# Castrated after care tips?



## foursmith (Oct 11, 2012)

Hi
Elvis is getting castrated tomorrow,he is my first ever dog so I am unsure what to expect,the vets are very helpful but I wonder if you have any tips advice stories on after care.i have taken next week off so he is not alone.
Thanks


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

foursmith said:


> Hi
> Elvis is getting castrated tomorrow,he is my first ever dog so I am unsure what to expect,the vets are very helpful but I wonder if you have any tips advice stories on after care.i have taken next week off so he is not alone.
> Thanks


Some dogs like humans have more lasting affects from the anaesthetic then others, so if he is sleepy still the first evening, and just toilets and drinks and eats but otherwise is sleepy usually its not anything to worry about.

Its best to feed a light easily digestible diet, a bit of plain scrambled egg and rice, chicken no skin and rice, or white fish and rice but check for small bones.
Some will eat normally, others may pick at it and eat a little, while others wont want to eat at all.

They do nee to drink, but dont let them gulp down huge amounts quickly it can make them sick, little and often is best.

After anaesthesia they can have problems regulating their body temperatures for a while, so they need to be kept warm but not too hot.

Bowel movements can be impaired for up to 72 hours in some dogs.

Apart from this, you need to stop them overly licking or gnawlng at the suture line, a quick wash is usually OK.

You need to check the suture line a few times a day to look for missing sutures, excessive redness or heat which can indicate infection, discharge and pulling tight stitches too.

Usually the vet gives a pain killing injection, my vets also often send them home with a few days pain killers and sometimes antibiotic cover too, but vets do seem to differ with this.

Usually stitches are in for around 12 days on average.

Also shorter on lead walking is suggested until the stiches are out at least, and jumping and running around wildly is usually to be discouraged.


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## Coffee (Jul 31, 2011)

When my boy Alfie was done he was very groggy when we picked him up and stayed that was for that evening. By the next day he was pretty much back to normal so the hardest bit for us was keeping him calm & quiet and the lead restricted exercise for 2 weeks 

It's important that you don't let him bother the wound too... poor Alfie had one of those big cone collars on for about 10 days; not all the time, only when there wasn't anyone to watch him.

Hope it all goes well for Elvis (great name btw!)


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## hushtalk (Sep 28, 2011)

About the collars,.. "the cone of shame" someone advised me to get an inflatable collar as they are more comfortable,.. so I ordered one just incase we need them,.. Perry is not castrated yet


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## foursmith (Oct 11, 2012)

Thanks for those tips good advice.he is getting a cone off the vets and they are giving us some pain relief at home, good idea about the rice and lighter diet.

I assumed I would have to leave the cone on all the time.he is out with hubbi now for his evening walk and I will take him again first thing,then I am guessing it will be light exercise only for the next week.i am stressing but I am sure he will be fine


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## Coffee (Jul 31, 2011)

Good point about the inflatable collar. Alfie did hate the Cone of Shame but I couldn't get hold of an inflatable one and by the time I'd have ordered one and it arrived he would have been cone-free anyway.

Get one if you can, or some vets (mine did) sell all-in-one body suit things to cover the wound without a cone.

Poor Alfie in his :lol:


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## GermanShepardOwner (Aug 20, 2012)

I have never had any issues with mine after castration, they were all pretty much back to normal the day after. Ive never had any who lick or aggrevate the wound site either, aslong as its clean and the vets have cleaned all the blood up properly most dogs leave it alone, its only really when there is the smell of blood there that they start licking. 

I have found the cones are a massive pain! I only put my dogs on when they were left alone, otherwise i would just observe and tell them off if they started to lick it. But all was good! Light exercise for a few days after, on lead only IMO really just incase they venture into undergrowth, water etc.


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## Tamsin W (Sep 18, 2012)

My experience: do NOT use an inflatable collar. I bought one (Kong's) because it looked far more comfortable than a plastic cone - utterly and completely useless. The only circumstances I can possibly see them being useful is if you have a dog with a very long body and a very flat face, otherwise it's all too easy just to reach over the top of the padding. :confused1:

Fortunately, I had a back-up e-collar, so on it went (and it was definitely needed). He proved within about five minutes that the temptation to lick his sutures was too much, so he wore the cone 24/7 for ten days - but, to be honest, he seemed barely aware that it was there after the first few hours. (My legs did not, and were covered in bruises from knee to ankle from being repeatedly cone-barged by a knee height dog.)

We were told to be prepared for all manner of things - lack of appetite, diarrhea or vomiting, grogginess for up to 48 hours. We got none of the above - he was trying to bounce around as normal within 10 minutes of getting home, and demanding food after 15. However, what we were advised was to feed light and slowly the first night (we gave scrambled egg), and see how he took it - if he kept it down, great, feed some more. If groggy, just leave him to sleep off the anaesthesia. Pain wise, we were given a 48-hour course of painkillers, and told that if he did seem to be in any significant discomfort after this period, to bring him in for a check and further prescription if necessary. 

Exercise - on-lead, no running around like a lunatic. We had a post-op check-up after three days, and as the incision was healing so nicely, we were told it would be fine to do our normal walking routine (an hour a day, split), just on-lead at a nice relaxed pace. This took the edge off his hyperactivity, but he was still a nightmare to live with until the all clear was given on day 10 - "BUT WHY WILL YOU NOT PLAY FETCH WITH ME?!" on a daily basis!

Good luck!


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