Post - spaying behavior
by Martin S.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Our "Emma" is a Maltese\Pomeranian mix, but seems to favor the Maltese side the most, so I'm looking for help on this wonderful page instead of a Pomeranian forum. She is 1 year old today and was spayed yesterday. We opted to bring her home when we realized she would be staying overnight at the vet with no supervision, but she has been acting very differently. She is eating and drinking well but tends to lick at the shaved area of her tummy and nibble at her sutures. She has taken to hiding and "scurrying" with her tail down and seems to be experiencing "nightmares" in her sleep. She also tends to shake fromm time to time which was not the case prior to the operation.
My wife is beside herself with anxiety. Our vet assured us that she would be fine, but we've never seen this kind of behavior in her before and we're both a bit worried. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
DISCUSSION:
Martin: Welcome to the most informative and greatest Maltese site you will find anywhere. I am no expert on medical issues concerning Maltese, I just own two of these wonderful fur babies. It sounds like maybe your little one has been frightened a litle by the whole ordeal of the spaying. I'm sure she should snap back to normal soon. If not you need to contact your vet. There may be some information on this subject in the archives, you may want to check it out. Good luck and again welcome there are a great bunch of friends on this site that are willing to help you anyway they can.
Belle
Hi Martin, welcome to MalteseOnly. I had my 6 yr old Maltese Tiffy spayed a month ago. Tiffy stayed over night as my Vet's living quarters are attached to his hospital. I was told that the patients are very confused after waking from the anesthesia and any noise can highten the confusion. After bringing Tiffy home,she wanted to be alone, and stayed under my bed for most of the next couple of days. Her appetite was okay and her potty habits were okay, so I just let her take her time coming around. She bounced back to normal in about a week. I never saw her shake as you have described, but that may be because I didn't see her during the first 24 hours after surgery. I would call the Vet just to be on the safe side. My Vet gave me his home telephone number in case of any problems. Good luck, hope your little furbaby is feeling better very soon.
Debi, Tiffy & Coquette
We had both of our dogs spayed at the same time. They also had some baby teeth removed. We also took ours home the same day because no one would be with them if they stayed overnight at the vet hospital. One cried all night, the other wouldn't stand up, and they both walked funny and rubbed themselves on the ground for a few days. We used Elizabethan collars to keep them away from their (and each others)stitches. They both recovered just fine.
Alice
The behavior is actually rather normal. The "nightmares" are most likely the residual effects of anesthesia and basic trauma from the surgery. The scurrying around with her tail down could be from something as simple as her discomfort from the entire procedure and also possibly she could be constipated. Someone suggested taking a simple paper type surgical mask to keep them from nibbling at the sutures, another idea is to put a T-shirt on her. My Phoebe exhibited all of these behaviors as did previous dogs/cats after surgery. Your dog needs gentle reassurance of your love, keep her well supplied with water (if she is eating and drinking well that is a good sign) These little guys bounce back amazingly fast! I gather from your post that the surgery just took place, give her a couple of days before beginning to fret too much. Good Luck!
Leslie R
Martin, while this message is too late to be of help, I thought I would tell you that anesthesia makes them cold. Both my guys shook during the first 24 hours. The vet just said to keep them warm. I'm sure Emma is starting to be her old self by now.
Marie
Thank you to everyone who responded to our posting! Emma just had her stitches out yesterday and she is back to her rambunctious self today. What a relief. That was a scary ride for awhile there. Thanks again for the encouragement and support, this is indeed a remarkable site which will remain bookmarked forever on our computer. Have a wonderful day.
Martin and Carol S. (and Emma too)
Martin and Carol S.
| Please bear in mind when reading topics pertaining to health issues, that most of these questions were answered by helpful Maltese owners with no formal education in veterinary medicine. When in doubt seek a professionals advise. |
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