# Spay coming soon. Before and after care tips, please?



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Both girls go in on the 29th. Spay, microchip and Ruby's umbilical hernia repair. 

My husband and I will be taking that day (Friday) off work as well as canceling all weekend plans and I will be taking Monday off work with Tuesday as a possible extra day if needed. Does that seem a reasonable time off or should I plan more? 

Anything I should do before we go or special things I should do or buy for after?

Food afterward concerns me because given Hope's dietary issue, I cannot offer her the baby food and such that I have read. Perhaps I can make my famous pumpkin, pedialyte and boiled chicken smash for them. Or I can heat up water and soak and mash their ZP into a broth/soup.

I have learned that they will use gas for their anesthesia and I have read that they could possibly have an easier bounce back with that but of course, each puppy varies. They will receive a pain shot before they wake up and we will be given medication to bring home for them. 

Fortunately, we have a single level home so no stairs and such to worry about them trying too soon. 

I'd appreciate (very much) anything you can offer in the way of tips and such to better prepare us to care properly for them.


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## Amandarose531 (Aug 9, 2010)

Taking off any work beyond that may be excessive for a spay, i'm not entirely certain on the hernia repair so hopefully someone can chime in, but Gretel was downright back to normal within i'd say 24hours.

The more you baby it, the more they milk it is what I found with Gretel. Godric not so much he was acting like he had amnesia and had no idea anything happened at all but with Gretel if I acted concerned or upset - she whimpered and milked me for all i'd give.

That said, Gretel had a very routine spay with no complications, every surgery is different of course but it sounds like you're taking all the steps necessary. On that note, Gretel ate kibble at the time of her spay and she ate just fine. I don't recall if I fed her that evening, but I know the next day she was happy as a clam.

Godric was pathetic on his anesthesia, Gretel flopped around a bit on the way home but mostly just tons of sleeping and rest.


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## nic2576 (Nov 21, 2008)

My vet keeps animals that are spayed over night so can not give any advice for the first night. When Pinky came home the next day she acted as if nothing had happened and I had to try to keep her calm so she wouldn't pop a stitch. Bailey and Oreo were done together and when they came home the next day all they wanted to do was sleep and occasionally they whimpered a little. All three had no problems with eating or drinking the day after. I would defenitly keep nutrical on hand just in case though.


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## hershey109 (Jan 11, 2011)

Tagging along on this thread... 

Hershey is about the same age and weight as Hope and Ruby but I haven't scheduled her spay yet. I'm worried I'll have a hard time feeding her. She's already a picky eater now, and wouldn't eat if I don't feed her (kibble in my hand, wet food on a spoon). Sorry, spoiled rotten chi! 

Keep us posted on how it goes...


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## omguthrie (Oct 13, 2009)

I wouldn't think that taking any extra time off work would be needed as long as the spays and hernia repair goes smoothly. Most bounce right back within 24 hours and are fine. You can give whatever you want to eat but I'll bet that the day after they will be fine to eat their normal foods. 

Try not to fret so much. They will be fine. I second the fact that if you fawn over then and freak out and act strangely (trying to get them to eat, hovering over them, etc) then they will milk it, at best, or it will worry them into freaking out themselves, at worst.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Here is my MOST important spay advice -- *HAVE ALL BABY TEETH REMAINING PULLED!*. I can not stress this enough -- It's cost me close to $1k to have Oakley put out 2x to have over 16 baby teeth removed--because the jackass doctor didn't do it at her spay, he only pulled the loose, easy ones to get out. Uh-uh. ALL REMAINING BABY TEETH NEED TO BE PULLED. Some vets try the BS excuse of "we don't pull them unless we see the adult teeth coming through". Uh-uh. Bad, bad, bad. Many many chis have trouble losing teeth on their own. All remaining baby teeth need to come out at time of spay. End of story  

I'd feed their regular food -- no idea why you wouldn't.


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## Tink (Oct 14, 2009)

I wouldn't offer them special food unless they absolutely refuse their regular food. If it's kibble you feed them, you can certainly pour a tiny bit of hot water over it to soften it, (especially if they have baby teeth removed because their mouths may be a bit sore....but more on that later) but I'd mess with their diet as little as possible. Their systems are already going to be messed up to a greater or lesser degree by the drugs, and you don't need to contribute further by changing their food on them. 

