Not a dutchie but I need help

[cordeliandemon]

I've been talking about getting Koda spayed since I first came here, today was the day.
I hadn't expected it but the vet called this morning to say they had a cancelation and to get over there (there's only 2 vets who do keyhole spays in Ireland so there's a waiting list)
Koda is my first female dog and her pain is bringing me to tears, is this normal? If it's normal why does no1 talk about it?!?!?
She can't get out of the back of the car, she tries so hard and screams in agony. She's suppoaes to be on pain medication, they took her rear dew claws during the operation too as they're double dee claws and were only attached by skin.

For months I've been trying to diet her but family keep feeding her behind my back, as a result the keyhole had complications due to fat covering the ovaries and ended up with a much bigger wound than planned.
She's crying so much, I'm in hell with her please someone tell me what your spays were like, I'm in the car with her for an hour now trying to keep her warm. She just finished off a bowl of water and the pain appears to have worsened.

Koda is the main reason demon was brought into my life regardless of anything that's happened she needed a friend and two dogs couldn't be closer. She's like a child to me please God someone say if this is normal or not

[karenz]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I can't speak alot on spaying. It's been years since I had a female dog so I just can't remember. I can say that my ds, Xander, has a super low pain tolerance. When he gets his shot he screams like he's dying. And I mean SCREAMS!! My other dogs I've had barely flinched getting shots. After Xander's puppy shots he would scream in pain for two days if I touched anywhere near where he was given the shot. The same when he was neutered. I felt so bad for him and was scared something was wrong.

I know that isn't exactly what you were looking for but maybe her pain tolerance is just low. At least I hope that's all it is. But I can imagine that you must be worried and scared. If in doubt drive her to a vet for an opinion. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Please keep us updated on her!!! I hope everything turns out ok.

[Dutchringgirl]

wow, that is heart breaking. I have had dogs all of my life and never remember any of them in such pain. I really cannot say if its normal or not and I dont have any suggestions, other than pain meds and keep her quiet and snuggle with her.

[cordeliandemon]

Thank you for your replies I really appreciate it, last night almost broke me.
I've come to conclusion it's not normal and the vet shouldn't have continued with the operation. As it turns out she's a whopping 39kg and I had no idea due to the density of her fur, my mum has promised to never feed her behind my back again but it was irresponsible if the vet to operate on such an over weight dog.
When I picked her up all he said was the wound ended up being a lot larger than he wanted and he was unable to do a keyhole, but mentioned multiple times to give her water when I got home, which means she must have lost ALOT of blood as she drank 3 bowls in a row.
It took 2 hours of me lying next to her screaming in the trunk of the car, both wrapped in blankets, before she budged. I never take medication lightly and it clearly took a long time for me to do it but I ended up giving her half a syringe of the dose of pain meds she wasn't supposed to start until the next day, within 30 seconds of lapping it up she started trying to stand on her own and I coaxed her out with a few whimpers.
Apparently while this was going on my mum had called up my vet in desperation as she could hear koda crying from inside the house. She found me already inside with her and handed me the phone.
The vet asked for me to tell me the colour of her gums but they were ok, I didn't tell him I had given her a half dose but he told me In a few hours I could give her a full dose as she's probly in more pain than usual "because her insides are messed up"
Well, that really speaks for itself, the vet botched the spay.

I gave her another half dose last night and a full one this morning. She's doing okish confined to the dining room but I can't wait to look back in a month for now when this is all over.

[karenz]

I'm glad to hear she is at least doing better and made it out of the car. I'm sorry to hear she had such a bad experience. Keep us posted on how she's doing.

[cordeliandemon]

shes a little better and a little worse today
shes more mobile and although shes still in pain she nolonger vocalises it (just holds her head low, tail down and limp constantly, reluctant to get up unless she has to)

i was extremely worried today because she refused to pee and wasnt interested in drinking at all. she pee'd at about 10pm last night (was more like a dribble) and despite my best efforts she didnt do another pee until about 3pm today (and that took hours of me stuck outside with her)
she kept turning her head from me when i offered water this morning so i ended up having to mix it 6 parts water 1 part milk (shes never normally allowed near it) doing that i managed to get her to drink about two small glasses worth in total today before she started refusing that too. shes been completely willing to eat her dry food too and that should have made her thirsty.

