Bode's surgery is next week Thursday and as a first time puppy parent I'm obviously a tad nervous. I was just hoping you guys could give some insight on what to expect him to be like immediately after the surgery, what the recovery time period is like, how restricted he will have to be, etc...Also, did you have to use the dreaded cone? Haha. Thanks in advance!

Hello Sara

Well you can expect him to lay down for the rest of that day possibly the next morning as well. While under anesthesia they will not be active at all they may not want to eat at first but eventually they will start eating. Saya was back to her normal self the next morning, she was jumping around trying to run around everywhere and just being herself. She did not poop for like 2 days after the surgery some people said that was normal I dont really know much as to why that happens. Also short walks for the first few days after surgery

The cone of shame to be on him although funny at first it will become annoying in a heart beat when he runs into the back of your legs with the damn thing lol. Overall he should be back to himself within a day or two.

Ha, my boy was acting like a lunatic when we picked him up after his neuter (same day). Vet told us no running, jumping, or baths for 2 weeks. Well he jumped into our SUV in the vets parking lot before we could even bend down to pick him up. And he was doing zoomies in the house and on walks and jumping off the back of the sofa the next day. We really did try to keep him from running and jumping but he had other ideas obviously. You'd really never have guessed he was neutered by the way he acted. He never bothered the incision site so no cone was needed. He healed up fine with no issues despite all the physical activity he shouldn't have been doing. He took pain meds the day of his neuter and for 2 days after. He did not have any appetite when he came home from his neuter but was eating normally the next day.

No need to worry! Neutering is a much less invasive surgery then spaying so males usually bounce back much quicker then a female. Malikye wanted to be back to normal activities the next day.

I'm an RVT and surgery is my absolute fav!!! This is what I tell owners when I discharge a neuter - At our clinic the Dr buries the sutures and they will dissolve on their own so there are no sutures to remove. (unless your pup was cryptorchid which means one or both of the testicles didn't drop/ then our Dr usually uses staples to close the skin) No baths for 2 weeks because the sutures dissolve and you don't want anything that could possibly have a source of infection getting in. It is important to limit exercise, running and jumping around, for at least 1 week - 2 if you can manage that. I offer a suggestion like putting a leash on and walking them to go outside/potty. It's important to limit the exercise so everything heals right. It is also important that you keep an eye on the incision site for signs of infection. Some redness/swelling and small amount of discharge is normal. We give a long acting antibiotic shot so that should take care of any infection issues but if you notice anything at all such as a bad odor or warmth on the incision site def give us a call. We don't send home an e-collar unless the dog shows signs of licking at the incision site while in recovery, but if needed they can come back and purchase one from us or most pet stores carry some if they see their dog messing with the area. Your dog is going to still be woozy/nauseous from the anesthesia so we recommend not offering any food or water for at least 2 hours after going home. If they get it too soon or too much it could cause them to vomit. Don't be worried if he doesn't have bowel movement for up to a couple days because the anesthesia causes everything to slow down. Depending on what sedation your vet uses you may or may not need to start pain meds that night. The sedation we give has pain control for 24hrs so our patients don't need to start their pain meds till the next day, and for a neuter we only send home enough pain meds for 3 days. Then I stress if they have any questions or concerns at all to call us.

Surgery day is usually very exciting for most dogs, especially for the younger ones, so when I bring them out to their owners they come running out super excited. Don't let this fool you, most times they go home and want to just fall asleep being so worn out. Also it seems that every dog holds their pee all day!! We express their bladders before surgery when they are under anesthesia but it seems no matter what if I have a pup come running out excited they end up peeing all over the lobby floor lol So I always recommend to the owner to stop at the grass area out front before heading home to avoid any accidents in their car.

That is really all I can think of right now...if you have any other questions just ask

+1 Kara! Couldn't have said it better!

And yay! Another RVT!

Well my eskimo is getting neutered in 2 weeks and this has definitely shed some light on what to expect, thank you for making and answering this thread everyone ^-^

Thanks for all the info Kara and everyone else! I know it's a fairly easy surgery for males, but I'm just a worrywart.

Dude, I panicked too - still surgery, whether routine or not

Embry and Zoey were both neutered and spayed at 5 months, and came home the next day. All they wanted to do was play when they got home. Ares on the other hand came home the same day at 7 months and he was in SO MUCH pain I felt so bad, he cried the whole way home.

Juneau is getting spayed next week too! Nov 9th in fact lol. She'll be 6 1/2 months. Thanks for the input, everyone! Now I know what to look for.

