Murray is going under the knife in 3 days....SNIP!

albelee

My apologies in advance for posting as I know there is ample info. on this but here goes anyways..

My 6 mo. pup is getting neutered in 3 days, hasn't yet developed any of the typical male habits such as marking, lifting leg, and his temperament has been fairly consistent since I rescued him 2.5 months ago.

Can ya'll share your experiences specifically around behavior changes post surgery (if any) and healing/recovery best practices preferably for male pups.

Honestly, I personally don't see a need to get him neutered and feel like I'm simply doing it cuz everyone else seems to be doing it.

Comments are appreciated!!

Holly

Neutering him should not change his behaviors. Some male dogs simply do not end up lifting their legs.

The biggest thing with male dogs is to keep them calm because they bounce out of surgery like nothing happened. If you don't keep him calm, you could have minor complications. No playing, no long walks and leash walks only for 10 days.

The main reasons for neutering him are:

- to prevent unwanted roaming (the leading victim for being hit by a car are the unneutered male dogs presumably looking for a female in heat)
- prevent testicular cancer
- prevent benign prostatic hyperplasia that could cause urinary and defecation problems
- prevent the formation of perianal hernias (very expensive surgery that is necessary to fix them)
- prevent unwanted litters of puppies, obviously
- prevent perianal adenomas
- prevent stud-tail

Esme

Honestly the first thing Holly listed is a big one for me and I never had problems with any of my dogs wanting to go roaming and they couldn't have cared less about females. I now have a male dog that isn't neutered cause the vets haven't come to town yet and a female in heat is all he thinks about and he will even go without eating for a day at a time cause he's so preoccupied and I know if he got out he could and most likely would be gone for days. And just to help put your mind at ease none of male dogs have ever had any problems with the surgery or recovery.

albelee

I should have been more specific with my thread... specifically around post surgery. I've been told 10 days for a full recovery and I'm sure my doc will give me specific instructions BUT I know I'm going to have to monitor Murray heavily as he is a major ball licker *no pun and always seems to be meddling around his private parts.

Can folks share some best practices around accelerating this healing time post op?

Thanks

Esme

I also wanted to add that all my male dogs raised their legs and would mark every bush and tree in the backyard and they were all neutered at a young age. Ironically the male I have now doesn't lift his leg and doesn't really mark.

You will def. want to get a cone for him then and I remember that my dogs healed really quickly but we were careful with the stairs on top of the no running and jumping etc.

albelee

Not so concerned with leg lifting as I am with change in disposition post op. I love Murray's curiosity, ambition, and zest for life, I really don't want him to mellow out, oh well, we shall see what happens.

Thanks for all your input!

Holly

His personality won't change.

There is no way to "accelerate the healing time". 7-10 days.

I agree that you should get a cone. And then eliminate the excess motion as stated.

mirela

Instead of a cone, I put a pair of boy's swim trunks on my dog. (of course removed them for potty breaks).
Way more comfortable for him, protected the area well and he was styling!

Personality-wise, the only change I've noticed was that he is now eating better - he used to be a bit of a fussy eater.
Other than that - he still steals my socks and has "selective hearing" response to commands.

VetTech2011

I could see some dogs getting off swim trunks if they really wanted to lick.
I would mention he is a licker to your veterinarian so they can send you home with a cone which he will need to wear any time he cannot be supervised (when alone and at night). They can adapt and eat and drink easily with a cone. It will need to stay on for 7 to 10 days.

There will be no change to his personality post-surgery.

You cannot accelerate healing time. He will need 7 to 10 days. You can take him out on leash for him to do his business then its right back indoors. Your veterinarian will send you home with a set of instructions they want you to fallow.

albelee

t minus 4 hours......

thanks again for all the great feedback!