# Our Viszla Sadie's Spay Exerience



## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

We just got our almost 7 month old female spayed 4 days ago. Before doing it I worried myself sick about how I was going to keep her calm - she is a runner & a jumper. Here's my experience so far.

Day 1 - Brought her home in the afternoon & she immediately went to her favorite chair & tried to jump up. Stopped her & placed her in it on a blanket & covered her up with 2 more blankets. She mostly slept until it was bed time and then she slept all night. During her minimal awake time she moaned a bit, stared at the ceiling or kept opening & closing her mouth (her throat probably hurt). We gave her ice chips, some water & a small dinner. No vomiting.

Day 2 - She felt better but was still tired & sore. We stayed by her side 100% of the time to make sure she didn't jump on furniture or people. Short potty walks on the leash. Kept her entertained with nylabones. She chewed on them for hours. But, she was not overly active, it was as if she "knew" she needed to be calm.

Day 3 - She felt better. She is ready to run & play. Went on leash walks all around the yard, she pointed at birds, sniffed where other animals had been and pulled me a bit too much in an effort to run (and she is leash trained - she's just forgetting her manners in an effort to get back to normal activity). She attempted to jump on & off her chair a lot - but a quick verbal correction from us stopped her in her tracks. She is really handling this so much better than I ever imagined. Last night she was so bored I pulled out one of the giant rawhide bones - the type that is so big it will take her hours just to get the first piece off. She chewed on it for about 30 minutes & made no dent at all in it. 

Day 4 - Today she is pretty much like yesterday. Feeling good, ready to play. She is eating just fine. The scar is healing nicely. She hasn't really licked on it at all. If she starts licking, I think I'll put her skid plate on her instead of a cone. 

Day 5 - OK, now she is jumping on furniture and taking her own toys and throwing them for herself (we had to take her goose away from her she was going so nuts about it). She feels so good. She wants to play. She doesn't understand. Poor baby. I walk her all over the yard on her leash & she hates it, she wants to break free and run in her circle patterns, her figure 8 patterns and in and out of the bushes. That of course if out of the question. She also misses her friends at the dog park - we usually go there for 1 hour per day and she leaves exhausted. She still is not paying any attention to her incision which is healing nicely but looks like it will leave a nasty scar on her beautiful soft pink belly.

Some advice before spaying:
1. Make sure your dog is trained and listens to you.
2. Have an arsenal of nylabones, kongs & giant rawhides for entertainment.
3. Make sure you are ready to dedicate 100% to your dog for at least a week. 

Once Sadie can run off leash (on Day 7 I'm told, but I might wait until Day 10 if I can stand it), I plan to put her underbelly skid plate on her - it will cover her scar area. (I didn't get mine here - but here's a link to one almost identical to ours http://www.gundogsupply.com/skid-plate-oreange.html) She runs through bushes a lot and I can see her catching, scratching or puncturing the incision. This will provide an extra layer of protection.

I'll update future days when I get a chance.

I will take ANY advice as to how to entertain her and get through the next 5-7 days. I feel so bad for her. She hates this.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

As far as lasting chews you can use antlers and bully sticks. Feeding kibble meals in ways that work her mind might also help to burn energy like a treat dispensing toy that always turns back up or having her "find" it around the house. But various long walks per day are in your near future. In the end with dozers neuter (which is obviously not as large as an incision) we were letting him run and jump around the house but not outside within a few days but still no trips to the park. And when we returned to work 6 days later we had to tranq him for the next 5 days while he was in the crate all week to keep him off the incision. He destroyed two cones. Two weeks later we're still burning off the pent up energy.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

My GSP was spayed at 12 months. She went in for the operation in the morning and was at home that afternoon. They remove everything here in Oz, so it's quite an invasive operation. But, she was up and about the next day almost as if nothing happened. By day 3 I could no longer contain her and she was literally back to her normal self. I was shocked to see her so active so early and rang the vet. He said, if she is moving OK, then let her, just don't run her or play with other dogs. Mind you, Ozkar was pretty keen to get to know his new housemate ( I only picked her up from the shelter after the op..... she was a rescue)


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions. Do deer antlers get stinky? Do you use them when they are fresh?

Day 6 - OMG. Sadie was crazy last night. Running around, trying to jump, there was not much we could do. My yelling at her fell on deaf ears - she was having too much fun. She feels fantastic. Dogs heal so much faster than humans.

