What are the signs to look for?

[teenster3]

Waffles was just spayed yesterday and she's throwing up again this morning. When she moves around she does this moaning thing. Yesterday, I accidentally bumped her while she was on my lap and she cried (poor girl). Is there anything I can do for her? The vet office didn't give me any medicine for her to take or anything to rub on the wound. I know she is probably just sore and will heal in time but I feel helpless.
I had Wicket neutered a couple years ago and don't remember him going through this much pain. In fact, our doctor called us right after the surgery to come get him. He said the he woke up "full of energy" and wanted to get home to us....he's a fighter!
I just worry about my poor girl.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

usually it's more painful for females than males. Has she eaten anything since the surgery? Often they will throw- up if they eat and still have anastasia in their system. The anastasia should be out of her system by today though. If you fed her yesterday she may be still sick from that. I would call your vet and ask him. I hope she feel better soon.

[tatsxxx11]

Post op vomiting is common in humans and animals. Anesthesia can be rough on the belly:( Did you feed her right away when she came home? Starting with water is best and then small, spaced meals for a day or so. It's definitely tougher on the girls than the boys when it comes to post spaying pain. If her incision line was bumped, it probably hurt her a bit. Just try and keep her quiet and try and avoid those bumps:) My vet recommends leash walking only for 10 days, until the incision is healed and the innards have a chance to knit. If she continues to vomit, has difficulty urinating or pooping, seems to be in any undue pain, do call the vet:) Feel better soon Waffles:)

[lovemyshiba]

I agree--the anasthetic can be rough on their bellies--Waffles is a smaller dog too, right?
I've had 2 males neutered, and 1 female spayed (Abbey was already spayed when we got her)--it was far harder for Jada to recover than the boys after her surgery. She was pretty out of it for a few days.
My vet sent her home with some bland food--it was Science Diet, chicken and rice in a can, and told me to only feed her a bit of that at a time, until her belly was ok.

If you're worried, give your vet a call, I'm sure he or she can help put your mind at ease.

Mine were also not supposed to play together after the surgery--that really didn't work. For the first day or so they really didn't want to, but then it was back to normal. Kito even had to wear the cone so he didn't bother his stitches--the backs of my legs were black and blue from him running into me, but he left the stitches alone.

[dragondawg]

Tell them you would like for them to prescribe Deramaxx for the pain, and Metoclopromide for the nausea. There is no reason for them not to give you the drugs.

If the abdomen appears swollen then a trip back to the Vet for a check should be made.

The nausea should not last for more than 12 hours, and with a pain drug the dog should be comfortable.

Don't put anything on the incision, until it's healed. They did give you antibiotics right? If not find another Vet quickly.

[teenster3]

Update:
Waffles (YES, she is small...mini. american eskimo, 16 lbs.) has not thrown up since early this morning. The vet that I took her to did not give me anything, no medication what-so-ever. They didn't even tell me what to do with her when I got her home. I should have asked I know but, I guess my mind was somewhere else....just wanted to get my baby back. The only thing she has eaten in 2 days is a few morsels of food and a few small biscuit treats. I will try the soft canned food. She has gone potty outside but it seems to take awhile. Sometimes when she gets up from laying on the floor for awhile she tends to whine but, it doesn't last long. I'm trying my best to care for her, keeping an eye on her while she's outside. When she's inside however, all she wants to do is lay down by the patio doors and sleep. (it seems like she wants to hide as well) She doesn't like to move around too much I don't think. I haven't noticed any swelling or redness around her stitches but, she likes to lick them and I was advised against having her do that. I'm just not sure how to stop it. I work during the day so I can't stop her then. When I am at home she still wants to lick herself and I thought that was ok...that they heal themselves this way?!
That's all for now....we'll see what tommorrow brings.
Thank you for the advise and concerns!!!:)

[Karen]

Conehead! The "elizabethan collar" you sometimes see on dogs is to prevent them from licking stitches - if she's licking them too much, that's one thing you can do.

Poor Waffles, feel better soon!

[lovemyshiba]

Yep, the way to keep the her from licking the stitches is, unfortunatley the cone--Kito didn't care much for his:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid38/pdac96ceea82b00f0e5ebd4fca12567d2/fd15a30e.jpg

but I decorated it for him:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid39/pb9f6851db5cedbf9c711a5b09df922d1/fd0bc63f.jpg

I hope sweet Waffles feels better soon.