Dog after sterilization. Post-operative care for your dog

Sterilization is a common procedure that many owners of four-legged pets resort to if they do not plan to breed them. It involves removing the uterus and ovaries completely in order to eliminate the chance of pregnancy. One of key stages care upon completion is the treatment of the dog’s sutures after sterilization. The speed of the recovery process largely depends on how well it is carried out.

Dog on the first day after surgery

Strip surgery, performed under deep anesthesia, is a serious test for any living organism. Drugs that cause central inhibition nervous system and turning off pain sensitivity are eliminated from the body within 24 days. There is no need to treat the dog’s sutures after surgery on the first day. All your efforts should be directed towards restoring the animal’s strength.

In order not to undermine your pet’s health, it is important to closely monitor its condition and strictly follow the doctor’s basic recommendations:

Choose a place for your pet to rest on a flat surface, devoid of changes and hills. In the first hours, the animal has poor coordination of body movements and simply does not have enough strength to overcome obstacles.
In the room where she rests, provide a stable microclimate with optimal conditions and without drafts. IN postoperative period the dog's thermoregulation will be temporarily impaired and inhibited metabolic processes. You should not use a heating pad to warm a frozen and weakened animal - this can cause internal bleeding.
Maintain a starvation diet for the animal. Even a small portion of food can provoke vomiting, masses of which can simply choke the dog due to its weakened state.

While the dog is half asleep, shift it from side to side at least once an hour. This will avoid numbness of the extremities and reduce pulmonary edema. If your pet urinates on itself, use moisture-wicking diapers.

The following signs will indicate that complications have arisen after sterilization:

lack of urination or blood in the urine;
uneven intermittent breathing with open mouth;
fast or irregular heartbeat;
regular vomiting;
increase in body temperature.

Over the next 2-3 days, the dog will gradually recover from anesthesia. Her motor functions will fully recover and behavior will become normal.

How to properly process seams

The seam in a bitch after sterilization is located from the navel line to the tail area. Its length, depending on the size of the body, can vary from 3 to 15 cm. The need to remove the suture is determined by the type of material applied. Some threads “dissolve” on their own, others are removed 10-14 days from the day of surgery.

Until this point occurs, it is important to ensure that your dog's incision is cared for after surgery. To do this, in order to protect the treated area of the abdomen from “licking,” immediately after removal, a blanket made of thin, breathable material is put on the still sleepy dog.

Advice: since in the first days the healing seam may bleed slightly, staining the blanket, you should take care in advance of having a replacement set.

There is no need to remove the blanket when processing seams. It is enough just to untie the tapes in the abdominal area and move the material. The procedure itself does not cause painful sensations in an animal.

Processing should be done with gauze napkins or pieces folded in several layers sterile bandage. To soak bloody crusts, the material is generously soaked in a solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide.

The procedure includes a number of main steps:

Wipes soaked in the solution are applied alternately along the entire length of the seam.
Exfoliated bloody crusts are carefully removed from the treated area.
A new batch of wipes soaked in the solution removes any remaining dirt.
Wipe the treated area dry with clean, dry gauze.
The cleaned seam is covered thin layer levomekol ointment or treated with terramycin spray.
A sterile piece of gauze is placed on top, the blanket is lowered and the fixing ribbons are tied.

Important point: before treating sutures after surgery on a dog medicine, it is important to assess the condition of this area of the body. At good healing the skin will be dry and without redness, and changes will occur every day in better side. It will acquire a complete appearance in 7-10 days.

If the suture area is hot or has a swollen appearance, the edges of the wound diverge, and discharge leaks out of them - any of these signs indicate poor healing. The cause of this process may be infection or rejection of suture threads.

In this situation, it is better to show the animal to a veterinarian. In severe cases, it may be necessary to perform a procedure to excise the edges of the wound and apply stitches again. Manipulations of this kind are carried out under shallow anesthesia.

As it heals postoperative suture will start to itch. The dog will try to remove the blanket to alleviate its suffering. At this time, try to distract her with latex “chews”. To avoid accidentally stretching the suture material, limit the animal's movement during recovery. Give preference to quiet games and leisurely walks on the street away from playful fellow tribesmen.

