Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Everyone,

I thought I would let you know how our little girl is doing. She came through the surgery fine and is recovery comfortably at home.

We were told to restrict her feeding and water intake to small amounts for the first day home and to restrict her activity for ten days (that should be interesting).

On Saturday, she did very little; always sleeping. She shook when you held her, poor thing. The scar is almost half her size!
She seemed to struggle with bowel movements Saturday evening and Sunday morning until finally things started to move, poor thing.

The weather was beautiful today in PA and late afternoon, she hung out with me while I raked leaves. Gretal seemed more like herself, wandering around the yard with her wagging tail. She had an accident in the kitchen on a small area rug tonight. I was cooking and turned around and she had peed on the rug. Maybe poor timing on my part, or maybe something to do with the recovery?? She hasn't been licking at the area much, but she is acting very timid.
Kathy

Awww, poor baby. She'll be fine, I'm sure. If you've ever had surgery, you know you feel pretty poor for a few days. I'm sure in a bit she'll be her old self again.
-----
Melody/PHFasDog
Email me at PHFasDog

My furkids:
Shadow, Jadzia and Lyta.
Kira waiting the bridge.

Dogs come into our lives, and too quickly go leaving pawprints on our hearts, and we will never be quite the same again.

Glad to hear Gretel went through the surgery fine. She will be up and bouncing around before you know it!

Congratulations!

Lori

>>Hello Everyone,
>>
>>I thought I would let you know how our little girl is doing. She came through the surgery fine and is recovery comfortably at home.
>>
>>We were told to restrict her feeding and water intake to small amounts for the first day home and to restrict her activity for ten days (that should be interesting).
>>
>>On Saturday, she did very little; always sleeping. She shook when you held her, poor thing. The scar is almost half her size!
>>She seemed to struggle with bowel movements Saturday evening and Sunday morning until finally things started to move, poor thing.
>>
>>The weather was beautiful today in PA and late afternoon, she hung out with me while I raked leaves. Gretal seemed more like herself, wandering around the yard with her wagging tail. She had an accident in the kitchen on a small area rug tonight. I was cooking and turned around and she had peed on the rug. Maybe poor timing on my part, or maybe something to do with the recovery?? She hasn't been licking at the area much, but she is acting very timid.
>>Kathy

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It sounds like the veterinarian may not have explained what restricted activity means. The dog needs to be either in a crate or on a leash or in a very tiny room at all times for that 10 days. She will forget about being sore if she gets excited enough, and could hurt herself badly.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

Hello!
I'm so happy that there is good news to report on Gretal. We lost our Calvin, a mini-pinscher, after a really bad reaction to his twice a year immunization shots. I think the veterinarian was careless so am very hesitant to trust another one. It'll take me along time to screen, interview, get recommendations from others to find a new veterinarian for our remaining mini-pin.

Can I ask a question: why did your Gretal need to have a hysterectomy? I ask because our remaining mini-pin is also female and we never had her spayed. Do I need to worry as she gets older? Or should we just trust in God's handiwork and assume she'll be perfectly healthy? I ask because another friend of our family lost their dog who was also female due to the same type of problems. He said his doctor told him it was because they didn't have her spayed either.

What reason do we need to do this? What symptoms do we look for if not?

Happy days for Gretal who's back in good health!

GillyLoch

>>Hello!
>>I'm so happy that there is good news to report on Gretal. We lost our Calvin, a mini-pinscher, after a really bad reaction to his twice a year immunization shots. I think the veterinarian was careless so am very hesitant to trust another one. It'll take me along time to screen, interview, get recommendations from others to find a new veterinarian for our remaining mini-pin.
>>
>>Can I ask a question: why did your Gretal need to have a hysterectomy? I ask because our remaining mini-pin is also female and we never had her spayed. Do I need to worry as she gets older? Or should we just trust in God's handiwork and assume she'll be perfectly healthy? I ask because another friend of our family lost their dog who was also female due to the same type of problems. He said his doctor told him it was because they didn't have her spayed either.
>>
>>What reason do we need to do this? What symptoms do we look for if not?
>>
>>Happy days for Gretal who's back in good health!
>>
>>GillyLoch

>>>>>>>>>>>

Female dogs never stop going into heat, no matter how old they get. The more seasons they go through, the higher their risk of uterine infection climbs. Their risk of mammary gland cancer also skyrockets, as does the risk of uterine cancer. When people do not spay females at young ages, they usually wind up having to do it later due to illness. Sometimes it's too late to save the female dog's life.

God didn't create female dogs to be as fertile as they are, nor male dogs, either. Humans have extensively tinkered with the genetics of dogs in order to make breeding more profitable. Because the reproductive functions of dogs are no longer "natural," we have special caretaking responsibilities for them.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com