checking on her before letting her sleep for the night moments ago i was extremely worried as she still wouldnt drink and hadnt since about 10am this morning when she had the milk-water.
in desperation i started filling the syringe for her meds with milk water and squirting it behind her gums. she didnt protest and i managed to get her to drink 5 or 6 entire syringes. then i took her outside (1:30am) and she FINALLY did another pee, and a real one this time!
when i took her inside i gave her a small hand full of kibble as a reward and another syringe of water. to my amazement she knelt down and started drinking from her dog bowl and drank about 3/4 of a litre.


im so so so proud of this dog and im going to sleep so much better knowing shes finally hydrated.

all i can say is making sure your dog is ok being handled when theyre a puppy is invaluable. i spent months working on it when she was little, lifting her legs, messing with her ears and tail, putting fingers in her mouth and even lifting her gums while she ate her puppy food. just making sure she has zero personal boundaries with me just incase she was ever in an emergency.
and 4 years later here we are, letting me hold her gums back and syringe feed her, check bandages and wounds and stand still every time i have to lift each leg and tie plastic bags on them to keep dirt off the bandages when she has to go out to pee.
i can just imagine the nightmare we would be in if she wasnt made so tolerant

[Dutchringgirl]

Her insides are messed up??? This coming from a vet!?!?!?! Look for a new vet

Have you called another vet? I would and talk to them and ask them what they think. I dont know if they would want to or not but I would at least try.

[cordeliandemon]

i had to go to a different vet practice yesterday and today (the same one)
this stress is going to be the end of me.

yesterday we ran out of pain meds and the vet who did the surgery was closed and uncontactable.
as i was bringing her out to pee the plastic bags on her legs to keep the bandages dry broke and i didnt notice untill they were soaked from the damp grass. then as i tried to bring her back one of them started slowly slowly sliding down her leg, understandably with no pain relief a tight bandage dragging down a stitched wound was not a good situation and i immediately bundled her into the car (with her crying) to my local vet thats open on sundays. the vet was shocked that she had no pain relief , prescribed us more and changed her bandages for me. these ones look much better and dont cover her whole foot like the last so getting wet isnt a big issue anymore.

i asked them to check the spay wound and they said it looked fine, if slightly red. i also asked them to check her gums as they were paler than the day before but i was assured again that they were ok (the vet was very nice about the situation but slightly uncomfortable about messing with a dog she didnt operate on)

last night i was relieved. she was eating, drinking, peeing, comfortable with the new painkillers and the redness had gone down.

THEN i checked on her this morning
i walked in there to find her on her side and covered in blood. it looked like maybe her stitches had been ripped out and i was more than freaked.
i didnt ask her to stand up and just kept her there rubbing her chest and calling people for help. the local vet said they were too busy for an emergency call out so id have to get her to the surgery my self. (i have no car and my mum had hers at work with her, so that was a problem)
eventually i got a family friend to drive over and give us a lift. to say i was terrified would be an understatement, there was so much blood and i was scared she could just open up at any moment.

when i got there it was a different vet than yesterday and she was much more impatient with the fact id gone to a different practice for the operation.
it turns out its a HUGE infection, not broken stitches, and if the oozing blood and discharge dosnt stop in the next 48hrs shell need emergency surgery.
shes now on a mega dose of heavy duty antibiotics and i can only hope theyll work in time.
the painkillers are doing their job and she seems oblivious to the gore on her stomach.
(the vet today told me twice that i should contact the one who did the surgery as theyll probly do the emergency one cheaper if she needs it as they did the operation in the first place. i dont intend to use that vet again but the fact im being told this worries me that they dont think shell be able to fight it on her own..)

i just hate going in there and being treated like a neglectful owner as i try to explain the situation. this all happened because i was trying to get her the best care this country could offer and its gone belly-up on me.
i just pray this improves, demon misses her and it seems like evry time i write updates on here things just get worse and worse

[karenz]

How is she doing? I hope things are getting better.

[Dutchringgirl]

go to a different vet, I would not go back to that vet!!!!!!!

I am so so very sorry this is happening. I am sure you are besides yourself. Big hugs and let us know. Please do not go back to that vet !!!!

