Whippet to be spayed Tuesday!

[MoJo]

Hayabusa, our 2 year old Whippet is to be spayed on Tuesday. I am scared- because when I had me cat fixed not too long ago, she got infected, and it took quite a bit of $ and time to get her back to a healthy evil cat. Not that we wanted her to be evil again... it just worked out that way.

I asked the vet to give me a call (Left him a message afer making the appointment) and then asked him some questions to make sure e was knowledgable on the Whippet breed, and to see if he had ever spayed one before- and he says he has. He also pointed out information on how they take extra precautions on Sighthounds, etc. But.. I am stil scared for her.

For one, she is deathly afraid of men- and the vet is a man.
For two, the vet I go to is over an hour away, and what if something bad happens afterward, like while I am at work or something? But.. what could happen? Or what should I look for signs of?

The reason I am getting her spayed is because t is on the contract after we bought her from the breeder. We had a month to deice if she was right for us- and it has only been since Saturday but we are already sure of it- She is staying. This is her home now. She acts more like her age here than she did at the breeders. At the breeders she was with 8 other Whippets who were all rowdy and dominant, now all she has is us, Mocha and the cat- and we all try to make sure her stay is wnderful.

Any words of wisdom fromt he sighthound population out there? Anything I shoudl be sure of the day she gets fixed, such as signs that something isn't right after the spay? You can tell I am scared.. I amr ambling, but anything will help!

[Areias]

I'm sure she'll be fine! Never seen a spay on a whippet but we did a whole bunch of greyhounds from a nearby rescue, and none of them had any problems during or after surgery.

You may want to get a basic panel of bloodwork done before the spay to make sure everything is working right. They should include it or offer it to you.

Just for your peace of mind-they monitor the heart rate and all vital signs during the procedure, and if anything goes wrong at all, they will immediately give some life-saving drugs. If they don't have one in her already, they will have an IV catheter ready on hand just in case. Believe me, no vet wants to lose any animal, and especially during a routine surgery like this-they will do everything in their power to ensure she is fine.

[KatzNK9]

Good advice from Areias ... have the blood panel & make sure they monitor her. Any surgery is always a worry; however, a good vet & careful aftercare should have her back to new in no time at all.

[borzoimom]

I am sure she will be fine.. Ask the vet for a can of I/D diet to give to her the first night home. Remember- she wont be hungry, but its something to give meds. I use to sleep with my dogs to make sure they did not lick the stiches as sighthounds do not accept a E collar well.. If you have too- take a long thin towels or part of a t shirt and put on her to keep her from licking the stiches.
Keep us posted.. And she is in prayers from us!

[GreyhoundGirl]

Best of luck! She'll be fine. :) Keep us posted!

[MoJo]

Thank you soo much!! Such great advice, I am starting to settle down a bit. Its just.. a lady from my town here, just a month or so ago, had her female spayed, and the next day the poor thing was found dead on her kitchen floor!!!!! I -NEVER- go to our hometown vet, because I have heard many stories of bad jobs down especially when animals are getting fixed, etc, so they are a no-go for me. I chose he further away vet because it is a bigger location, and they do it more often so I feel they have more experience.

Thank you all soooooo much. Any other advice for th enights afterward would be greatly appreciated.

[mysterydog1]

If she was a saluki... In my understanding most sight hounds (but more severe in salukis) are like very sensitive to anesthesia. Just make sure your vet has had experience of putting sight hounds under. I think she should be fine.

[borzoimom]

How did it go????

[KatzNK9]

Your surgery was postponed till Friday, right? How's she doing? Will she be ready for surgery?

[skunkstripe]

Has she been operated on yet?
Sighthounds have special need with regard to anasthesia

Before allowing your dog to be anaesthetized or tranquillized be sure your veterinarian is familiar with the procedures and dosages appropriate for a Greyhound. Because Greyhounds have so much muscle bulk and so little fat, these drugs react more powerfully on them. The normal dose of anaesthetic for another breed of dog of the same weight could be fatal to your Greyhound. Photocopy your information for your vet!

source: http://www.gpac.ca/ahb_grooming_vet_care.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10193044&dopt=Abstract
http://home.comcast.net/~greyhndz/anesthesia.htm

I realize this is mostly for Greyhounds, but Whippets are similar.
I hope this goes ok!