Do not worry if the animal cannot defecate within the first 3 days after surgery. This is due to the fact that the administered drugs inhibit metabolic and excretory processes, including intestinal motility. If constipation lasts more than 3 days, help relieve the condition by feeding the animal Vaseline oil. The serving volume is calculated depending on the dog’s weight and varies from 5 to 30 ml.

After sterilization: what you should be prepared for

Sterilization, like any other surgery, may have its consequences. Most often they appear when the animal reaches seven years of age, regardless of what stage life path sterilization was carried out.

Kit excess weight. Changes in metabolism provoke the development of hormone-dependent obesity. To avoid this, following a diet developed depending on the breed, weight and age of the animal will help.
Urinary incontinence. Lack of estrogen in the body causes relaxation bladder. A course of drugs like “Propolin” will help normalize the tone of the sphincters.
Baldness. Change hormonal levels may also provoke the manifestation of alopecia. A course of taking female sex hormones will help correct the situation.

In general, the sterilization procedure does not change the individuality of the animal. Although it stops sexual cycles, it does not deprive the darling of her “feminine traits.”

Every animal, be it a yard dog or domestic cat, needs care, affection and nutrition. All this - natural needs any creature and, if all this is absent or manifests itself in insufficient quantities, the animal begins to suffer and lead an inferior lifestyle. Also, few people know that the health of a pet, especially bitches, is greatly affected by the lack of mating. IN modern world Most often, owners prefer sterilization. In addition to this, as practice has shown, this process has a beneficial effect on the gynecology of the animal.

Dog age for sterilization

In the USA this procedure It is carried out already from 6 weeks of age of the pet. In Russia, veterinarians prefer to carry out sterilization only from 6 one month old. Operations performed before the first heat have a particularly beneficial effect. They help avoid many problems in the future and reduce the risk of developing a breast tumor. The only requirement for the procedure is that the dog must be healthy.

Benefits of sterilization

Sterilization has large number benefits for both pets and their owners. For example, this procedure prevents unwanted offspring, reduces the chance of breast cancer, eliminates estrus, as well as the meowing familiar to all cat lovers, indicating the call of a partner.

The effect of sterilization on changes in a dog's character

How does sterilization affect dogs? As for the dog's character and behavior, the operation will not affect this in any way. Bitches experience activity (estrus) only 2 times a year and therefore their brain and body are not under the constant influence of hormones. Note that in females, unlike males, sex hormones begin to be active only after reaching puberty. As mentioned earlier, the individual character of a pet does not change after sterilization. The only thing that is possible is, so to speak, double dominance of the bitch. Let us recall that by their nature the female sex of dogs predominates over the male, and after the operation this property may double.

Postoperative period

Sterilization involves surgery. The operation is performed under anesthesia, so it takes some time for the dog to regain consciousness, sometimes this period lasts up to several hours. The animal recovers completely from anesthesia within 24 hours. For this reason, it is better if you keep an eye on your pets. To avoid unpleasant consequences costs adhere to a number of rules:

Place the operated dog on a flat surface not high from the floor;
as soon as the animal wakes up, give it water;
If necessary, blot the seam with a napkin. Subsequently it is treated with brilliant green. In case bloody discharge, cold is applied to the seam area;
feeding is carried out the next day, in small portions, using soft food;
Make sure your dog doesn't lick the seam. For this purpose, put on a protective collar and blanket;
the dog returns to its normal rhythm of life approximately on the third day after surgery;
treatment of seams is carried out within 10 days;
Antibiotic therapy is not necessary and is prescribed by the attending physician.

Nutrition for a sterilized dog

Be prepared for the dog's appetite to double, the reason being a change in metabolic rate. Frequent occurrence when sterilized dogs gain significant weight. This can be avoided by following simple rules. The first thing you need to do is reduce the calorie content of foods by 10-12%. The second thing is to make sure that the dog gets a sufficient amount of activity.

But all of the above is only superficial knowledge. If you dig deeper, it turns out that the reason for such an appetite is not only a change in metabolism. It is assumed that excessive consumption of food indicates reduced activity of the hormone estrogen, which suppresses appetite.

