Spay surgery recovery questions

[Moxie]

Hi everybody,

My little mini Dachshund Moxie is approaching three years old, weighs 12#, and I think it's time to have her spayed. She is not overweight, has a slim tummy, just a little bigger than the breed standard. I have never had a female dog spayed, and she is also my first indoor dog and Dachshund.

What's the timeframe for recovery from surgery? I have read elsewhere it is two weeks. What's the breakdown on that, a couple days of lethargy, a week of wearing the cone...?

Our little girl sleeps in bed with us, under the covers. She has stairs that she runs up to get into bed, but it's usually at full speed and she does a pretty good leap instead of using all the stairs. She also prefers to be under a blanket pretty much anytime she lays down, will tuck herself into bed to nap in the afternoon. The couch is her other favorite place, usually curls up under a blanket there too. Jumping on/off the couch is another concern.

This may be a problem with the cone, and stitches. Any tips?

Issues with running up and down the carpeted stairs when her mommy gets home from work. She gets more excited than a kid on Christmas seeing Santa bringing gifts, every time.

I have some worries that she won't relax and take it easy, and may cause herself some complications due to physical activity.

give me some tips, experience, and reassurance

Thanks

 

[Nell]

Hi, its a long time since I have had a bitch spayed but if I remember correctly she will feel a bit sorry for herself and sore for a few days and this will naturally kerb her playfulness. I know we should all try to prevent our dachshunds from jumping but from a practical point of view this is not always possible. I have put a footstall in front of my settee (recommended by Penny I think) and 90% of the time Connie will use this to get on and off the settee, then someone knocks on the door and she leaps off into the air like there was no tomorrow! LOL!

Nature usually has a way of managing to slow dogs down when they are poorly so I am sure things will be fine, though I cant say I fancy sleeping with a cone in the bed, lol! your pup sounds lovely and well cherished, lucky girl!

 

[amparra]

I have been through a spay with two female dogs. The recovery is two weeks. The lethargy lasted about a day. By the second day she was back to normal but you really have to make them rest. No jumping, no running. I would use a crate. My lab developed an infection internally because she was jumping and running around too soon post spay. It wasn't a big deal and cleared up quickly but it did require antibiotics.


I bought the blow up donut for Lily and put it on her when she was unsupervised. It was much more comfortable than the cone. When I was home, I took it off and she left the incision alone. You could also cut the sleeve of a t-shirt off and put it around her middle. It will help keep grass and debris from getting near the incision when you take her outside, especially of the first week when it is healing the most.

Lily's incision was closed with surgical glue on the outside. It looks great and is barely noticeable at all now. For some reason though a little piece of the string (it looked like fishing line) used on the inside stuck out of the incision. I didn't notice it until after the skin on the outside was healed. Vet tried to cut it as close as possible but did not want to irritate it and cause an infection. She said it would eventually dissolve on its own and it did. Just mentioning just in case something like that happens.