Anna got spayed at 6 months and was fine on the way home but at home she was miserable. She couldn't get comfortable whined when she peed she would sit down a million times before she peed because she seemed to be in pain. But the vet said she should be fine with no pain just a little uncomfortable. We ended up sitting on the floor with her all night so she could lay in our lap, was the only way she could get comfortable and not whine. Next day she was bouncing off the walls. But her hair still hasn't grown back. I feel like it never will. Hahah. They shaved a big part off of her arm for the IV and it looks like someone taped her leg. Everyone tends to ask if it is tape.

Anna also thought it would be cute to go poo in her crate and of course I couldn't give her a bath since she was just spayed It was a wonderful experience. She also figured out how to get her cone of shame off.

Honestly Balon was a little out of it for the first day or so and he was on pain meds, after that I had a heck of a time keeping him from being a lunatic with the lab, so we pretty much kept him on a leash inside too.

My Lab (female) was about the same only about a day or so and she was fine.

Expect nothing because it seems which ever way you expect, they go the other way. Mika was calm a few hours then BAM- Husky x10 = wild child. Then Diamond was calm for a few days. I wouldn't expect much change besides the first two days might be laid back. Info you have given is very good. He will do fine and back to normal in now time.

Don't get frustrated if he has an accident...it happens when they coop them up all day. Delilah peed on the floor after her spay and had never done it before, was totally ashamed(Yes, I believe my dog can be embarrassed..)

Both of my boys were neutered at 4 months of age.

When I brought them home, they acted no different than usual. Nikko is extremely hyper, so I had to get sedatives from the vet after I brought him home to calm him down. I took Nikko in on a Friday at 8:30 am and he was ready to go at 11:00 am. He was sleepy the next day but by Sunday, he had his full energy.

Yukon on the other hand is less hyper. He went in at 8:30 am and I picked him up at 3:30 pm. He slept most of the evening and the next two days we was not very active. I had sedatives for him since he likes to play rough with Nikko.

Neither of them had to wear the cone since the stitches dissolved. I refrained from any walks for about 3-4 days, and started with short, slow walks. At the end of the 1st week he was pretty much on a normal schedule.

Neither of them had any issues with not wanting to eat, nor did they have any poo or pee issues.

So, in answer to your questions, I would expect to *try* and keep them from being very active for the first week or two after the surgery. Each dog will recover differently, so some may take longer or shorter. Your vet should give you good instructions on post-surgery recovery. The younger they are, the quicker they bounce back!

She didn't like the cone of shame. She would walk into me and come running out of the bedroom right into my stomach guess she assumed we were playing football.

Spayed my pup at 7months old. She was very out of it when I picked her up from vet and whined softly, in pain I am sure until she fell asleep. Next morning she was back to normal. Limited walks for the first 4 days then slowly started doing short walks. Never broke open and never need the cone. It was completely healed around the 2week mark.

So how will I know when it's ok for Bode to be back to normal activities like the dog park? The vet said one to two weeks. It's just over a week now. His incision is looking good. His stitches are dissolvable, so how will I know that they're gone?

We didn't have to use a cone and he was back to his normal self the next day.

How much did it cost all of you for neuters?

Garebear wrote:

How much did it cost all of you for neuters?

Well for the neuter itself is charged by weight at my vet. Then there is a fee for pre-op bloodwork, which some vets include. I also had Bode microchipped during the surgery. In all it was just under $300.

MGoBlue wrote:

So how will I know when it's ok for Bode to be back to normal activities like the dog park? The vet said one to two weeks. It's just over a week now. His incision is looking good. His stitches are dissolvable, so how will I know that they're gone?

Any vet I have ever talked to has always said 2 weeks and I have always waited the full two weeks before returning to normal activity. I would definitely wait a full two weeks before doing something as strenuous as the dog park. That's just me though. And they definitely longer than a week to dissolve, more like at least 3 weeks in my experience.

Garebear wrote:

How much did it cost all of you for neuters?

$90 for the regular neuter with anaesthesia, no pre-op bloodwork
+ an additional $10 for 4 days worth of take home oral pain meds


My chi girls were $500 each to get spayed!

Huskyluv wrote:

Any vet I have ever talked to has always said 2 weeks and I have always waited the full two weeks before returning to normal activity. I would definitely wait a full two weeks before doing something as strenuous as the dog park. That's just me though. And they definitely longer than a week to dissolve, more like at least 3 weeks in my experience.

Thanks Val for the information. I knew that it's still a little early for high stress stuff, He's just getting stir crazy, so I was curious! I definitely don't want to do anything too early though and compromise his recovery.

My sibe was running on the lead and at home during his two week recovery period to burn off his excess energy...honestly, I just couldn't stop him as hard as I tried. He was fine, but I think the dog park is just a tad bit too much exertion that soon if yours plays and runs as hard as mine does at the dog park.