Dog Surgery Care Instructions

Your dog or puppy will need special care during recovery from surgery.
Please keep your dog in a warm, quiet, and safe place indoors tonight, away from other pets, children, and the activities of the household. Please keep your dog away from stairs and slippery surfaces until fully awake. Watch your dog carefully to prevent accidents.

Restrict your dog’s activity for 7 days following surgery.
Short leash walks to go to the bathroom only and no off-leash activity. Excessive activity can lead to tissue swelling, fluid accumulation under the incision, or the incision opening up. These conditions may or may not require additional surgery at your expense. If you need to bathe your dog, dab gently around the incision site with warm soapy water and a soft cloth. Don’t use hydrogen peroxide. It can damage healing tissue, and it stings.

Tonight, offer your dog a small amount of food and water.
If you offer too much food or water, your dog may vomit. Don’t be alarmed if your dog has little or no appetite. Remember, your dog just had surgery! If your dog seems thirsty, offer small amounts of water frequently, or ice cubes in a bowl. Your dog’s appetite should return to normal tomorrow.

Some dogs take longer to recover than others due to breed, age, weight, amount of body fat, and metabolism.
The effects of anesthesia can last hours to days, and the anesthetic drugs used for surgery can cause both diarrhea and constipation. Your dog may be groggy for the rest of the evening, but should be acting normally tomorrow. Artificial tears have been applied to your dog’s eyes before surgery to protect them from drying out during anesthesia. Increased urination or loss of housetraining is common the first 24 hours after anesthesia. Crying or whining the first evening usually indicates anxiety, not pain. Call the MN SNAP veterinarian at the number listed below if your dog doesn’t seem normal after 24-36 hours.

Monitor your dog’s incision daily.
A small amount of swelling, dried blood, or bruising around the incision may be normal the first few days following surgery. Keep in mind that green tattoo ink has been placed near the incision to indicate that sterilization surgery has been performed. You may also see dried glue on the incision; this will flake off in a couple days. Some female dogs develop a firm, non-painful lump under the incision. This is inflammatory tissue forming around the suture buried under the skin. This will go away by itself in 2-3 weeks. If your dog seems unresponsive or in excessive pain after you take him home, or if you see signs of excessive redness, other discoloration, or discharge around the incision, contact the MN SNAP veterinarian immediately at 612-759-0880.

The MN SNAP veterinarian on duty will monitor her phone for messages from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., every day of the week, and will return your call.
She will evaluate your dog’s condition over the phone and will provide follow-up care if needed. If you choose to seek emergency veterinary care without consulting the MN SNAP veterinarian, all charges associated with that visit will be at your personal expense.

NOTE:
If you allow your dog or puppy to resume too much activity after surgery, or to lick or scratch at the incision, your dog risks developing a scrotal hematoma (swelling of the scrotum), a seroma (fluid build-up under the incision), infection, or dehiscence (opening of the incision). If your dog’s over-activity results in one of these complications, any further treatments or medications will be your responsibility.

Sutures:
DO NOT need to be removed in 10 days.

Medication instructions:
Start medication tonight. You can try peanut butter, cream cheese or canned dog food to hide the pill. Give the medication at the same time each day. Discontinue medication if vomiting or diarrhea occurs, and call the MN SNAP veterinarian.