No More Nuts

Many of you have been kind enough to give me reassurance (and jokes!) when I have been stressing about getting Kuchar neutered and have asked about his progress.

I won't go into here about the WHY my gut feeling was that the time had come at 16 months old (although I will explain if asked to, on a seperate topic), but as far as I know no-one has given out a time-line of what to expect when this procedure (for whatever reason) has been decided upon for a male dog. So, incase it is of interest , I am posting a diary, as follows:-

Day 1 - after no more food, chewies etc since 8pm last night (although water was allowed), Kuchar was delivered to the vets at 9am. He waltzed off happily with the nurse without a backward glance at me! I had to have a rapid ciggie in the car to stop my tears.

At 12.20 I phoned the vet - Kuchar had come through the op and anaesthetic with no problems and was sitting up.

15.30 as advised, I arrived to collect Kuchar. The vet nurse gave lots of advice about post-operative care and answered all my questions eg when would semen production cease? Answer 4-6 weeks. When would testosterone levels lower? Answer 4-6 weeks.

Apparently, the stitches now used for the single incision are internal (sub-cutaneous) and will dissolve as healing progresses, and cannot be pulled out by teeth or softened from licking ( a great advance since I had my last bitch spayed 20 years ago). The main concern is now infection of the operation site through licking, and I was given a "lamp-shade" to prevent this.

Arriving home, Kuchar was very disorientated and confused from the anaesthetic and painkillers. He soon showed signs of wanting go outside where he did a poo with no apparent discomfort. We live in a 3-storey town house, which means negotiating stairs to go outside, but he was OK with this. But most often he stood and swayed and I lifted him gently onto his favourite chair.

Sometime later he showed signs of wanting to go outside again, and he had a wee (very concentrated judging by the colour) and later on a more normal wee.

But apart from accepting a couple of cubes of cooked liver, he hasn't eaten anything tonight. And he hasn't drunk any water at all.

He's sleeping now on his favourite char - more tomorrow if you can bear it.

Awww, poor little fella! He'll be right as rain before you know it.

Have you got any ice cubes, Lynda? He really should be encouraged to get some water inside him if possible & ice is usually a bit more palatable after anaesthetic.

Maybe he could be tempted with a bit of scrambled egg in the morning!

Aww bless his little cotton socks , thanks for the update Lynda

I think a diary is a good idea to help others

Great post and very infirmative. Sounds just like marley was except i had to collect him early as his howls and staffy chitters were upsetting the other animals lol. He'll be back to normal in no time and looking forward to your next post on his progress

Aaawww, poor Kuchar, but he'll be fine agree with Caryll about giving him some ice cubes to get a bit of water in him if he won't drink.

Thanks everyone.

Janey, Yes that was my hope. I know I would have appreciated some idea of what to expect so I just hope it will interest others who are contemplating this op.

Caryll - thank you for your encouragement! I've tried an ice cube but he just didn't want to know! I'm guessing the vets somehow got some water into him today as his second wee was a lot less concentrated than the first one. I'm glad he has been able to wee and poo normally; his water uptake will be monitored very closely tomorrow!

Thank you Dave; be warned (knowing what you are planning for Tommy in a year's time) - they don't "trim" the scrotal sac so at the moment Kuchar has two little flaps - I am told they will swell over the next few days and then start shrinking over a period of time.

Nathan - thank you. Apparently Kuchar cried in recovery , but we haven't had a peep from him since getting him home - I think he was just maybe wondering wtf was happening to him.

Glad to hear he's ok!

Chance still has his erm 'sack' and he was neutered 18 months ago! still looks like he has balls at times

Heal quickly young man xX


Moo's anesthetic for the x rays lasted 48 hours bless her, when she had it for the op she was ok the next day Xx

Glad he went through it well! I agree, try some ice cubs My girl doesn't drink much and she loves a good ice cub I'm glad he's not in any discomfort ect too! Sound like he's doing great Thank you for the update!

Aww bless Kuchar - Pleased to hear it's gone well and isn't too upset over his ordeal. I will look for your next post as we may have to consider it for Otis at some point as one of his haven't descended. Hope he gets some fluids in too

otisthestafford wrote:Aww bless Kuchar - Pleased to hear it's gone well and isn't too upset over his ordeal. I will look for your next post as we may have to consider it for Otis at some point as one of his haven't descended. Hope he gets some fluids in too

I know it's not a dog, but that happened to one of my sisters cats! It wasn't causing him any problems, and when he did have the snip he was fine (just incase you were worried ect)

Aw! Poor lad. Glad to hear he is recovering!

Helpful info Lynda and I hope Kuchar is back to himself soon ><

I hope he's doing ok this morning. When I brought frankie home after neutering he was very sorry for himself that night, he layed on a hot water bottle and didn't move! Woke up the next morning and there he was wanting his normal morning walk! And a diary is. Great idea!

Glad to hear that Kuchar is doing so well after his op. Don't worry about his little sack, this will shrink in time as Rockys did when he was done by the vets at the rescue centre.

How is he this morning?

