Helping Your Dog After Spaying or Neutering

Spaying your female dog and neutering your male dog are among the most important procedures you will face as a dog owner. These procedures prevent your dog from mating and reproducing, which provides a variety of benefits. Your dog will not contribute to the many homeless dogs in the world. Additionally, you will find training and living with your dog to be easier. However, these surgical procedures do require a week long recovery period. Here is what you need to know about post-spaying or post-neutering.

Keep activity at a bare minimum. This may be very, very difficult as puppies have an extreme amount of energy, and puppies are typically the ones being spayed or neutered. However it is extremely important to keep your post-surgery dog from jumping, leaping, sprinting, and more. When you take him outdoors, keep him on a leash to prevent him from running around and rolling. When he is indoors, supervise him to keep him from jumping up on furniture. And when you are not around to supervise him, consider keeping him in his crate to help keep him quiet.

Your dog will have stitches after being spayed or neutered. These stitches are sometimes prone to tearing, which is why you must keep your dog calm and quiet. The stitches will be holding together the incision, so you will need to check it regularly to be sure it is not infected. Some inflammation is normal as the body heals the cut, but if you notice anything out of the ordinary, call your veterinarian. Your dog might also require an Elizabethan collar if he tries to chew or lick his stitches and wound. This collar will prevent him from ripping his stitches out.

It is important to watch your dog carefully over the week long recovery period. It takes some extra time and effort on your part, but it is well worth it. Not only are you ensuring your dog’s health, but you are also preventing the need for further veterinary care and recovery time for the situation.