Experiments show that to prevent obesity in dogs, you need to reduce the amount of energy consumed. The amount of energy depends on the breed of dog.

With the development of the market, they began to produce special food for sterilized dogs marked light (which means light). The product contains a limited amount of fat, but increased level fiber. And as practice shows, these products are successful and have a positive effect on the dog’s health.

There is an expression “it will heal like a dog,” that is, without complications, quickly. However, recovery after sterilization does not always go smoothly. Much depends on the nature of the operation, the skill of the performer, and the patient’s immunity. In any case, the pet needs self-care after surgery.

In order for the restoration of the health of a sterilized animal to proceed successfully, its owner should know:

what to do in the first hours of the postoperative period;
How long does it take for the suture to heal and when can it be removed?
what should be alarming in a dog’s behavior after sterilization;
what are the possible complications after surgery?

Proper care of your dog after sterilization involves:

understanding general provisions O recovery period, which follows abdominal surgery and involves withdrawal of anesthesia within 24 hours;
following the surgeon's specific recommendations.

Day one

How successful the dog's recovery will be depends mainly on the care it receives in the first 24 hours after surgery. During this critical period, the owner will be required to:

deliver the patient home from the clinic safe and sound, that is, in a box lined with clean bedding; in windy, cold weather, it is worth covering the animal with a warm blanket;
at home, you need to shift the sleeping pet onto a soft mattress located on a flat surface, but not on the bed or in a draft - this will prevent muscle pain, accidental falls, and colds;
the bed should be placed away from the radiator to avoid bleeding;
in case of involuntary urination, you should prepare diapers with absorbent properties and change them on time so that the animal does not lie in a cold puddle;
To prevent numbness in the paws, you will need to periodically turn over the “baby” who is in a narcotic sleep.

But caring for the dog after sterilization on the first day does not end there.

It is necessary to monitor the general condition of the four-legged ward. Her breathing should be smooth, her heartbeat should be rhythmic, her mucous membranes should not be pale or bluish.

Contact for medical care it is necessary if the dog after sterilization:

breathes heavily, intermittently, with wheezing or gurgling sounds;
trembles for more than 30 minutes;
twitches in convulsions;
temperature (39.5-40° C).

Day two

During the postoperative period, it takes time to recover from anesthesia. Not entirely adequate behavior after the first day should not be scary. Until the animal’s reflexes return to normal, it can walk staggering, bump into objects, freeze in place, and look around in confusion.

Even if the dogs were successfully sterilized, care after the operation must be thoughtful and thorough. Insufficient attention to the pet during the rehabilitation period can negate all the efforts of the surgeon. The owner should know what symptoms to consult a doctor for, how to speed up the recovery process, and what behavior of the dog after sterilization is considered normal.

Abdominal surgery under deep anesthesia is a serious test for the body. In order not to undermine your pet’s health, you need to write down the doctor’s recommendations and follow them exactly, without trusting the advice of friends. A responsible veterinarian will tell you everything about caring for your dog after sterilization, based on your specific case. The article gives only general recommendations, the last word belongs to the doctor!

During anesthesia, all body functions slow down, so the dog can freeze, even if it is warm outside and indoors - you need to transport your pet in a box, on a bedding, covering the sleeping dog with a blanket. So that recovery after sterilization of the dog is not complicated by muscle pain and general weakness, at home, your pet should be laid on a flat surface, on a mattress, and also covered with a blanket. Do not place the lounger in a draft, on a bed, near a radiator, or use a heating pad - heating can lead to internal bleeding.

While the dog is sleeping, it may wet itself - use absorbent diapers and change them regularly so that your pet does not freeze. Switch your dog from side to side every half hour to reduce the risk of pulmonary edema and avoid numbness in the limbs.

During the period of anesthetic sleep, caring for the dog after sterilization is reduced to observation. It is important that breathing and heart rate were smooth, without interruptions. Good sign– the presence of reactions to stimuli (if you tickle, the dog withdraws its paw or ear). The absence of reactions means that the level of the drug for induction of anesthesia is still quite high, and the pet will not come to its senses soon.

