What's the best way to help my dog rest after her spay surgery?

Limit or restrict activity to avoid stress on the incision. Avoid excessive running, jumping or rough play. Use an e-collar (cone) to prevent licking or chewing of the sutures. Examine the site daily for redness, swelling, bruising, bleeding or discharge. Monitor for lethargy, loss of appetite, fever or abdominal pain. Look at her gums daily to ensure they are pink. Sutures are kept in for 10-14 days. Do not bathe her until the sutures are removed.

Wow, that's great! Awesome job talking to your mom about it :-) After surgery, it's extremely important to keep her quiet and rested, and to keep an Ecollar on her to prevent her from licking at her sutures. She has to stay quiet in order for her incision to heal correctly, and she has to stay quiet with the Ecollar on until her sutures are removed 10-14 days after surgery. Licking at her sutures can cause them to break down and open the incision, and it can introduce infection into the area. You will have to check the incision twice a day for signs of infection which include redness, swelling, warmth to the touch, or excessive discharge. If you see any of those signs, Bella will have to go back into the vet for an exam and antibiotics. Again, great job talking to your mom!

Most veterinarians will provide you with detailed discharge instructions upon return of your pet. With these instructions will likely include the cone you've described. Confining Pharah to her crate for the night may not be a bad idea if she's receptive to it, but it is certainly not required. Keeping her somewhat calm is fine as long as she has no access to her surgical site. As far as the procedure, I would recommend having the ovaries and uterus removed if you are sterilizing versus only the ovaries. While the procedure will prevent a pregnancy, it will not prevent future diseases like infections and tumors of the uterus. Dogs that are most predisposed to these conditions are middle to older age females that have not been bred previously. Hope this answers your question.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lily. I know it is hard to do, but a dog should really be kept quiet for 10-14 days post-spay. This allows her body to heal. She went through major abdominal surgery. Her incision appears to be healing well from your pictures. I hope this information helps!

Hi there. Thank you for using PetCoach. So sorry you had this experience at your vet. The number one thing you need to do is make sure to limit her activity. No running around free in the yard. No playing with other dogs or running up/down stairs. No jumping up on beds or couches. She should only be leash walked only and kept as calm and quiet as possible for about 7-10 days. Also, make sure she cannot lick the incision - this is the number one problem we see post-operatively - dogs lick the incision and get it open. So be sure to use an E-collar (cone) for at least 10 days. If they did not give you one, you can buy one at any large pet store or online. You can apply this fly repellant ointment AROUND the incision but not on it. It is recommended that you not put anything on the incision directly. ( https://www.amazon.com/Farnam-Products-100532971-Repellent-Ointment/dp/B07D1M6LSB/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=farnam+flys-off+repellent&qid=1570893908&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1 ) Hope this helps. If you have more questions feel free to post again. Best wishes!

The image shows no drips or tracks of blood. This may be some normal post op discharge. If she will allow, you can use a plain, unscented baby wipe to gently clean around the incision. Keep an e-collar (cone) on her and restrict her activity to just leash walks for elimination. Avoid or prevent running, jumping, stairs or rough play as much as possible. If she has a crate, consider crating her for the night. Monitor for active bleeding, discharge, lethargy or pale gums. If any of these develop, she should be seen by your veterinarian or at the nearest veterinary ER.

The site itself looks good. No swelling, redness or bruising and it appears closed. The slight discharge does not appear to be frank blood. It looks like it may be fluid from a seroma. Seromas can occur after surgery. Continue to monitor the site, If the discharge increases or has a bad odor then see your veterinarian. Monitor Delilah for lethargy, fever, loss of appetite, vomiting or diarrhea. These are symptoms that should also be addressed by your vet. Keep an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent licking or chewing of the site. You can use a diluted betadine or Hibiclens solution around the site to keep the area clean.