Thursday, June 26, 2014

Learn What's Involved In A Dog Spaying Procedure For Your Female Pet

By Elsa English


Dog owners whose pet is female, are likely aware that unless the animal is sterilized, they will have to contend with her frustrating heat cycles and the possibility that she may become pregnant and give birth to a litter of puppies. Veterinarians encourage dog spaying procedures as an effective way to eliminate these concerns, and also keep the pet healthier in the long run. Unless the animal is to be used for breeding, it is safer to have her ovaries and uterus removed at an early age.

The average age for a dog to undergo this surgery is between five and eight months old, but some vets will even perform it as early as two months of age. A younger dog will need different anesthetics and its temperature will need to be monitored carefully, but with these precautions in place, it should be fine and in most cases younger dogs will even recover more quickly.

Owners will be advised to not give their pet access to food and water the night before the surgery, since an empty stomach is needed to ensure the animal does not vomit from the anesthetic. As a rule, this type of operation is done in the morning so the dog will not have to wait as long before she can resume eating and drinking. A sedative will be injected into the dog to more easily facilitate prepping her for surgery, which involves coating the eyes in protective ointment, safely securing her to the table, and running an IV into one leg.

The vet's assistant will get the dog's abdomen ready to be operated on by cleansing the skin thoroughly and shaving the fur. An iodine solution will also be swabbed onto it to kill any germs on the skin, and then the animal will be covered with surgical drapes, leaving only the belly exposed.

A surgical tray is assembled containing all of the instruments and materials needed, namely a scalpel, hemostats, needle and suturing thread, scissors, gauze, and towels. The veterinarian then inserts a trachea tube into the dog's throat and administers the anesthetic gas that will keep her unconscious during the surgery. The animal's vital signs will be monitored constantly throughout the procedure.

With the blade of the scalpel, the veterinarian makes a short incision on the lower part of the dog's belly that separates the skin and muscle tissues. When the reproductive organs have been located in the abdominal cavity, they are extracted through the incision. Hemostats are used to clamp off the ovarian arteries, which are then tied off, and the ovaries are excised. The same process is used for the removal of the uterus.

The vet will make sure there is no abnormal hemorrhaging, if all seems normal, the gauze is discarded and the incision is closed with stitches. The tracheal tube can then be taken out of the dog's throat, and she will be bundled in towels and placed in a recovery kennel.

Sometimes the animal will stay overnight for observations, but in most instances her owner will be able to take her home several hours later. The veterinarian will provide the owner with a list of instructions for caring for the dog in the post-operative period. Most animals recover quite fast, and are back to their usual, waggy-tailed selves in a few days time.




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