[RoughCollie]

I bought Aidan a cushiony thing so he doesn't have to wear the lampshade.

Everything on him is clean and clipped. Frontline and heartworm meds have been applied/given.

I have printed out anesthesia instructions pertaining to SCWTs for the vet, just in case. I already made sure he routinely uses the suggested meds and so forth, but he also uses others -- so better safe than sorry.

I have talked to the vet and ascertained that no dogs in his long career have ever died or been maimed while being neutered.

The vet will microchip Aidan while he is under anesthesia.

My camera is ready to go so I can take a picture of Aidan's incision before we leave the vet, so I have something to compare it to, should anything about it look funny to me.

I have scheduled the surgery early enough in the week so that, hopefully, if something goes wrong (infection, swelling) at the incision site, the vet will be available. The nearest e-vet is over an hour away.

While Aidan is at the vet, I will clean and disinfect his crate and tray and put in freshly cleaned bedding.

I have a special bully stick (with other stuff strung on it) for him, plus new treats that he loves (pre-tested for his approval).

Have I left anything out?

Also, every male dog owner I have ever met tells me that their male dogs come home after being neutered acting like they always did -- not sleepy or like they are recovering from surgery. They walk from the vet to the vehicle. They eat dinner. They sleep. And the next day, they act normal. Could this be true? (I plan to keep Aidan quiet, regardless.)

Thanks,
RC

 

[Willowy]

Wow, you're super prepared!

Yeah, my boys were back to normal by the next day, although they were dopey from the anesthetic for some hours after being picked up. But that depends what kind of anesthetic is used--I had some cats fixed by a vet who only uses inhalant anesthetic and you couldn't even tell anything happened; they were up and around right away.

 

[RoughCollie]

Thanks, Willowy. Someone is coming with me to pick up Aidan, but I have been worried that wouldn't be enough -- that we'd need a soft crate or something to carry him if he can't walk. I have a soft crate, but we didn't own it for more than an hour before Aidan broke the zipper. He has since moved up to unzipping the kids backpacks every chance he gets - he hasn't broken one of those yet, because he learned on the soft crate.

I'm prepared because I've read just about every post here that has to do with neutering, and I am trying to minimize potential problems. The vet was surprised that I asked about his track record -- no one has ever done that before. He'll get another surprise when I bring in the camera. Every time I think about having Aidan neutered, it scares me -- thinking of all the what-ifs. I'm feeling very calm about this now, which feels odd, but good.

 

[grab]

I work at a vet and I can say that pretty much every dog walks out as if nothing happened

 

[GottaLuvMutts]

Wow. I think you should just relax. You are uber-prepared.

Kit was spayed before she was mine, so I have no details on how that all went down. I've always wondered how they kept the wild child calm enough to heal - not something I would have wanted to attempt. I suspect they may have drugged her far beyond what was necessary for the surgery itself.

 

[RoughCollie]

I am relaxed. We are leaving in 1/2 hour, and I feel no anxiety at all about the surgery.

I think my biggest problem will be keeping Aidan calm while he heals. Thank goodness we have a crate! Sometimes I think he spends as much time in the air as he does with all four paws on the ground.

 

[chipinmom]

Keeping him calm will be much harder than you anticipate lol. ANY chance he gets to be his regular old self he will be jumping and running around as much as he can. Male dogs seem to handle getting neutered really well. I allowed my vet to keep Bentley over night after his neuter so they could watch him for reactions to the anesthesia and any problems. But as soon as I picked him up the next morning, there was no stopping him. It was like nothing happened. Thankfully for me he had dissolvable stitches on the inside so it wasn't very easy for him to rip one. He didn't even need the e-collar since he didn't bother his incision even once.

I think the main thing you need to keep an eye on is the jumping up and down off things. Just for a couple days. If you can keep him from doing that for the most part (I know it's not easy), then letting him run around and play will be fine.

 

[NikoBellic]

Niko is at the vet right now getting neutered. They called and said he's awake and everything went well, I'm going to pick him up in an hour. He's 9 months old and 60lbs, I did alot of weighing the pros and cons of when to do it, the benefit of having testosterone until he's full grown versus the annoyance of marking territory and going crazy for the bitches. Nowadays, he wants to pee every five feet (and marked in my house for the first time) got bitten a dozen times by another intact dog last week (coincidence maybe), spring is here, I got the money, he's weighed the same for a month and a half, so I decided the time was now. Wish I had the extra loot to spring for the hip xray and microchip though...

How old is Aidan? Did they take blood before? How much did the procedure cost? Let me know how everything goes. Since you are so well prepared I better atleast figure out how to get him home from the vet...

 

[RoughCollie]

How old is Aidan? Did they take blood before? How much did the procedure cost? Let me know how everything goes. Since you are so well prepared I better atleast figure out how to get him home from the vet...

The vet who charges $375 to neuter a dog Aidan's size takes blood the day before. This vet charged $250, has been highly recommended by many, many dog people around here, and I don't know whether he took blood. I don't think Aidan needed bloodwork since I gave him the anesthesia protocol and Aidan had bloodwork a few months ago when I was worried that he was sick (he wasn't).

Aidan is 14 months old. This is the first anniversary of the day we bought him home, of all things. He has never marked in the house.