CodlingKid wrote:

otisthestafford wrote:Aww bless Kuchar - Pleased to hear it's gone well and isn't too upset over his ordeal. I will look for your next post as we may have to consider it for Otis at some point as one of his haven't descended. Hope he gets some fluids in too

I know it's not a dog, but that happened to one of my sisters cats! It wasn't causing him any problems, and when he did have the snip he was fine (just incase you were worried ect)

Cheers Just upset it hasn't come down as would like to have had him entire for the health benefits but going to leave it as long as we can... Ah well Mother Nature I suppose.

Hope Kuchar is feeling better today

How is he hun? Xx

Bless him !!

Crushed ice is nice if he dosent appreciate cubes. Also add a touch of water to his meals.
Hope he is bk to his usual self fast x

hope he's feeling better today ><

Day 2

Kuchar had a fairly good night, but often preferred to sleep under my bed rather than on it.

This morning he yummed up his painkiller (Rimadyl Pal) but still wouldn't look at his water or his nice scrambled egg, but ate a few bits of cooked liver and some of my son's buttered toast. As the day progressed, he became more and more lively, going up and down both our flights of stairs, jumped on the dining room table before we could stop him, looking to go for a walk, and becoming more like his normal self. Then, at 2pm, my son heard him going at his wound. He had been so good about it up to now that we hadn't tried to put his lampshade on. I looked and Aaargh - it was gaping open for about 5cm and took him to vet. He would NOT let them look at it, so they took him "in", gave him some time to cool down, then gave him a sedative, which he fought off until it Finally overcame him and they were able to restitch the wound. I collected him at 5pm and he was in a terrible state, panting like a steam train and refusing to walk with his lampshade on, which they had to tie to his collar.

Back at home, I managed to get him to lick at an ice cube held in my hand and gradually, gradually he calmed down. He HATES the lampshade with a passion, but has learned to walk around a bit without it catching on the floor, although he is still not all happy. He managed to drink a bit of water by me holding up a brimming cup to his lips. I had cooked him a nice bit of chicken, which he ate a bit of, but then turned his nose up at as he much prefers cooked liver, which he ate quite a bit of (about 150g or so) before I stopped giving it to him as I didn't want to overload his tummy after his virtual starvation for the past 48 hours. He won't consider the chicken and rice recovery food which we got from the vet. All this has had to be fed to him by hand as he couldn't reach his food bowl or water bowl even if he wanted to (which he didn't) because of the lampshade.

I supppose the good thing about the lampshade is that he now seems to have lost all courage to tackle the stairs on his own (which means I have to carry him up and down), never mind jump on the table. And I'll have to lift him on and off of my bed tonight. Plus, he is now lying down on the floor for a rest with both his hind legs to one side, not froggy-fashion which I'm sure didn't help the wound situation.

Nightmare - I currently am wishing I hadn't let my poor little boy in for all this (and my son is still trying to forgive me).

Awww, poor Kuchar! Silly boy to lick his wound so much - why don't they trust us?

But I suppose he went to the vets with his 'attributes' and came out without them, why should he trust?

Those lampshades are awful, Dempsey got really depressed when he had to wear one. The good thing is they heal so quickly that he probably won't have to wear it for long.

Big hugs to Kuchar & to you! ><

After him doing so well too. I hope he is feeling much better tomorrow, poor love - you just feel so sad for them, but they do bounce back quickly. I was going to say its more traumatic for us, but he certainly has been through the mill. I went through it last year with Lils so big hug from us ><

Aww poor kuchar, >< >< hugs all round.

Well, sometimes it just takes a couple days to get back into the swing of things. Once Kutcher is better, if your son gives you a rough time you can always threaten to take him in... bad joke... couldn't help myself. Forgive my mean hardheartedness please.

>< Aww poor Kuchar what is he like getting himself into trouble bless him. Glad to hear he is eating even if he is picky hehe. Lampshades are awkward things - My mum & dads JR became quite skilled with it in the end when she needed one haha. Hope he continues to improve

Thank you all - Kuchar is currently calmer but still miserable. He did manage to get his head down to his food bowl and eat a bit, but basically he picked the cooked chicken out from the soft (wet) chicken and rice recovery food and just now he has managed (and wanted to) get down to his water bowl and drink ! Big relief.

Honestly, I underestimated the impact of this op. I've had two Dobe bitches spayed in the past and it is after all a worse op for a female (although my son doesn't seem to agree!) - going through the abdominal muscles - but they never suffered like this and didn't need to wear a lampshade. But there again, they weren't as boisterous as a Staffy so didn't tear at their stitches by jumping onto tables! Plus, my underestimation stems from me being a country girl - all the calves, lambs and pigs were castrated,under a local anaesthetic, and scampered off afterwards with no need for lampshades or intensive care.

I'm not anticipating an easy night's sleep tonight cos he has to sleep with this horrid uncomfortable thing around his head - we'll see shortly!

Update tomorrow, if you can bear it.

