after speying

Stitches out tonight she was so good :-D
She has red spots on either side of wound the vet said r just from stress to the area etc.

They said can start walking her properly again from now but just wanted to know what yous thought?

I would rest for a week personally to let the wound heal. You can't see the inner stitches.

yep vet said the same to us after tessa ad her stitches out just don't over do it

Shes going daft not havin good walks lol shes pretty much on the ceilling half the time!

for the first week i would keep her on short walks and build up from there   

How long since the op? Vet told me 2 weeks as the internal stitches take longer to dissolve and there was a possibility of her tearing the healing tissue if she over did it. I would take it easy for at least another week, better safe than sorry.

Thanks will do. Will be 2 weeks this wed

My Rosie is due to be done on Monday, staying overnight, which is not a good start, then no exercise for two weeks, even stairs. This is a dog who is restless after two hours and looks resentfully at me when I stop throwing the ball after an hour in the cold and wet. Also, she is a bit overweight already (entirely my fault). I should be grateful for any advice on how to cope with this.

Mental stimulation is the way to go. It can be so tiring for them. It was hard keeping misty quiet for two weeks with only very short walks allowed. So we used a lot of Kong's with frozen treats in. I'd recommend a snuffle mat too. You can put her food in it and that really tires misty out. I've just made one for her and she absolutely loves it. I put her kibble in so she has to work for her food.

Plus you can use the time for more training which is tiring. You can practise things like watch me which don't even involve the dog moving.

It isn't fun keeping them on restricted exercise but it's for a good cause and the time will go quickly . Rosie will be back to herself in no time.

Thank you, Misty's Mum. I shall try all those :-).

Do let us know how she gets on!

Misty's Mum,

Rosie had her operation last Monday. I had no idea that it would be such a big thing until my son showed me the stitches and explained the facts of life to me. A week later, I have been back twice because of swelling caused by muscular strain. I have tried to hard to keep her still and calm, but I have been told to do more: no standing on her back legs to lick me, and toilets on the lead.(When she has unloaded, she likes to do a series of spins.)
I chose the body suit rather than the funnel, but somehow she keeps slipping out of it.
All this restraint and inactivity is driving us both mad.

I had to speak to the vet after Katy was done as she didn't notice that she had just had a major op! I had to reduce her painkillers, hoping that would quieten her it did slightly. I'm interested in the body suit though as the one Katy had, there was no way on earth she could of got out of it. Hers was like a babygrow with poppers that they could of only got on her when she was sedated !!

Jenc,

She detests the body suit and refuses to cooperate when I'm putting it on her. It has a neck hole a bit like those roll-necks from the sixties, two arm holes and flaps at the back which fasten with press-studs to make legs. Sometimes, it stays on for a while, sometimes minutes. She seems to shed it like a skin. I don't know how. It might be the wrong shape (as most things seem to be) for a staffy. I still think that it is better than a cone because a cone doesn't prevent that back leg tummy scratching.

Back to the vet on Wednesday to check. In the meantime, I TRY to provide constant supervision, but it is very difficult. She has had six years of constant activity, licking and generally being loopy. Sitting and lying still and being lifted and carried are a big strain.

I'd reconsider the cone, maybe in conjunction with the body suit if needs be! The dreaded cone can sometimes help reduce their activitiy as they feel less free to move. No, they don't like them and yes, you feel the meanest, nastiest person in the world for it, but it is only for a few days and if it means that she doesn't do her op site any damage it's worth it.

LizP,

Thanks for that. It's a good point. And because of (son's) dog-sitting and lifts, leaving the two dogs alone, and children-sitting on Friday, I intend to pop out and buy a thick bandage. Bandage, body suit and cone. I'll mummify the little rascal ... after toilets, I hope.

Sometimes the inflatable collar works just as well as the cone, but is less stressful.

Thanks, Gilly (and all),

Back at the vet tomorrow. I'll ask about inflatable collars (which must be better than the plastic cones), although it is the back legs wanting to scratch that are the problem. What she needs is the collar, the cone, a big bandage, the body suit and some heavy duty staffy clogs to slow her down. On Thursday night and Friday, she will have her big sister Bella (a Rottweiler) with her and my three grandchildren. That will require some supervising skills :-(.

Dear All,
Rosie had her stitches out and the all-clear on Monday, followed by a couple of days of short pavement walks, then today, her first run in the field. She seems to be trying to make up for what she missed, but I kept it shortish in case she strained something. That's all good after a very difficult couple of weeks.
Two disappointments: she hasn't calmed down, and she is still obsessively weeing every few yards. I'll mention it when I take her for the annual vaccinations in a couple of weeks.
Thanks for all the helpful advice.

Oh, wow! She's getting rid of all that energy!

The peeing is normal. If she hasn't settled into a normal routine in about a week, ask your vet.