Update on Abbey...9 yr. old Brittany Spaniel spay.

[ArtistKarin]

I was finally able to get Abbey into the vet to be spayed, she did great...but it was really scary for 2 days afterwards!!

After 2 failed attempts to bring her in for her appointment, one due to her getting some food the morning of the surgery; and the other a scheduling mix-up, I made sure I had everything covered for when we brought her home. The 1st hurdle (after waiting several anxious hours until I could call to check to see how she was doing), occurred after she was all done & we were picking her up...it was getting her into the back seat of the car without disturbing her incision & causing her pain. That actually went ok, but even though I sat back there with her; keeping her comfortable was REALLY hard, since she had got herself into a position where she was wedged up against the far door. Not wanting to try to move her, as a result I ended up having to sit in a very awkward position for the 45 minute ride home; in order to hold her head from resting right against the door, (while at the same time trying to offer her comfort by stroking her head).

Even though I had been advised beforehand by the vet that the intermittent shaking Abbey was experiencing was "normal", I couldn't help but be concerned about it; especially since I was unable to do any thing to change it. To me it looked like it must be making her incredibly uncomfortable, since her whole body seemed to tense up whenever she would shake. Fortunately, it would subside for periods of time and she was actually able to sleep for part of the ride.

Getting her out of the car was tricky, but once we got her in the house it was all about trying to help her find a comfortable position. She seemed to find one, only to get up & move around every few minutes. This lasted for about an hour and then she finally settled down. Unfortunately, she repeated this scenario several times during the night, and neither she nor I were able to get much sleep.

The next day, Abbey seemed a bit better...she was more alert since the anesthesia had worn off, however; I did give her the maximum amount of recommended pain medication: (2 "Tramadol"); which kept her sedated and sleeping most of the day...since even at 9 yrs. old; she's still pretty hyperactive. I wanted to ensure she was enduring the least amount of pain possible, and the vet had prescribed enough exactly for that reason. I had decided not to keep Abbey confined in a 'kennel' since she had never been in one before, and I wanted to be able to be close enough to her to be able to comfort her whenever possible. Using couch cushions and a ramp we constructed made it possible for her to get on & off her futon bed as well as the couch without having to exert herself; (possibly tearing her sutures), and we had planned it out carefully in advance in order to be sure that she couldn't jump up or down on anything for 7-10 days.

After giving her small amounts of food & water the next morning, and increasing as the day wore on; I figured it was time for her to have to go poop. Taking her out to use the bathroom was quite challenging, I had brought her out to empty her bladder a short distance from the back door several times after we got her home, but when it came to pooping it required enough room for her to find the 'right spot' & since she was normally used to being let out into our fenced-in backyard; I now had to have her on a very short leash so she couldn't run or jump. The bigger issue was the 8 inches of snow we just got the day before her surgery, and although we had packed it down well; I needed to make sure she didn't get her incision wet.

I was still fairly concerned about the shaking she was still exhibiting at times, since at this point I thought the anesthesia should have been out of her system long enough not to not be a factor; so being Saturday & the vet's office was closed, I looked it up on the internet. After checking out several websites, the general consensus indicated that it was probably related to the anesthetic, which there could still be some amount of left in her system. I continued giving Abbey two Tramadol, which made her sleep most of the day and night, & by the 2nd night, I felt we had things under control and that we had a routine that was working. Abbey was eating regularly and her digestive system seemed to be working they way it should, and she was moving around much better.

By Monday morning Abbey still had moments when she still was shaking, and although they were much less frequent; I decided to give the vet's office a call. The technician I spoke with checked with the vet who told me that it could still be related to pain and she decided that although usually at this point, one Tramadol would be what she would recommend for pain management; she wanted Abbey to continue to have two. By Wed. the shaking had subsided completely, and I decided to try giving her one Tramadol and see how she did. Her energy increased & therefore our diligence of keeping her from being too active did too, but I really didn't like seeing her so sedated and lethargic...so I stepped-up my monitoring of her physical activity. This continued for several more days, and it was difficult, but she seemed like her old self...in fact, a little too much so; which kept me really busy. She wanted to go outside a lot more often and luckily, the fact that I am self-employed and I work at home; meant that I was able to take the time off to be able to give her that kind of attention.

Despite the incredible commitment involved in having an older female dog spayed, I would not hesitate to have the surgery done. Abbey was in danger of contracting "Pyometra", an almost-always fatal disease which starts as an infection of the uterus; as well as having the increased chance of developing mammary cancer if this procedure wasn't done.



P.S. I just had to share this! While I was leaving to take her for a walk with her best friend and house-mate "Missy", a woman called to me from her car across the street and asked if Abbey was a Brittany Spaniel? She said that she had recently lost her 16 yr. old Brittany, that Abbey could have been her dog's 'twin'...and that it "Made her day" to see her.

Thank you Traci, for all your help & advice prior to Abbey's surgery...I believe she now has the best chance for living the longest, most healthy life...maybe to 16 or even longer!

[Traci]

When dogs shake like that after surgery, it is usually a combination of anesthetic, pain medication, and stress. It is for this reason we like to keep pets overnight so we can monitor their vitals - no pet should be released if a vital is off (fever, anesthetic prolonged, lethargic etc)

I suspect it was mainly pain, since younger pets tend to heal much more comfortably and quicker than older pets. This is why we prefer to send pain medication home with the owner because we cannot predict how comfortable the pet will or won't be during recovery.

It sounds like you took excellent care of her (and so did your vet), thanks for doing the right thing by getting her spayed. Please, in the future, should you adopt any young pet (or any age for that matter), providing they are in excellent health and appropriate age and examined by the vet, spay/neuter as soon as possible. For every heat cycle, the risk for mammary cancer increases. For every unspayed and unneutered pet, the risks increase for several types of cancer (reproductive organs).