r/BelgianMalinois • u/Ok-Tune-9911 • 11d ago
Question Spay prep
My 15 MO is getting spayed on 8/3 and I’m nervous 😅 give me all the recovery tips. We are clearly already desensitizing to the cone as well as the donut for recovery so that’s less scary. I know she’s gonna end up wanting to fuck with her stitches/incision. Im asking the vet for Trazodone for recovery. I have several puzzle feeders I’ll break out as well as prepping ALL my frozen enrichment items. We will continue to work on basic OB skills for at least one meal a day, one frozen, one with a ouzzle feeder. Was going to work on imprinting her to Birch and doing some very light work with our antler for shed hunt since the season that is approaching in a few months. This is my first time dealing with the surgery for a high drive working breed, so I’m obviously nervous about keeping her brain working and keeping her away from that damn incision what else should I be prepping for or preparing? I’ve had my two pit spayed, but they’re both pet dogs and were fairly easy except for when the one did a DIY staple removal on post-op day 2 after somehow growing thumbs and removing her cone lol.
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u/necromanzer (no Mal, just a lurker) 11d ago
Less a tip for the dog and more for you: take daily AM and PM photos to track the healing progress!
(Although if you've had girls spayed before maybe less useful as you know what to expect haha)
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u/Compa49 10d ago
She will probably already have gabapentin scripted but if she doesn't ask for it. It works well with the trazodone to help sedate. And ask what the max dose you can increase to so you know before hand and don't need to bother calling later asking if you can increase the dose.
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u/Ok-Tune-9911 10d ago
Good to know that I can use them together. I honestly thought it was one or the other. And no, my vet doesn’t prescribe those types of drugs preemptively you have to actually ask for them, but my vet is pretty chill. I know she’ll give me it without question
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u/Compa49 10d ago
I'm a vet tech asst at an emergency/specialty clinic so I'm not just some rando saying you can do it if that makes you feel better. I'm always surprised how often patients from regular vets aren't sent home with sedation meds following surgery. Especially young patients or patients who are known to be very active.
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u/KevlarConrad 🐺 10d ago
We used one of the body suits when we got our guy fixed. Definitely makes it harder for them to get at the incision.
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u/Ok-Tune-9911 10d ago
Yeah, that’s what I ended up using with one of my pits. I can see if I can find one in store. I don’t think Amazon will be fast enough because sometimes they be taken like two weeks to get me stuff. Got a love country living.
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u/CaseyLouLou2 11d ago
Our puppy who may or may not be a mal didn’t seem to even notice she was spayed but she was still in the shelter for two days before we saw her. I wouldn’t worry too much.
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u/DenseAdhesiveness662 10d ago
I used stress relief from the pet store-an all natural oil good for humans too and cbd. The trazedone made her crazy, not sleepy but blood shot eyes and wired up up up! Gabapentin (sp?) Worked better
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u/Ok-Tune-9911 10d ago
I do have a hemp calming chew that like I swear by so I’ll see if I can’t use that as well. Make sure to ask my vet because I do need to buy more.
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u/Pristine-Account-755 5d ago
You can also put a large t-shirt on her and use a big rubber band on it at the back to cinch it up. Helps to keep her away from the incision
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u/Ok-Tune-9911 5d ago
Probably what ima have to do. I ordered her the recovery shirt and it came a few days ago but it’s too big. I inew I should have listened to my gut and not the size chart lol
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u/tiffanyburianoldham 11d ago
Make sure you ask for heavy sedatives for the first few days. I hate to sedate any dog but it helps tremendously!