Call your vet, sounds like she's in pain.

 

Sounds like she is still coming out of anesthesia and in pain. If she is on pain pills, make sure you've given them to her. If she isn't on any I would call the vet tomorrow and see if she might need some.

She probably does need the e collar overnight. Do you have a muzzle? I would just muzzle her and then put the e collar on.

If you don't have a muzzle and petsmart isn't open anymore, go to your nearest after hours vet and ask if you can use one of their muzzles. If your vet is still open call them! I'm thinking it's already well past 5 here but you probably don't live in same time zone as me.

 

She is probably sick to her stomach from the meds, she may also need more frequent bathroom breaks if she was given fluids.

When I had a foster dog spayed, I slept on the couch next to her so that I could feel if she moved around much or started to lick her stitches. She needed me to let her out several times to pee, had a few accidents too and vomited several times so I was glad that she was right next to me and not confined to a cone and kennel (for ease of cleanup). Neither her nor the male that got neutered licked their stitches at all, if you are there to supervised, I think its okay to go without a collar for the night.

My vet said not to worry about a dog eating for the first mealtime or two after a surgery, I have had 2 dogs fixed and 2 have other surgeries and none wanted to eat that night and most took only a nibble in the morning after but wanted a normal meal by the following evening.

I would probably just keep a close eye on her overnight and see how she is in the morning unless she gets worse overnight.

 

Thanks. she is laying down now relaxing but I don't even want to attempted to put the e-collar on, it will end in a disaster. I don't have a muzzle.


She doesn't really lick at the area, I have only seen her attempt it 2-3 times in the 6-7 hours since she has been home.


I have pain pills for her but she won't eat anything or take them. If i try to force them to her she will growl and almost snap.

I don't mind hanging out with her and sleeping in the couch just don't want to wake up and see that she has messed with the stitches.

 

I would just drive to an evet and ask if you can use their muzzle, they shouldn't charge you if you explain.

I work at a shelter and we had a cat a month ago who ripped open her spay sutures overnight. Found her when doing a rounds check when I got there early to open with three intestinal loops hanging out as she laid in her litterbox and purred.

Unless you are positive you aren't going to fall asleep, I would really suggest getting the e collar on her.

 

I am not a vet and i am of course not there to see your dog in person, but i think that if she is laying down and relaxing now that as long as you are close enough to hear and feel if she moves about a lot or starts licking her stitches that she will be fine overnight without being kenneled or have a cone. I will say that I am a fairly light sleeper so I have had no trouble waking if one of the dogs got restless or started whimpering, if you sleep very deeply it might be harder to react to the dog's movement.

I know some dogs do really lick at their stitches but for spay and neuter stiches, the 2 different vet clinics I use both say that many dogs don't require a cone if you observe them as not really minding the stitches. The dog I fostered which had eye surgery had a cone as even minimal disturbance could have really hurt that area but very minimal lickng usually isn't an issue for S/N. Of course that dog managed to panic in her crate when the cone got stuck and tore the cone all to sharp pieces so we had to make a late evening run to petsmart for a new and safer cone.....

 

This post is six years old and the original poster hasn't been on this forum in about as long, so I'm closing this to further replies. You can absolutely start your own thread about your pup's spay experience! Checking with a vet when you're not sure if something's normal is always a good idea. We can't offer direct medical advice on this forum, but if you start your own thread we can share our experiences and offer support.