To prevent sterilization of dogs from leading to sore throats and sore eyes during the postoperative period, you should moisturize the mucous membranes every half hour: drops of “Artificial Tears” in the eyes and a few drops of water on the cheek. But if the dog is already regaining consciousness, changes position during sleep, reacts to touch, or if the surgeon has treated the tailed patient’s eyelids with gel, these precautions are unnecessary.

Many owners do not know what to do after sterilizing a dog if the pet’s condition worsens. If signs of illness are noticeable, you should urgently contact a veterinarian without trying to help your pet yourself! IN in rare cases after anesthesia, pulmonary edema develops, respiratory and cardiovascular functions are impaired, which can be seen by the following symptoms:

uneven breathing, intermittent, heavy, the dog breathes with an open mouth. You can hear wheezing, squelching and gurgling in the chest;

temperature is more than 1 degree above or below normal. A slight (half a degree) decrease in temperature during anesthesia and a slight increase in temperature during the first two days after anesthesia are considered normal;

the heart beats frequently or rarely, intermittently. The mucous membranes are very pale or bluish. A short, slight trembling is considered normal, but if it does not go away within half an hour or turns into convulsions, consult a doctor immediately.

Often, recovery after sterilization of a dog, or more precisely, after recovery from anesthesia, is mentally exhausting for the owner. The dog, having already woken up, but still under the influence of the drug, looks very weak - it staggers, bumps into corners, freezes in one position for a long time, looks strange, and reacts slowly to the voice. Sometimes a dog’s behavior changes dramatically after sterilization: panic, aggression are possible, the pet crawls under the bed, does not allow itself to be touched, and does not recognize family members. This is all normal, don’t be alarmed. You need to wait until motor functions and other reflexes are fully restored: calm your pet, sit next to her, caress her - let her sleep or just lie down.

If the dog does not allow you to get close to him (in extremely rare cases, deep anesthesia causes hallucinations, which does not require treatment), there is no need to insist: close all the cracks where your pet can crawl, and leave him alone, observing the behavior and condition of the pet from the outside. .

Report any changes in behavior or any symptoms of illness to your veterinarian immediately. Do not hesitate to bother the doctor by calling - consultations during the postoperative period are included in the cost of the procedure.

Read also: Sterilization of dogs: pros and cons

Seams: processing and other precautions

If, after castration, stitches rarely bother a male dog, then with females it is more complicated. Some doctors prescribe painkillers right away, others only when necessary. This need occurs if:

the owner knows that the dog does not tolerate pain well. You need to inform your doctor about this in advance;

the owner notices that rehabilitation after sterilization of the dog is complicated severe pain. For example, a pet whines during defecation, moves with caution, whines during sudden movements, and gnaws furiously at the seam.

The use of painkillers can significantly speed up the recovery process, since, in pain, the dog is reluctant to move and constantly damages the suture with its teeth. In addition, many veterinarians prescribe antibiotics to eliminate the risk of inflammation. Do not neglect the recommendations, referring to the words of friends: “but we didn’t stuff the dog with anything!”

Whether suture treatment will be required after a dog is spayed depends on the type of suture material, the method of suturing, and the method of postoperative treatment. Those. in each specific case, drugs are prescribed only by a doctor. If the veterinarian said that there is no need to treat the suture, but the owner notices that the wound takes a long time to heal or suddenly becomes inflamed (swelling, redness, rash, discharge of any color), a second consultation is required. The seam after sterilization of the dog should be dry, without any crusts or ulcers, without scratching or other signs of inflammation. Normally, changes for the better are noticeable every day.

To protect the seam from bacteria and various mechanical damage, you will need a blanket for the dog after sterilization. Usually the dog is given to the owners already in a blanket, but one is not enough - the thin, breathable material quickly gets dirty and wet. It is advisable to change the bandage once a day, putting a clean and always ironed (even if it is new) blanket on your pet. There is no need to remove the blanket when processing the seam; just untie a few ribbons and move the material to the side.

In most cases, sterilization does not lead to any negative consequences. However this abdominal surgery performed under deep anesthesia, which is associated with certain risks. In addition, complications after sterilization of dogs can arise due to surgeon error, improper postoperative care, individual characteristics body or due to insufficient preparation for surgery.

