed, which most people neutering don't do, and both had HD prior to their neuter. The HD was not caused by the neuter (because they did the x-rays before  ). So how do they determine that these dogs didn't already have HD? Is that in there?
> 
> I have had so many speutered pets and as far as obesity, that occurs when their exercise needs are not met in comparison to the calories that they take in.
> 
> http://www.columbusdogconnection.com/Documents/PedRebuttal .pdf is a rebuttal to the Zink article. That's why it's important to read and talk to a variety of people.


Thank you Jean, I did not know that there was a rebuttal to Zinks paper.


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