I tried grabbing her and holding her tight and whispering to her to calm her down. No go.

I got on the floor with her to play. No go.

A rawhide keeps her busy, but she can't ingest many of those. She showed no interest in the nylabones.

I put her in her crate & she barked & barked - and I could not have her wake up my son because he had school the next day so I let her out crazy as ever. 

Finally at 10:30 she settled down & fell asleep. No damage to incision. Thankfully.

Today she is quiet & settled, but her vizsla crazy hours are 4pm to 10pm unless she gets a good run or wrestling match in with another dog.

I called the vet, they said to try 2 benadril tonight & if that doesn't work, they'll give us a light sedative to give her late in the afternoon during her crazy time.

Good news, on Saturday she can run free! Only 3 more days!!!!!! I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. 

The following Friday she can return to the dog park to play (2 weeks after surgery).


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Deer antlers are not stinky  They are great! If you purchase them from a store then you don't have to worry about points. We find plenty in our woods which requires a little effort to get them dog ready. Our Pumpkin (14.5m) is getting spayed next week, and I'm dreading it!! I have terrible visions of all the pent up energy.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Elk antlers last even longer. But if any antler smells it's decaying so if you bought it, return it. I buy them from a holistic store but many ppl find their own. For future purchases when have time to shop around I recommend k9 cravings brand but if you want one tonight you can pick up antlerz brand at big box pet stores.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

VB, don't go by some theoretical time line devised from average results of procedures fed to you by the vet. Judge the dog. Look for signs. My pointer was ready to rumble two days after having a full hysterectomy. It really does depend on the dog and how the react to surgery. It may be more, or it may be less. Watch her movements. If she is not restricted, not wincing or reacting, she is probably good to go for a run. Perhaps not with a boisterous other dog though.


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## AfroViz (Jun 26, 2011)

Really interesting *Vizsla Baby*, thanks for posting.

My experience with Avery was similar to *Ozkar's*. She had the surgery in the morning and my vet called me in the afternoon to say that she was happy and awake and that I might as well collect her. I picked up the same bouncy dog I dropped off -- completely oblivious to the fact that she'd had surgery. We tried to restrict her movements but I can't claim we had any success. She carried on as usual despite the fact that we gave her no pain medication. I don't know what they're using for stitches these days but if Avery couldn't tear hers I doubt they can be torn. She was 6 months old.


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Day 7 

Last night was better. We decided not to do the Benadryl & just live with her. Fortunately she was much more subdued. 

She really does seem 100% healed to me. I'm just so cautious because if she does rip her stitches (internally) or the external incision glue, then we start ALL OVER AGAIN. If we have to do that, then I might need a sedative.

The incision looks SO MUCH BETTER! I was worried about a huge scar but now it appears that it will be just a fine line on her belly.

Also, something I forgot to post earlier. Sadie had some minor bruising around her incision (which is now gone). The vet told me that it is because her skin is so delicate compared to other dogs. I'm sure all Vizsla's are the same.

T-Minus 2 days until she is a free woman!


Thanks again for the help everyone. I'm going on the hunt for some antlers for her, sounds like she'd really enjoy them (do they eat them or just gnaw on them?).

@kellygh. Good luck with your baby's spay next week. Keep us updated. You'll probably do better because your dog is older than mine and is probably just a bit calmer. Sadie still has puppy craziness.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Antlers- eat and chew. She'll eat it but she'll also make tiny bits that get left behind so you might limit where she's allowed to have it (on a towel or something). But she'll LOVE it! At her age you may have to buy a split antler if she's not that strong of a chewer but it won't last nearly as long. Theres marrow down the middle that they smell but they can consume the entirety. It softens as they chew. Good luck!


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Day 13 Update. 

Well, we made it through the whole ordeal. Sadie is now a free woman, running & jumping again. The vet asked us to wait 3 full weeks before letting her go back to the dog park because she plays so rough and she wants to make sure that her stomach muscles are totally healed (she said it takes 3 weeks). Her hair is growing back, her scar is diminishing and she is still the same old fun loving baby she was before we got it done.

I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but all of a sudden she is interested in her food. Before she was spayed we had to literally beg her to eat. Very odd, but I'm glad she is eating well now, we'll just have to watch her portions.


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## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

Thanks for these posts Vizsla Baby...we'll be getting Holly spayed soon so it's good to know what to expect...thanks! Glad Sadie is feeling good! ;D


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