Expect them to maybe throw up a little, and to not have complete control over their pee or poop for the first 24 hours. I'd definitely have some Nutr-Cal on hand so that if they have no appetite, they're still getting some nutrition. Smear it on their paws, or around their mouths, if they don't willingly lick a dab from your finger. Experiment as needed.

They MUST NOT lick the incision site, which is the thing they're going to want to do the most. I couldn't find an e-collar small enough for Jazz, so we (the vet and I) modified one, which wasn't very effective. Jazz got to her incision a tiny bit, just enough to start an infection.  One end of the incision started to swell and turn red, not a lot, but as I was paranoid about the incision site I checked it constantly, so as soon as I noticed we were on the way to the Vet's. Good thing too as it was coming up on the weekend, and the Vet actually waited for me at the clinic so we could get it taken care of before they closed. She cleaned it up and gave her an antibiotic shot, plus some antibiotic ointment...she was already on oral antibiotics. 

Also she gave me a paste to rub around, not on, the incision site. It was bright orange, and turned white when it dried. It was to keep Jazz from licking at the incision as we hadn't had much success with the e-collar. It was HORRIBLE STUFF!!!! (Yes, I tasted some.) She licked once....then spent the next 15 minutes pawing at her mouth, working her tongue around in there, doing whatever to get the awful taste out of her mouth. Poor thing, but I'm really glad it worked! 

Make sure you have pain meds. Spays are more painful than neuters and you want to make your dogs as comfortable as possible. 

Keep them hydrated. They will usually get hydrated before they leave which means they'll probably have a bolus under the skin....and THAT means that they likely won't want to drink for a while. Make sure you know all that so you know to be concerned, or not, if they're not drinking. 

And on the subject of baby teeth........I respectfully disagree with flipped stars regarding having them all removed at time of spay. I see no point in removing teeth that they're still using. Your dogs are 7 months old, right? Dogs typically start losing baby teeth around 4 months of age, though that can vary depending on breed and genetics. Again, typically, they continue losing through the 7th or 8th months, but again, that will vary. Ideally, at 8 months of age all their baby teeth have been replaced by permanent teeth, but this ideal seldom plays out in reality. Both Tango and Jazz still had several baby teeth in their mouths at 8 - 9 months, with NO permanent teeth in evidence at that time. 

At the time of their first dental (2 yrs for Tango, 1 1/2 for Jazz) I had the Vet remove their remaining baby teeth, in Tango's case two upper canines, and in Jazz's case one lower canine. In neither case did the retention of those teeth cause them any difficulties chewing, eating, or any dental issues either. I brush their teeth several times a week, and I just made sure to brush as well as I could in between those baby teeth and canines.

The likelihood is that your dogs are going to need dentals....most chihuahuas do, because the breed has a predisposition to dental issues. Their first dental is soon enough to remove any retained baby teeth, if they have any. It's going to cost you to have teeth removed, whenever you do it. My vet charges $10.00 an extraction above and beyond the cost of the anesthesia etc. Why pay extra to have teeth removed now, all or most of which are going to come out on their own? And if they all don't, you have another opportunity to get the retained ones pulled at their first dental.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Tink said:


> And on the subject of baby teeth........I respectfully disagree with flipped stars regarding having them all removed at time of spay. I see no point in removing teeth that they're still using. Your dogs are 7 months old, right? Dogs typically start losing baby teeth around 4 months of age, though that can vary depending on breed and genetics. Again, typically, they continue losing through the 7th or 8th months, but again, that will vary. Ideally, at 8 months of age all their baby teeth have been replaced by permanent teeth, but this ideal seldom plays out in reality. Both Tango and Jazz still had several baby teeth in their mouths at 8 - 9 months, with NO permanent teeth in evidence at that time.
> 
> At the time of their first dental (2 yrs for Tango, 1 1/2 for Jazz) I had the Vet remove their remaining baby teeth, in Tango's case two upper canines, and in Jazz's case one lower canine. In neither case did the retention of those teeth cause them any difficulties chewing, eating, or any dental issues either. I brush their teeth several times a week, and I just made sure to brush as well as I could in between those baby teeth and canines.
> 
> The likelihood is that your dogs are going to need dentals....most chihuahuas do, because the breed has a predisposition to dental issues. Their first dental is soon enough to remove any retained baby teeth, if they have any. It's going to cost you to have teeth removed, whenever you do it. My vet charges $10.00 an extraction above and beyond the cost of the anesthesia etc. Why pay extra to have teeth removed now, all or most of which are going to come out on their own? And if they all don't, you have another opportunity to get the retained ones pulled at their first dental.