Unfortunately, in practice it is impossible to predict how the body will react to the introduction of anesthesia. As a rule, most pets tolerate anesthesia normally, and no peak situations arise during the procedure. Exceptions: acute intolerance, acute allergic reactions, cardiac and respiratory functions. In such cases, everything depends only on the qualifications of the doctors. But when sterilizing dogs, complications associated with deep anesthesia can also appear at home, when the owner thinks that the worst is over.

While your pet is sleeping and while she is recovering from anesthesia, it is important to monitor three indicators - temperature, pulse and respiration. Possible complications– pulmonary edema, cardiopulmonary failure and other interruptions in the functioning of the lungs and heart. You should consult a doctor if the pulse is thready, weak, intermittent, breathing is intermittent, wheezing is heard in the chest, and your pet is breathing with an open mouth. The condition of the dog after sterilization is unsatisfactory if the mucous membranes of the eyelids and lips are very pale or bluish. The temperature can be reduced by 1 degree while the dog is sleeping. Upon regaining consciousness, the temperature returns to normal or rises half a degree above normal - this is how it should be.

Rehabilitation period

As mentioned above, most pets tolerate anesthesia normally (more than 90% of dogs, including chronically ill but properly prepared ones). More often, problems arise later, on the next day or several days after the operation. To prevent complications after sterilization of a dog from leading to a sad outcome, it is important to constantly monitor your pet, informing the veterinarian about the slightest suspicion of illness. And please, no amateur activities: a doctor knows better than a friend or neighbor what your pet needs.

Inflammation of sutures - redness, swelling, itching, rash, ulcers, crusts, scratching. Treatment is local treatment, sometimes a course of antibiotics. The cause may be improper postoperative treatment, veterinarian negligence, or failure to comply with basic sanitation standards. If a dog has problems with the oral cavity (tartar, plaque, etc.), it can itself become infected by licking the seam. To prevent the dog from gnawing on the “sore” after sterilization, to protect the seam from contamination and mechanical damage, be sure to put a blanket on your pet.

Rupture (divergence) of sutures can occur due to the fault of the surgeon (failure to comply with technology) or the owner (neglected care of the dog). The pet can chew the threads, the seam can burst due to stretching (active games, tension during bowel movements). If after sterilization your dog has discharge from the wound (purulent, bloody, unclear gray-yellowish or transparent - any), be sure to call the surgeon who operated on the pet.

Surgical infection – high temperature and increased heart rate or low temperature And weak pulse. Apathy, thirst, poor appetite, vomit. Necessary urgent treatment antibiotics, symptomatic therapy, in some cases reoperation to disinfect the source of infection. The infection can develop slowly: after sterilization, the dog is constantly lethargic, the temperature is slightly elevated, the appetite is not very good, the pet sleeps more than usual, etc. The cause of infection is the presence of active pathogenic bacteria, which could get inside due to non-compliance with the rules of asepsis and antisepsis during the operation. In some cases, despite the surgeon’s care, an infection develops due to factors aggravating the operation (pyometra, endometritis, and other infections of the uterus and/or ovaries).

Internal bleeding - low blood pressure, drop in temperature, pale mucous membranes, rapid or weak breathing, rapid pulse. After sterilization, the dog does not eat, does not want to move, sleeps a lot, and has a shaky gait. This is a condition that requires immediate intervention doctor! There are many reasons, from the negligence of the surgeon to the mistakes of the owner. For example, bleeding may open due to heating of the seam, and many owners like to place a heating pad under the dog or place the pet near the radiator, which is absolutely not allowed. If immediately after sterilization the dog bleeding from the vulva, you should also consult a doctor immediately.

Postoperative hernia is a prolapse internal organs V subcutaneous layer, which occurs due to the discrepancy internal seams. What the owner sees: outer seam intact, the threads are not torn, but somewhere on the side a “bump” forms. Not a purulent “bag”, but just some kind of bulge without signs of inflammation. The reasons are too rapid resorption of the suture material (the threads have already disappeared, but the incision has not yet healed), non-compliance with the suturing technique. In most cases, repeat surgery is required.