# Activity After Spaying



## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

Cali was spayed on Tuesday. She had a bad reaction to either the anaesthetic or the pain killer and on Wednesday morning started to have nonstop vomiting and bloody diarrhea. She had to go back to the vet's for IV fluids and an overnight stay. When she came home yesterday, she was much better, ate a few small meals, which stayed down, but was pretty worn out and slept most of the day.

Fast forward to today and she is raring to go!! It's wonderful to see her feeling so much better but I'm just not sure how to channel that energy in a safe way while her incision heals. She keeps bringing me her ball because she wants to play fetch or her rope to play tug. She occasionally does a 3-foot jump from a dead standstill before I can react! I'm not supposed to take her for a walk and even if I could, it's quite cold and snowy and unless I keep her on a two-foot leash, she will jump into and over the tall snowbanks. Even the most difficult puzzle game only takes her about 5 minutes to figure out. I just gave her a brand new bully stick to take her mind off of playing ball even though she still had about 6" left of an old one. That worked for about 15 minutes.

I've had other dogs spayed before but none of them ever had the energy level of Cali! Short of locking her in her crate 24/7, does anyone have any suggestions or advice?


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

You need to crate her before she hurts herself. 


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

Can you get her to lay down next to you and rub her? I don't know how long you could do that, but a good belly and chest rub alway take Remington's mind off of anything... I hope she heals quickly and feels better as well.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I sympathize with Ya! It was hard for me when Molly got spayed to keep her from jumping up and down from the bed or couch too! I pretty much confined her with a gate, in my room! It only took about a week before her sutures closed (at least externally) so I pretty much let her run around, but tried to keep her from jumping too much by having a lot of 'floor time' with her and lots of chewies too!
So sorry you had such a bad time with anesthesia recovery, poor darlin'!


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## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

Poodlemama99 said:


> You need to crate her before she hurts herself.
> 
> 
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Sorry, I didn't mean to give the impression she was running wild.:embarrassed: If she was, she'd definitely be in the crate. With the exception of the couple of jumps she did, she is not overdoing anything. She's crated if I'm not right in the room with her, if I'm out and overnight. 

She did her straight-up jumps while she was on leash in the backyard on a potty break. One minute she was peeing, the next she jumped straight up. It's a fine line between having enough leash to pee and not enough to jump. LOL I solved that by having a pocketful of treats and giving her a bunch after she relieves herself so she's more focused on getting a treat than jumping.

I was really looking for some ideas on how to safely keep her amused while she's out of the crate with me.


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

Good idea with the treats. What about a new bone or kong to keep her busy?


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Oh it's so tough with a really active dog! Maddy was so hard to contain too...we had to keep her near one of us on a harness and leash and crated when we weren't there because she is just too athletic and energetic to let loose until her spay was healed. That wobbler kong thing is good for keeping them occupied, and those hard rubber things (we call them treatfinders but I don't know what the real name is) that you hide things in and it takes forever to get them out, and some stuffies that she is normally not allowed (because she destroys them, but this time we let her). But there is no doubt she was a little squirrly when she was finally cleared for activity again! It's the hardest part of the whole spay thing  Also about a week after the spay, she had DESTROYED her cone so it was unrepairable! So she got out of it a little early.


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## Erin (Dec 11, 2012)

What about GNC Relax supplements? Or a calming pheromone spray? Even my batoutofhell cocker spaniel will rest and act like a normal dog on Relax. I use it during storms, parties and fireworks, but this could be a time to try it perhaps?


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## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

Wow, lots of excellent ideas! Thank you all. I should have thought of Kongs myself...duh...I think I was just so upset at her having to go back to hospital and so glad she's okay, my mind just went blank. I have to be careful she doesn't get anything too fatty to eat because of the diarrhea but I can probably tempt her with a small bit of peanut butter and fill the rest with kibble. Maybe I'll make her work for all her meals.

She loves her tummy rubs and definitely is always ready to get as many of those as possible so that'll slow her down some. LOL It's also a good way to check her incision every day. 

I had never thought of giving her some sacrificial stuffed toys. I don't get them for her anymore because she tears them apart but as long as I'm right there to make sure she doesn't swallow any stuffing, she'd love to have a couple to tear up....maybe one a day for the remaining time. LOL

I also hadn't thought of some kind of a calming agent. I'd rather not give her a pill because she has so many food allergies but a pheromone spray would certainly be worth a try, especially in the afternoon when she seems to be at her most active.

Three days down, four to go! I see a trip to PetsMart in the near future.


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## katbrat (May 8, 2011)

Kongs worked really well for Lexi those first few days when it was really important to keep her still and quiet. The down side is after about day three, she was all but playing catch with herself. She would take her Kong over the railing which goes down two flights of stairs and stick her head between the railings and drop it down and then fly down two flights of stairs and back up and try to do it all over again. The toys stayed on top of the fridge while she was healing. Good luck keeping your girl quiet while she heals.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Locking her in her crate, though sad, may be just what she needs. She will hate it but sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do for their own good. 

Our JRT had cruciate ligament surgery and had to be crated for 6 weeks! Being a JRT this was torture! But after paying for the sugery at $1700.00, we were not going to take a chance that he reinjure it! lol


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

Nicholas had both knees fixed when he was a year old and had to be crated for 8 weeks. It was torture for everyone. We did walk him 3 times a day though but that was the only time he got out of the cage other than potty breaks. 


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## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

In the grand scheme of things, I guess a week isn't so bad. My last Rottie tore a cruciate and had TPLO surgery so I've been there, done that. LOL It's not like I haven't been in this position at least half a dozen times in the past and my dogs all healed from whatever surgery just fine but I am a total worry wort. :embarrassed: 

Cali's actually being very good today. She is listening well when she's out of the crate and I haven't had any problem with her trying to do something she shouldn't. I guess that's one advantage of waiting until they're a little older to spay them, the puppy crazies are gone and they at least have some obedience basics.

She also figured out the trick of dropping a ball down the stairs back when she was a puppy (the challenge of owning such a smart breed). Since I was wise to that trick, all my stairs have been gated off since she came home. My den couch, where she prefers to sleep, is piled high with pillows so she can't jump on it. Right now, she is very happily ensconced on her bed with a soup bone which is a treat she rarely gets.

The one lucky thing about this is that she hasn't even glanced at her incision so she only has to wear the cone when I'm not right there to watch her. She has allergies and chewing on her front paws every now and then seems to hold much more interest than licking her belly!

Only 2 1/2 more days 'til Tuesday when she goes back to the vet for a recheck and hopefully some freedom! Her incision looks really good. Not even a hint of redness and I can see it is knitting together really well. The incision was very tiny and I'm betting it'll be hard to even find pretty soon.


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