The teeth can an DO abscess. You want them gone. Trust me. Just because they don't always abscess, doesn't mean it's not highly possible and very likely.

Baby tooth roots were designed to ROT. Unfortunately, because of the mouth shape in a chi, often the teeth don't have the correct placement of adult teeth behind them to push out those baby teeth. 

Both Trigger and Bryco had to be put out a second time to have baby teeth removed.

Not a single one of my dogs shows any sign of needing a dental at this point, so if there were rotting teeth in their mouths, they'd have to go in to get them pulled. 

Unlike Tango and Jazz, we had a LOT of difficulty with eating with Trig and Oakley due to retained baby teeth not pulled at spay/neuter. Obviously you can do what you want and what you feel is the best choice, but I will never again let a vet spay or neuter a puppy of mine without a guarantee they will pull all remaining baby teeth. 

Extra $$ at time of spay, versus a whole separate knock-out later to get rid of retained teeth, is gonna cost a whole lot less than the 2nd knock out. Baby teeth not removed can ruin a bite, they can cause pockets for tarter to build up, and can damage the roots of adult teeth. I just would never advise leaving them in. 

I guess there are 2 sides to every story and it all depends on what you want to do, because 9 times out of 10 in my experience, teeth left in only cause problems later. Its not like you are spaying them at 5 months, they will have plenty of permanent teeth in their mouths.


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## Tink (Oct 14, 2009)

Kristi, I'm not trying to fight with you, nor start an argument. Obviously you've very passionate about the subject and have had a lot of trouble, and gone to considerable expense over your dogs' baby teeth. I'm not attempting to discount your experience. I'm simply offering a different perspective and experience. I didn't want the OP to be swayed by your post SIMPLY because it dominated the thread given the large size and boldness of the typeface. I get that you were trying to make a point. But I think that there are other points, and perspectives too, and I want the OP to have them ALL, not just yours.


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## Litte Girl (Apr 16, 2011)

I can't remember too much about when Rudy had her spay done, but she did have an umbilical hernia a few years ago that we noticed before we had planned to have her teeth cleaned. The vet repaired it while she was under for that. The surgery and after the surgery all went well, she is a real trooper and seems to bounce back very quickly. However - the hernia came back not long after this and she had to have it repaired again. That was a few years ago now, and nothing since. I know exactly how you're feeling about taking your babies in - I hated even letting Rudy go to the back with the vet so she could try and retract urine from her! But, it's all the best for them and they're in good hands. Let us know how it all goes.


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## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Thanks so much everyone!!

I really appreciate all the comments, ideas, suggestions and tips. I have a lot to think about but still a couple of weeks to do so!

I am reallllllllly surprised that you think that I would fawn over the girls and baby them. Now how in the WORLD would you get that idea??? haha!

Thanks again-I REALLY appreciate it!!


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## chichi fan (Mar 3, 2011)

Nacho was spayed a few months ago. My vet insisted that she get to at least 5.5 pounds before he would do it. He also kept her overnight, which was ok as I know she is a favourite of all the staff. I was the one who was a nervous wreck. She was fixed Thursday, I took Friday off which was good as she was still quite dopey and sleepy. No problem feeding her though although I did feed her on my lap on Friday. Saturday she was still quieter than her normal outgoing self. Sunday afternoon she was back to normal. Our biggest challenge was "keeping her calm" for 2 weeks. We did get a used baby gate from a Children's Used Clothing store, which was great for $25.00 it kept her off the stairs as she loves to run up and down the stairs. Don't worry they will be fine.
Chichi Fan


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