Glad to hear he is drinking and eating a little >< Poor boy, I'm sure he will be back to normal in no time

How is Kuchar today so far. Poor fella, having a rough time of it, but he will soon be back to his own self before you know it. Good to hear hes drinking his water. Thats the important thing. Hugs to you all from me and Pixee ><

Day 3

Kuchar could NOT settle to sleep for very long at a time, and 4am he started panting heavily and crying. For 2 pins I would have taken the wretched lampshade off, but restrained myself. I carried him down our two flights of stairs where he squatted and (presumably) did a wee. I carried him back up to the kitchen where he had a good drink of water and ate some of his food. I then carried him back up to my bed and put him on it, and he settled down comfortably and relaxed (for the first time since Wednesday morning) and slept peacefully until he awoke at 10am. Another huge relief. Whilst he was asleep I managed to get a proper look at the op site - it's not very long, about 2 inches, and has only about 4 of 5 external stitches in it that I can see. The wound looked clean and only slightly swollen and reddened.

Daytime, and he is now jumping up and down from the bed again, and will also go up and down the stairs if he knocks my barricades over. I am doing my best to stop him using the stairs and carry him up and down when necessary. He hasn't attempted to jump onto the table yet thank goodness!

He had his post-op check at the vets this afternoon and did get distressed when he found that we were at the vet's AGAIN! A quick squiz by the vet nurse reassured that all was going well, wound-wise. Whilst waiting, I weighed him - he was 21.15 kilos on Wednesday morning and now weighs 20.70 kilos, so he has lost nearly half a kilo (that's nearly 1lb in old money) since then. And no, his poor little conkers didn't weigh THAT much!

I can start taking him for a 10 minute walk each day on a short lead (avoiding mud and long grass) on Sunday. The hated lampshade must stay on at least until his next check-up, which is next Thursday (7 days after op).

I don't want to bore you all by continuing a day-to-day diary (unless anyone wants me to!) as hopefully the dramas are now behind us, so I would like to thank you all very much for your messages of support and good wishes.

good to hear he is mending well Lynda , it's good that you keep us updated

Thanks Dave (and everyone else) - fingers crossed!

Lynda wrote:Day 3

Whilst waiting, I weighed him - he was 21.15 kilos on Wednesday morning and now weighs 20.70 kilos, so he has lost nearly half a kilo (that's nearly 1lb in old money) since then. And no, his poor little conkers didn't weigh THAT much!

Lynda that just cracked me up.

Very pleased that he is now getting along better. ><

Thanks Kathy, he is getting along a bit better although obviously not his normal self.

I weighed him because he hasn't been eating properly, if at all, but I admit I was worried to see just how much weight he had lost in little over 2 days (and he wasn't at all fat before).

Ouchie , bless him!

How's Kuchar doing now Lynda? Made a full recovery yet?

Thank you for asking Cody!

The wound (it will be 7 days tomorrow since it had to be stitched up again) looks dry and not swollen, but still a bit scabby and 3 stitches (supposedly disolvable) still in situ. Kuchar himself is now full of beans and longing to play but still has that lampshade on, which seems to be more and more depressing him as it restricts him so much.

He's going back to the vet tomorrow Thursday at 3pm - I'm hoping against hope that the lampshade can then come off but not counting on it as 10 days has been mentioned.

I'll let you know!

Good luck in getting the lampshade off Glad to hear is he is over the worst now and back to his normal self

Thank you Sarah!

Poor Kuchar, I hope the vet lets him take the lampshade off today ><

Keeping my fingers crossed Kylie, thank you!

Poor Kuchar! Dempsey gets really depressed with one of those on (and he's had to wear his fair share of them) so he sends big wet kisses to Kuchar & hopes the nasty thing will be taken off today!

Thank you Caryll and Kuchar thanks Dempsey for the big wet kiss.

Alas it was not to be - the lampshade is still there. Although the vet was happy that the wound is looking good she said to keep it on until Monday (which was always going to be the magic day, being 10 days after the op) because if by some unlucky chance he ripped at the stitches that are still visible we would have to go to the extremely expensive 24/7 animal hospital as our vet is closed over the weekend.

Ah well, we can only hope that it will all be worth it in the long run. >< to all of you for your concern!

Awww bless him! Just another few days sweet heart ><

Counting down the days and hours Janey, and if Kuchar could count he would be too. As it is, he thinks he's stuck in the thing forever - can't play with his road-kill duck, his Kong and worst of all - his chums! I really wished I hadn't put him (and us) through it, it was worse than I expected, but have already seen one benefit (Dave will know what I mean when I say "duvet cover") !

The healing process differs, and dare I say it (not out for a debate) a reason why I have my girls done younger is because they recover quicker, he'll be back to himself soon.

A friend at the pub has his dog in a lamp shade and must say it makes me giggle poor mite!

Lynda wrote:Counting down the days and hours Janey, and if Kuchar could count he would be too. As it is, he thinks he's stuck in the thing forever - can't play with his road-kill duck, his Kong and worst of all - his chums! I really wished I hadn't put him (and us) through it, it was worse than I expected, but have already seen one benefit (Dave will know what I mean when I say "duvet cover") !

Yeh , noticed I have a little problem with the back seat of the car too