No More Nuts

First topic message reminder :

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.

Oh crikey Dave, didn't think to check the back seat of my car! What with that and the car sickness I think I'd better get it power-washed!

I'm due a new car in a couple of months , best make sure I get it valeted first or I will be the talk of the office

Aw poor Kuchar! Rolo had his removed today, he's not feeling great either
He's totally miserable but at least he doesn't have to wear the lampshade, our vet said it's all internal and he wouldn't need one.

Hugs to Kuchar, hope he feels better tomorrow.

kelpie wrote:Aw poor Kuchar! Rolo had his removed today, he's not feeling great either
He's totally miserable but at least he doesn't have to wear the lampshade, our vet said it's all internal and he wouldn't need one.

Hugs to Kuchar, hope he feels better tomorrow.

Thank you Kelpie.

Kuchar sends sympathies to Rolo - he says this little snip is worse than man-flu

Do let us know how Rolo gets on ><

Dave wrote:I'm due a new car in a couple of months , best make sure I get it valeted first or I will be the talk of the office

Ohhh not long till Monday eh Kuchar! Bless him and his poor tummy! At least he's bull of beansies again though! I'm sure he's gonna be over the moon when he finally gets it off Glad to know alls going well though >< Eb sends him over some sloppy kisses and cuddles

Nathan wrote: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

This reminds me of my old girl blitz, we had to collect her early as she was upsetting every one with her "Goose Noises"

Get well soon Kurcher

Poor Kuchar, glad he is on the mend

Hope Kuchar is improving today Rolo has the poorly tummy, and howl and cry!!! Did Kuchar Howl and whine... a lot?? Thankfully it's now the end of the day and he's settled down a bit.

Hugs to Kuchar from Rolo >< ...He totally agrees... Man flu is nothing compared to this... My Mummy lied when she said "You'll be fine"

Hi everyone and thank you once again!

Kuchar is basically fine now, just a little scab and a couple of disolvable stitches to go and the lampshade comes off Monday!

Kuchar sends hugs to Rolo and says - you'll soon feel a lot better but the first couple of days are no fun at all.

Claire - yes we had quite a bit of crying but no howling thankfully. And I had the devil's own job to get Kuchar to eat or drink for the first few days, for those first days I felt like I was a nurse in intensive care! I truly did underestimate the immediate effects of this op.

I'm surprised that Rolo doesn't need a lampshade - in my ignorance I thought Kuchar didn't it (although we were given one) but he DID lick at it and I think that's what caused the wound to reopen the next day (although jumping onto the dining room table can't have helped). I do advise that you inspect the wound at least once a day (preferably whilst he's peacefully asleep).

Big hugs to Rolo ><

Glad Kuchar is ok, Our vet said he was ok not to have a cone as he'd probably do more damage to himself with one on, I had said I'd get an inflatable collar if I felt he needed one. Rolo has been really good with his wound, we let him sniff himself then told him "enough now" and he leaves it, he was more preoccupied with his leg... I think they'd put some tape round to hold them wide and it must have left some residue... he was cleaning that area a lot?? We check his wound every time he rolls over and exposes himself It's looking very good, no inflammation or redness I can also give him metacam if I feel he needs a little, my vet knows I have it for my other dog, so he's had 2 small doses of that, and I think he'll be ok tomorrow without it now.
Thanks Lynda this thread has been a great relief.... it was 13 years ago that my other dog was done... I'd forgotten how hard it can be on them

I'm so glad to hear that Rolo is being a sensible good boy and that the wound looks to be healing well. If there is no redness after so short a time, that is brilliant news. We gave Kuchar Rimadyl for 4 days as an anti-inflammatory which did take the redness down.

I'm so glad that you've found the thread helpful. Tbh I was in two minds when I started it because I thought - this op isn't serious, it's run of the mill for the vets, dogs are castrated every day (wholesale in the case of rescue centres) - it's no big deal, it'll be boring for our members. But Kuchar is my first male dog and the fact that it is elective (on my side, not his ) made me think that maybe someone else might be going through (or considering going through) the same thing in blissful ignorance and might appreciate it.

Peering at what's left of his tackle is very necessary during the healing process so that we can spot any problems right away, Kuchar still can't get over the interest that is suddenly being shown in that area! Although previously it interested him A LOT!

All best wishes are being sent to Rolo for a rapid return to health; do let us know how he progresses ><

Claire, how is Rolo? I hope he is feeling a lot better ?

Update on Kuchar - he was feeling really depressed yesterday with his lampshade still on and when I got back from the shops my son had taken it off. Kuchar was exctatic, haven't seen him so happy for ages. But, unobserved for 30 seconds, he had a lick and licked off the scab and the two remaining dissolvable stitches. The wound is still a little open, although it has all healed underneath and it's only the top layer of skin that is gapping slightly for about 1cm long. I'm sure it doesn't need restitching again because all the edges are healed over. I've been putting germolene cream on it - hoping to promote healing and avoid any possible infection, and put him off licking it. Am I doing the right thing? Any advice would be very welcome.

Yes, you're doing the right thing. As long as the wound isn't raw (and it should be well on the way to healing by now) then he won't do any damage to it. Just watch him when you can & I'm sure he'll be fine!

Caryll, you're such a comfort - thank you! ><

A miracle happened overnight! I looked at the wound this morning and it has all closed up and looks clean; only a little redness along one edge.

He's so hyper this evening there's no stopping him, it's like all the energy stored up over the last 10 days is bursting out - it's so good to see him happy again.