Spay Story

[TankGrrl66]

I finally made the decision to spay my 11mo GSD. I just wanted to share this for others on the fence about spaying. This all happened TODAY.

This wasn't an easy decision for me-I love my dog; she is pretty much perfect except for occasional poop eating and car sickness. Besides those two things, the last thing I wanted to do was put her into surgery...to remove perfectly healthy organs. I've read and re-read all the main studies about health/behavioral effects. Didn't help.

I had to spay her bc I didn't want her to have puppies. She will soon be in habitual contact with an male dog, and next door to 3 more. I am somewhat bitter that I have gotten so much, SO MUCH, pressure from other people to spay her. Some of these same people won't neuter their males. It really isn't fair but such is life. I ended up being totally for it bc a) Health/Safety reasons. Plenty to choose from! b) convenience c) to lead by example of being a responsible dog owner.

I finally made the appt. I kept wanting to just hang up. I wanted to cancel a few moments. I felt awful dropping her off and fought tears walking to my car without her. The house was super quiet, as I got to silently eat breakfast and think about what she was going through.

I finally got the call that all was well. In fact, she had recovered so well that she could go home early. I was so excited to pick her up! They brought her out to my car and she looked so small and...bleh. Her eyes were a bit glazed. I hugged her and talked to her. She looked very confused...almost as if she didn't recognize me.

It has been several hours since I picked her up. She is very bleh. It is almost eerie how quiet she is. She just wants to sleep. She peed once, but doesn't want to go outside. She drank a little water. She seems utterly repulsed by any kind of food. She has given me a couple of very hard looks. I have been, for the most part, giving her space. She dozes on and off. She finally just started following me again. It can only get better from here.

It isn't so bad. Even after all of that, which is normal BTW, I don't feel regret. I feel bad she is in obvious pain and I paid someone to do it, but the surgery was for her best interest.

[msvette2u]

She'll be back to herself tomorrow
I'm glad it all went so well!
Did you get pain meds like Rimadyl?

[RubyTuesday]

It's an important, but very personal decision. The right decision will vary from one owner to another & also from one dog to another. I've kept Djibouti intact but I'd have made a different decision if there was a compelling reason to neuter him. I won't keep intact males & females. That's simply more minute to minute k9 mgt than I care for.

I'm glad you have no regrets & I don't think you should have any. Djibouti is my 1st intact dog. My others were all spayed/neutered b/w 9 & 15 mos. They were healthy, long lived & appropriately feminine or masculine in appearance & actions.

Personally, I'd like to see everyone come to the correct decision for themselves & their pets regardless of others opinions. It's not a one size fits all situation. It never will be.

[KZoppa]

i'm glad it went well. I remember when we had to have Zena spayed (adoption contract). I felt horrible taking her into the vet and leaving her there. She dragged the tech outside to the car and tried to get in with me. It took 3 people to take her back inside with me coaxing her in. They called me after the surgery when she kinda woke up. They took her out to relieve herself and she snapped their leash despite still being drugged and groggy and they had to call me to coax her back into the building. She was staggering around the field behind the building scaring the bejeezus out of the two horses they were boarding looking for me. When I was able to pick her up a couple hours later, she had to be carried to the car she was that drugged. Eyes glazed over. I felt horrible. She slept the rest of the day away but the minute she opened her eyes the next morning it was like a bull in a china shop. Keeping her calm was an exhausting task. She was ready to play and just have a good ol' time.

Shasta is getting spayed hopefully next month. I'm not looking forward to taking her in and coming back home without her, but she's finally old enough, i'm comfortable having her spayed and it will also be a HUGE stress reliever because I wont have to watch her every move when she's in heat or restrict her so heavily in the house.

Just easier for us and happier for her.

Keep us updated on her healing! Best wishes for a speedy recovery from her spay!

[Cassidy's Mom]

She's still recovering from the anesthesia, that's why she's sleepy, has no appetite, and seems confused. The vet should have informed you of those things when you picked her up.

I'm glad everything went well. You'll be surprised at how much better she is tomorrow, and how quickly she bounces back from surgery. My females have usually seemed perfectly normal within a few days after a spay.

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by TankGrrl66

They brought her out to my car and she looked so small and...bleh. Her eyes were a bit glazed. I hugged her and talked to her. She looked very confused...almost as if she didn't recognize me.

It has been several hours since I picked her up. She is very bleh. It is almost eerie how quiet she is. She just wants to sleep. She peed once, but doesn't want to go outside. She drank a little water. She seems utterly repulsed by any kind of food. She has given me a couple of very hard looks.

The sedative that the vets give prior to surgery lasts about 12 hours, so what you are seeing is a drugged doggie. Totally normal. Not to worry. She'll probably be moving a bit slower than usual today, but by tomorrow she'll be back to her normal self and you'll probably have a hard time convincing her that it's not in her best interest to play ball.

At least, that's how all my girls have come out of their spays!

[Castlemaid]

You'll have your perfect dog back in no time. My female was spayed years ago, and it only took about 24 hours for her to get back to her old self. The last thing I wanted after having adopted her from the shelter was for her to get pregnant and making more unwanted puppies (the shelter has since opened a low-cost spay/neuter clinic and they spay/neuter all pets being adopted out).

I always supervise my dogs, and have them well trained and responsive, but you can't always control every situation all the time, and I felt that a spay was worth the peace of mind.