I'm glad I got him neutered. A toy poodle who lives rather far away (across a pasture and through woods) is not spayed, and she comes over here whenever she gets out. The last thing I need is Aidan getting that little dog pregnant. I don't know why the owner doesn't get her dog spayed -- she keeps telling me she will. The poodle paid us a visit yesterday, but my daughter apprehended her in the front yard, and the owner showed up to get her within a few minutes.

My husband and son have gone to pick up Aidan now. The vet said he is perfectly fine and "resting comfortably".

Oh geez, my husband just called from the car. Aidan is very frisky, like nothing has happened. As my husband was telling me this, Aidan jumped out of my son's lap and from the back seat to the front seat. At least they are in the car (a sedan) and not my SUV. Everything is lower in the car.

Aidan came home about 15 minutes ago. We all sat on the floor so he wouldn't do his usual jumping and twirling greeting. He keeps moving around from place to place to lie down. He is subdued now that the initial excitement of being sprung from the vet's is over. I have tramadol to give him for pain, and I'm making some white rice so I can give him a couple of tablespoons of it later on. He is hungry.

I have the bill here. His bordatella booster was $15, microchip $50, neuter $150, pre-anesthesia screening lab work $65, pain management $25, for a total of $305.

Our original vet's charges was going to be $375 without the bordatella booster or microchip. Everything else was included in the price.

 

[InkedMarie]

Glad everything went well. I'm going to keep in mind about taking a picture of the incision for the future!

 

[Rescued]

just as a warning- our dog with a super long nose (which I know collies have) managed to get the cushion neck thing just right and could still reach his incision if left alone for a while. Just be sure this isn't the case before you crate him!

 

[RoughCollie]

Aidan isn't a collie. I didn't put my sig in posts after the first one, so I understand why you thought he was one. I joined these forums after my collie died, when I thought I would be getting another one.

I am watching him like a hawk in case he can reach his incision. He tried once and did not succeed. This collar is definitely a lot comfier than the lampshade type, but of course he doesn't know that.

Aidan spent the evening resting. He has not been in his crate at all. I walked him and gave him a tramadol at 9:15. Then, since he was awake but sleepy, we decided to go to bed early at 9:30, and he slept in my husband's side of the closet, as usual. I put a clean blanket down for him.

 

[Damon'sMom]

I'm glade to hear that everything went well.

 

[cookieface]

Glad Aidan is doing well! What a great list. I'm making note of a few things (pictures...) as we have an appointment next week for Katie's spay and gastropexy. I'll be a nervous wreck, but she'll be in good hands.

 

[NikoBellic]

Glad to hear everything went well! My experience was different though, in that my dog was super drugged up or something and was in zombie mode for the rest of the day, it was like a preview of his old age, poor guy. Pretty much back to normal today though. He got some pain killer prescription too to take once a day. Hasn't been bothering his incision so far. I have a mini pinsher next door so it's nice that he can interact with another dog because their play together is really mellow. Hot weather here helps keep him calm too. Do you have to go back for a follow up/ get stitches/ staples out or anything? My procedure cost 350 with the blood test, more expensive than other places around here, but it's our regular vet and within walking distance. Again, glad everything is going well for you so far.

 

[hanksimon]

The anesthesia gas that they use today is human quality, quick acting. A little more expensive, but see the results. Keep Aidan on pain meds as recommended, probably 3 - 5 days. Not sure if they remove sutures now... they did 10 years ago

Keep him quiet. As you've seen he wants his exercise, and as he is cooped up, he'll get more rambunctious... just expect it.

Ten years ago, I used an E-Collar and my 6 mos old puppy was tentative with it, so I removed it after a couple of days. He explored the incision, and I told him "Don't lick" and he stopped .... No, I hadn't trained him.

After the Vet cleared him for exercise, my 6 mos puppy became a Tasmanian devil with zoomies and running around for almost 2 weeks... Although I didn't expect it, I did understand it after a while. He was cooped up and now needed to burn off that energy.

At 3 yo, he started to lift his legs and began some marking, although not excessive (I've also had males). However, at 8 yo, he got a whiff of a female in heat in the dog park (no, they aren't supposed to...) and we got a lesson in the birds and the bees. My Vet refused to neuter him again

Just some of the many possibilities ... even when you are prepared

 

[luvmyfurballs]

I just had my female spayed and she didn't even acknowledge the stitches or the incision. She never had to wear any collar and she was back to her old self the same night. I got really lucky You were very prepared..in fact I don't think I've ever known anyone to be that prepared Be careful with the microchip, scan the dog regularly to make sure he still has it. My dog got the chip but it fell out, it is not 100% and that is scary. I thought my dog was chipped the whole time but apparently sometimes it doesn't last We figured this out when I went to get her scanned and they pulled out 4 different scanners and none of them could pick it up.

 

[RoughCollie]

The vet used Isofluorane gas anesthesia. He also did laser surgery, which I didn't ask about because I didn't think of it. There are no stitches. Aidan's incision must have been glued shut unless he has hidden stitches.

Luvmyfurballs, thanks for the info about microchips. I'll ask the vet to scan Aidan's every time he gets a check-up.

Aidan is back to his normal self. We spend half our time making sure he keeps all four paws on the ground, Hanksimon. If he wants to jump up on something (couch, bed), we help him. He's getting used to personal service -- last night, he barked at me to lift him onto my bed.

He still has his scrotum. I didn't expect that, but apparently it is not unusual: http://www.dogforums.com/general-dog-forum/34010-neutering-but-leaving-scrotum.html .