[MoJo]

Yep, postponded until Friday due to the episode last friday with her upset tummy. And yuppers- I also shopped around the vets to find one that has done work on sighthounds before, and it only took two trys to find it. And.. the best aprt- it was the vet that I usually go to, Lol. The one in my hometown I dont trust, so I drive an hour away to a more well known vet that deals with more animals more often. He even called back after I made the appointment, and left a message. The secretary must have told him that I was concerned about the anasthesia, so he called back to re-assure me. I hope it all goes well!!!!!!

[KatzNK9]

Will be thinking about you & Busa tomorrow. Please let us know how she's doing after her surgery.

[skunkstripe]

Yes, good luck today!

[MoJo]

Im back!! I was extremely upset to bring her there today, especially when you have to sign the papers that show that you now that there is a chance of death while on the operating table. I was shaking when I went to pick her up, honestly fearing the worst! But.. Busa is back, and she is healthy! The vets love her, absolutly adore her personality, and talked to me for quite a while afterward. I payed an extra $50 to keep her on an IV during the durgery to help her with hydration, etc.. and now she is on pain med that should wear off by tomorrow. She is VERY slow to walk, very upset- I swear that she thinks I am the devil for bringing her there! I still feel awful, those eyes she gives me everytime I look over at her, like she is just baffled at how mean I can be to bring her there and let them do this to her! Aww, my poor poor baby, and she can't have fun for an entire 10 days! :(

[GreyhoundGirl]

Awwwww! Watch out... sighthound eyes can halt the universe... you don't want to upset them, they're most likely to come out the victor somehow...

[MixedBreed]

She's probably pretty woozy but I bet tomorrow she'll think the sun rises & sets on you again :D Glad it went well, always a bit nerve-wracking.

[golden&hovawart]

I'm happy that it went well!.
Give her 24 hrs and you will be asking us how to keep her,quiet!.
Is the scar looking clean and pink?.
No-one looks happy after an operation.
Why would she be different?.
She loves you but the poor girl is still totally grogy.

[skunkstripe]

So glad to hear it went alright!
:thumb:
Yes it takes a day for the anasthesia to wear off and the grogginess to go away. But as G&H said, you'll be wondering how to keep her still tomorrow.

[borzoimom]

Im back!! I was extremely upset to bring her there today, especially when you have to sign the papers that show that you now that there is a chance of death while on the operating table. I was shaking when I went to pick her up, honestly fearing the worst! But.. Busa is back, and she is healthy! The vets love her, absolutly adore her personality, and talked to me for quite a while afterward. I payed an extra $50 to keep her on an IV during the durgery to help her with hydration, etc.. and now she is on pain med that should wear off by tomorrow. She is VERY slow to walk, very upset- I swear that she thinks I am the devil for bringing her there! I still feel awful, those eyes she gives me everytime I look over at her, like she is just baffled at how mean I can be to bring her there and let them do this to her! Aww, my poor poor baby, and she can't have fun for an entire 10 days! :(

Give her I/D diet tonight and just let her sleep.. I AM SO happy she did well.. Remember- they feel well before they are ready to run, so keep her on a flexi lead in the yard at this time.. And of course- lol.. comforters to sleep on are a must.. hand delivered water... lol.. come on- you know the mind of a sighthound .. total divas..

[MoJo]

Well, as she is extrememly timid, she has yet to be loose in the backyard yet anyways, so I dont have to worry about her missing this! Lol. Usually just went for jogs together, but I will have to jog with Mocha for a while!

[KatzNK9]

Poor girl ... she probably feels pretty abnormal tonight. She'll very likely feel so much better tomorrow. Glad the surgery went well.

[borzoimom]

How is she this morning?