So our westie boy is in to get castrated on Friday - any advice on how best to look after him afterwards? Our girl was easy but she is a lot calmer dog anyway whereas our boy is a little, ummm, excitable? Lol
Also, they've suggested we use an Elizabethan collar on him, which we didn't with our girl (can't remember why), do you think we need to?
My very rambunctious dog was quite calm and sooky the day he had it done, but was back to his normal self the next day.
He is crate trained, so that worked in our favor with keeping him calm.
Is that an option for you?
He never had the collar.
As a former surgical vet nurse, I would definitely recommend the E-collar if there is any chance that your little boy will lick or chew at the wound (and trust me, there's always a chance). The collar should only cost you $7-$15ish at most, but it can save so much money in the long run. I've had clients that were convinced that their dog wouldn't lick or chew at the wound, and promised they would be with the dog 24/7, and then they would be back days later with a dog requiring either a re-stitch because it had pulled out the stitches (that requires another anaesthetic, so not cheap), or a course of antibiotics because the dog had been licking the wound and got it infected.
As for how to care for your dog, if he's a really excitable type you may have to confine him. Especially away from your other dog if they tend to get playful together. Luckily with a boy the surgery is much more minor and the wound is generally much quicker to heal and generally has much less complications as the incision doesn't go through abdominal muscle like it does with a little girl. When you are home and able to fully supervise your little guy it's ok to take off the e-collar and let him play gently around you (if he's capable of gentle play hehehe), but if you're not with him I'd pop him in a small, safe place with the e-collar on just to be on the safe side
The good news is he'll be back to himself in lightning time
Before DD came along, our pup was our only baby. We were sooo nervous about getting him de-sexed, I was a wreck that day! When we booked him in, the vet gave us a form full of options to fill out. It had which anaesthetic to use, which painkillers and how much etc. So we basically ticked the 'top' option for everything, we didn't want him to have any pain at all! So the anaesthetic I think they said was human grade or something? (Mylitta might know what I'm on about lol) And the painkillers were a little stronger and we had them for more days. I think we also approved for him to have an extra IV? In case something went wrong. It was nearly 5 years ago now so it's a little fuzzy but I think that's what happened.
Anywho, when we picked him up in the afternoon he was very quiet and calm. He walked well, we lifted him into the car and he was just calm. As with Emma, he's trained to stay on his mat so he slept there all afternoon. His recovery was excellent. By the next morning, he was back to his old self and more! He was outside on his mat while DH was working on a car, when he ate some grass. DH said "don't eat the grass!" and it set him off on a massive freak out, running laps of the yard and finishing with a massive jump onto the porch. We panicked, we thought he'd hurt himself or pull the stitches, but he was fine! Since being desexed, he's been at the very top of the exciteable ladder, lol. We always joke that he must have suddenly felt lighter and liked feeling the wind down there So he was very difficult to keep calm and quiet after that, but thankfully he never seemed in pain, he didn't touch the stitches and he'd healed perfectly when we went back to get the stitches out.
Actually getting them out though, that was another matter! They usually have the dog stand there quietly and reach under to do it. Our pup did not do standing quietly. I held his top half up against my chest, while DH held the bottom half still lol. Even then the dog was trying to lick the vet!
Good luck to your pooch, hope it's a quick and painless recovery for him
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Any advice - getting dog desexed?
So he was very difficult to keep calm and quiet after that, but thankfully he never seemed in pain, he didn't touch the stitches and he'd healed perfectly when we went back to get the stitches out.
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