My dog, the vet, and the awful cone of misery

I was going to put this rant in the pets forum... but... well.... *ahem*

This is kind of a long rant, sorry.

My dog got spayed on the 13th. I said to the vet "I'm going to need a sedative to keep her calm, she has loads of energy". The vet didn't believe me, and so she got no sedative. They said "Oh the pain meds will be enough to keep her calm the first few days". I knew it wouldn't be. I just knew it. The first day wasn't so bad, the second day she was almost completely her old self. The third day she was bleeding from the incision.

Called the vet, who freaked out (while trying not to let on that they were freaking out) and told me to bring her in asap. I did, and they examined her then assured me that everything was fine, just residual bleeding (whatever that means, sigh). She also took this opportunity to tell me that she had bled more than expected during surgery, requiring pressure bandage and a couple extra hours of observation, which is why she was "a little concerned". Took her home. She still wouldn't give me sedatives for her.

Fast forward to this past Tuesday, after days of trying to keep this beast calm and still-ish (unsuccessfully), I check the incision, and she's ripped her stitches. Back to the vet we go. Came home with her incision now stapled and glued. And finally with the *bleeping* sedatives!!!

Which are ***bleeping*** useless after the first two hours and it wears off. And, my dog loves being by my side, so she keeps ramming the dang cone into my legs! Every step! And if she's not ramming it into my legs she's ramming it into doorways! I'm going to have to duct tape it to reinforce it, because she's almost broken it! Argh!!!

We took advantage of a program that offers reduced cost spays. The conspiracy part of me feels like if I had simply gone to her usual vet and forked over full price, we might not have had all theses issues.

You live and you rant and you learn I guess.

Beware of loud noises!!!

Try putting that cone to your ear, you'll notice a HUGE increase in sound volume. Had a husky who had his man bits removed, never had any problem with the stitches but the cone really freaked him out, and I'm convinced it was because everything was so loud!

Also, watch his weight. Now he's not thinking about the ladies all the time he'll divert his attention to food, in fact he'll think of nothing else!

a reply to: VoidHawk

She's not really after the ladie's that much, as she's a lady. lol. But her weight is certainly something I will keep an eye on, I already have to feed her pretty strictly because she tends to get too much on the heavy side if I'm not careful. I have a little mix breed male too, when he got neutered, he got a little chubby! Had to put him on a bit of a diet.

I think the cone crushed her spirit at first. I would take it off when she was eating just to give her a few minutes peace without it (supervised, of course!). She still doesn't like it all that much, but she isn't as freaked by it as she was at first.

Beautiful dog. Hope she has a speedy recovery!
Glad I didn't have to cone my dogs!

a reply to: MojaveBurning

My Dawg was neutered while I was away for Training while in the Army.

He seemed to remember that my ex had a hand in it...but not me! He never trusted her again. Smart Dawg!

Your story reminded me of this... by Dave Barry.

Taking the zip out of Zippy

BY DAVE BARRY

www.miamiherald.com...

For the next week, if you came to our front door, here's what happened: You heard the loud barking of two dogs going into Red Alert mode, but you did not see any immediate dogs. Instead you heard a lot of bumping and clunking, which turned out to be the sound of a large dog limping frantically toward you but suffering a major traction loss on every fourth step because of a plastic bag, combined with the sound of a very small dog trying desperately to keep up but bonking his collar into furniture, doorways, etc. And then, finally, skidding around the corner, still barking, there appeared the dynamite duo: Bagfoot and Satellite Head.

My girl done pretty much the same thing, the day she was fixed & I collected her from vet I asked if she needed something to keep her quiet being she is a working dog without a job. The vet seemed to think not. 3 or 4 days later we we back at vets paying for her to be sewn up again. Overall I think the whole episode cost about $400. Including a cone & anti inflammatory meds... All the vet said was most dogs won't do this!! So yes you could have had the same problem at normal vets, it just would have cost more

a reply to: TDawgRex

That's hilarious! That is definitely where my dog is, the cone of shame is aptly named for sure! Maybe I'll call her zippy for a nickname, lol.

The cone thing sucks for sure, but it is only temporary and things will go back to normal soon enough. Beautiful dog by the way!!!!

a reply to: MojaveBurning

Ahhhh...you've heard of the "Cone of Shame" before.

a reply to: MojaveBurning

Our dog just recently got spayed too! She was sent home without sedatives. The vet told us not to let her climb steps or run and jump, RIGHT! Our dog was a bundle of energy and acted like she never had surgery! We called the vet and they told us to give her Benadryl to calm her down. That tired her out a bit, but after a day she was back to her old self again. She was pretty good about no biting her incision so we just let her do her thing. We were also given the cone for her neck, but we never used it. That would have caused her to roll around, jump, and bang her head just to try getting it off her head! (I wouldn't blame her one bit. I would do the same if I had to wear a plastic funnel around my neck all day.)

I can certainly relate.

originally posted by: MojaveBurning
a reply to: VoidHawk

She's not really after the ladie's that much, as she's a lady.

Oops! My mistake. It was late when I posted.

Give the Lady an extra munchie and tell her its from voidhawk.

I hope she heals very soon. I've been through this several times. I did NOT give pain pills, as pain is nature's way of telling her to take it easy. I also kept them on a leash, day and night, so I could monitor any activity and licking of the incision. Let us know how things are going today...

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Checked her incision this morning. She's ripped a staple out.

The sedatives have kept her pretty quiet, and she only goes outside to use the bathroom and then right back in. I have no idea what more I can do to get this beast to heal! Waiting on the vet's office to open this morning so I can call them. I'm starting to think maybe I should board her for a few days after they replace the staple... maybe that would help her get healed enough that it won't rip loose when she comes home?? She's never been boarded before, so I have no idea if she would even stay quiet then, or if she'd just be more wired. Gonna talk to the vet and see what she thinks of the idea.

At what point do I assume the problem is with the way the staples are put in and find another vet??

So frustrated with this whole thing!