[cordeliandemon]

it seems like we're in between a rock and a hard place, ive got two vets saying different things.
a) one only looked at her for 5 minutes and was talking about surgery right off the bat if the seeping/draining didnt stop in 48 hours.
b) the other said it would be best not to open up the wound again and its likely just (i forgot the word they used) but something to do with how theres a layer of fat between the operation site and the wound that is draining liquid, and that the antibiotics should take care of it as the stitches are all intact and theres no obvious swelling or lesions.

she dosnt seem to be in any pain right now, shes being a bit of a brat and is obsessed with food, drank alot of milk this morning.
its not a constant draining, it seems like i go in there and its dripping but then it does its thing and stops again in a half hour and looks fine again for the rest of the day. its not crazy red or anything and it definitely looks better than monday even though its still infected. maybe the antibiotics are doing their job and its naturally seeping like when a surgeon puts drains into someones surgery site to stop a build up of fluid? ive been hospitalised with near life threatening kidney infections many times in my life and ive never known antibiotics to do their job in 48 hrs like the vet who suggested surgery seemed to think?

i really dont know which route to take, shes not in pain (though shes on pain meds so maybe she would be otherwise)
i sent the one who thinks it might sound ok some photos upon their request this morning and havent yet gotten the reply.

monday morning, you can see why i freaked out and thought stitches had burst

monday morning

this morning, half hour before this photo was taken it was dripping red tinged but mostly clear liquid

an hour ago, a bit better than this morning

an hour ago

[cordeliandemon]

finally got the reply.the vet who thinks shell be ok took a look at the wound and says shes ok and not to be worried, theyre saying its serous fluid coming from the wound and having looked it up that makes perfect sense, im really relieved but ill be keeping a strict eye on her to make sure this really is the case. (if it is im VERY glad the fluid is actually escaping every few hours, if it was trapped it looks like dogs get Seromas when it has nowhere to go and would need a drain inserted)
she just successfully peed outside and then finished a whole bowl of milk-water when i asked her to. her level of mischief and ease standing up on her own now is making me think shes starting to improve, and as always shes more than willing to eat some treats.

not getting too hopeful yet but i appreciate all of your concern on here despite her being more of a couch potato than a striped tornado.

[johninny]

OMG. i have not been here for a while. so sorry you have been through this. i would have died of fright half way through such an ordeal.

hope she is MUCH better soon so you can both relax and breathe a sigh of relief.

[cordeliandemon]

thank you, still keeping my fingers crossed.
no leakage from the wound yet today and its protruding less so maybe shes finally starting to reabsorb the excess serous internally, only time will tell.

right now whats showing most is her moods. shes not a happy camper being stuck in the dining room now that her energy is coming back (i can hear her mournfully howling as we speak, its non stop while shes awake regardless of how much cuddles and ham shes given)
her last heat cycle was a bit erratic and off season, possibly because demon is the first intact dog shes ever been in contact with. i had the feeling she was nearing another one before the spay so presumably her hormone levels will be all over the place until they have time to level out.

ever since she had a phantom pregnancy at 2 years old shes treated her toys like pups. she gets upset if you stand on them, nests with them at night, makes sure they stay in her bed during the day and picks them up with extreme delicacy.
im not sure if shell lose this when the hormone levels drop but shes at it even MORE than usual right now. id left 3 of her babies in the room with her since the op for company and she only noticed their existence yesterday. ever since shes been holding them and crying by the door trying to do a prison break with her "pups" i keep having to tell people to ignore her cries as it will only encourage her, hopefully shell calm down over the next week or so.

[racingiron1]

I know it's been a rough week for her and you, but I have to say the story and image of the rubber chicken "pup" is flat-out adorable! Best wishes for a quick recovery.

[karenz]

I know it's been a rough week for her and you, but I have to say the story and image of the rubber chicken "pup" is flat-out adorable! Best wishes for a quick recovery.

I was thinking the same thing. That is absolutely adorable.

[cordeliandemon]

UPDATE:
Kodas got the all clear!
Her stitches were taken out yesterday and she's had her cone removed today. She's in her garden and going crazy with 2 acres all to herself again.
I'll be waiting another few weeks before letting her and demon play just to be on the safe side, and just when I think I've had a load lifted her winter coat has decided to blow out

She's lost a kg too which is great, 6 more to go apparently.
now she's on a very strict diet with a sign on her door for nobody else to feed her under any circumstances, hopefully certain people have learnt their lesson!

Also hoping DS don't blow their coats atleast to this extent!

[johninny]

congrats to you and Koda!

[Dutchringgirl]

Oh wow!!!!!! That is so great!! Hugs to you

[cordeliandemon]

Thank you all for the support still keeping a close eye on her but hopefully this is the end of her misadventure on the forum and she'll be back goofing around with demon in no time! (He's a lot bigger than her now so she's in for a shock )