Guardian dog neuter

[Mdwfolsom]

We need to neuter our Guardian dog that lives with our goats and I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with this. The vet wants us to keep him confined with a collar on, but i can't imagine doing that when has not been confined since he was a puppy.

 

[Seaecho]

He'll be fine. I was a vet tech for 12 years. Believe me, he'll live, even though he'll be restless. It's better than having him tear the surgical site open! Then you've have to start all over again. A month from now he will have forgotten all about it. Just give him extra attention and treats, and walk him often so he won't feel left out and claustrophobic.

 

[staceyj]

I agree with the above poster.
If he gets at that incision and licks at it say while everyone is in bed asleep there is a chance that a vessel can bleed into the scrotal sac blowing it up like a cantaloupe.
This is a life threatening event that is possible after neutering if a collar isn't used.
It also leads to a week in the hospital, possibly a transfusion, a surgery to remove the ruined scrotum tissue (total scrotal ablation) and potentially, a postoperative infection.
Save yourself $2000 and spring for the $30 collar and a weeks inconvenience.

 

[Folly's place]

He may not need that 'cone of shame', but he needs to be confined in a clean environment until the surgery site heals. Goat poo in the incision? Yuck!
A few days of restriction, or a month dealing with a disaster...
Mary

 

[Seaecho]

Yes, a case in point. We had our Great Dane castrated at about a year of age. It got infected and swelled up tremendously. We almost lost him. Two weeks of walking him, and keeping him inside the house and out of the dirt. We didn't allow him to sit down outside in the dirt for even a second, thus always a leash. He was watched like a hawk, and he made it, but it was a close call.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Any large breed should wait till 1 or 2 but leave the cone on first couple nights then judge yourself how the dog is acting keep vaseline on it often is possible that will help keep it moist

 

[Meg-in-MT]

I agree with Folly and Penny. Keep a close eye on him and see what he does. My (all indoor/outdoor... Wherever I am) dogs had the cones taken off asap, but a couple of them are quite large and have a hard time not knocking things over without a giant cone on their head. To each his own. Definitely would rather deal with a cone instead of an infection, though!

 

[drumstick diva]

We had cones on the dogs and except for some clumsiness(re: wearing them) they didn't care at all.

 

[Seaecho]

You can castrate a dog (no matter what size) at 6 months of age and vets have been doing it for a long time. There is nothing to prove you should wait until they are one or two years of age. In fact, it's harder on an older dog. The pups just zip through it like nothing happened.

 

[RiverOtter]

Yes, I've experience with it. 99 dogs out of a hundred will be just fine. Let the vet know that this is a working farm dog. It is a small incision and a piece of surgical tape will cover it right up and keep any goat poo or anything else out of it. A cone for a day or two will keep him from trying to pull the tape off.

Grannick's Bitter Apple was specifically made to keep dogs from licking at surgical sites, and a bottle is cheap and good to have on hand. Get a bottle of that and a bar of OrangeGlo soap to get it off your hands with! Regular soap will not be enough, and you might think that you didn't really get any on you and you might think that after washing your hands it would be gone, but your sandwich will not be the pleasant taste you were expecting.