Dog Community

dog spay

Posted : 7/22/2006 9:44:56 PM

Ok Im new here so hello. Here is my question/problem. I have a 1 yr old pit-lab mix. She is quite large 60+ lbs and she is going on Fri to get spayed. Heres my problem she is an outside dog. I have 3 kids and 2 cats in the house. The vet told me she needs to stay in the house for at least 7 days after surgery so that she heals properly, and that she needs to be kept out of the heat. I live south of Houston, TX so it is HOT here. Being that she is an outside dog, she is not housebroken and she is hyper to boot. She likes to jump and gets excited around the kids. Another issue is that my hubby and I work 12 hour days mon-fri. Seeing as how she is having the surgery on Fri I will be with her on Sat and Sun but Mon-thur I wont be here. I can watch her and keep her calm when I am here but I am scared she will mess somthing up or hurt herself when we are gone. We have thought about crating her in the kitchen but that is not good since we are gone so long she will most likely mess in the crate and risk getting her incison infected. My question should I board her for the whole 7 days at the vet? I dont want to abandon her during this but I dont know what else to do. I could go to the vet before work, I go to work at 8, and I could see her every morning. I hate to do this cuz she is my sweetie, but I am afraid to leave her for such a long period of time. PLease any advice?

loveukaykay

Posted : 7/22/2006 9:54:12 PM

Im against having dogs outside full time... you could giver her a whole room blocked off with newspaper and stuff when your gone. You can also begin to potty train her and keep her inside... the hyperness will go away if she gets to see people regularly... and her quality of life will improve greatly.

Devin Sloane

Posted : 7/22/2006 9:59:44 PM

OK heres the problem with that. I have 4 dogs total. Shes not alone all day. My house is not big enough to have her have her own room. If it was it wouldnt be a problem. The only room I could put her in all day would be the kitchen. BUT my kitchen is about 12' x 22'. Its quite large. I dont mind keeping her there, but she can jump a pet gate. We have them cuz we periodically bring the dogs in for short periods of time and 2 of my dogs, her included, can jump over them. I dont think that I can contain her in the kitchen while I am gone and again I do not want her jumping the gate and hurting herself. Another thing what if somthing goes wrong while I am at work? I will not be there to take her back to the vet. I am just scared that somthing is going to happen and I wont be there to help her.

Julitza

Posted : 7/22/2006 10:01:46 PM

wow, why do you have her outside? IMO dogs are supposed to be part of the family, I wouldnt like to have a dog outside, especially in such a hot place.

I would recommend having her inside the house in a small room where she has enough space to lay down, and a place to potty which she obviously will do if she isnt potty trained. Ive seen pens that attach to the crate so the dog can go in the crate and out to the pen.

Where do you normally keep her? Does she just have a dog house or does she have some place cooler where she can be since she is being kept outside?

Just wanted to say though, thumbs up for spaying your girl!

Devin Sloane

Posted : 7/22/2006 10:08:51 PM

She has a 40' x 40' kennel that she shares with my other dogs, but they said not to get herwet and it has been raining here almost every day for months. She does have a dog house, it about 8.5' x 6.5' x 5.5 tall with a 2.5' front porch that is covered. Our dogs are part of our family. We take all of them to the beach and the park almost every weekend when its not pouring outside. We take them on walks every night as a pack and we play with them in the evening when we get home. 3 of my dogs are large they are 60+ lbs and the other is 20lbs so we made the decsion to keep them outside. They are quite spoiled and have plenty of human time. Also we have cats in the house that like to beat up our dogs and that starts a dog cat fight that is very rowdy and it frightens my daughter who is 2.

glenmar

Posted : 7/22/2006 10:18:14 PM

It seems that the best option would be to kennel her at the vets then.

For what it's worth, I have 3 cats, just lost one on the 4th to old age. I have a half door mounted about a foot higher than it should be going into my family room. This gives the cats a safe room into which they can escape from my SIX german shepherds. For the most part they live harmoniously, but yep, every now and then a cat decides to slap a dog silly and then runs like heck for the safe room. It gets a little crowded now and then, but dogs shouldn't live outside 24/7, even with trips to the beach and walks.

whatsh0uldmyl0ginbe?

Posted : 7/22/2006 10:27:51 PM

You could try putting one baby gate on top of another so it's really tall...

nyiceprincess

Posted : 7/22/2006 10:28:04 PM

We have a very small house,5 kids,2 cats,a guinea pig,bird and 8 dogs.We ALL live in the house together.2 of the dogs are 90 + pounds.Sure there are a few cat fights but i figured out that the cats are smart enough to take care of themselves.The dogs would be miserable having to stay out in the heat all day.I have considered an outdoor kennel for the kids though LOL!
If you cant make room for your "family member" in your home then i guess boarding her is the next best option.

willowchow

Posted : 7/22/2006 11:37:57 PM

Could you just shut her into your bathroom while your gone? That way she can't get out and if there are accident's I'm guessing the bathroom would be better than the kitchen to have them. You could put a bowl of water and something to chew maybe, she'd be fine.

PS--Willow was spayed on a Friday and I went to work on the following Monday. The only thing to do is watch over the weekend if she's not sent home with a cone and is messing with her sutures, then go get her one. Willow never wore a cone and didn't bother the sutures at all. She just needed to be quiet. And, your going to be surprised by the time your going back to work she's going to be fine.