Wing it. Survive it. Show up and just figure it out. See how it goes. How do those words sit for you?
Prepare for it. Thrive in it. Know what to expect and step into it. Choose how you want it to go. How do those words sit for you?
There are many situations that we face during our growing seasons where we choose a “wing it” or prepare for it mentality. Our family – becoming first-time dog owners – has been a stretching source of learning partnership communication and figuring out effective teamwork on the different needs every day.
When people would speak of the spay recovery process, we did not get many words on how it actually felt to keep a puppy from her normal routine.
And yet, sitting in it now, I feel like I’m back in the newborn mama stage, surviving with capacity and figuring out how to get things done.
I want to say to those of you who are stepping into the spay recovery phase, “It’s going to feel tedious to stay so watchful for two weeks with an active puppy, but with prep and family teamwork, the time of recovery can flow with an easier process.”
We are on day 7 of a 14-day recovery process for an active puppy that can’t jump on the furniture, take long walks or play aggressively or lick/bite/scratch the stitches. While we are fresh in it, I thought I would give you some thoughts on what it feels like during this time and what we have found helpful.
That is two weeks of your family taking on a recovery load that requires more focused care and some tedious extra needs. So I thought I would give you a more “prepare for it” list to help you figure out when would be the best time for you to schedule your appointment and to also give you things to consider as a guide to help you with an easier flow during that time.
Plan for a 2-week stretch where you have availability to be home.
We had scheduled her surgery prior to school starting where we would all be home and be able to help her recover with better attention and care, and then she went into heat earlier so we had to push it back. Fall is a very busy time for our crew, so we felt more forced into the timeline but look at your schedule and do it during a time when you have more flex to be home with your little pup. It’s more about being able to monitor to make sure they are not licking at the stitch site and opening that up, risking infection. So you will want someone to be available to be home to monitor those recovery days or you may need to hire someone to do some checkpoints with your pup during the day.
Prepare the cone/recovery suit you want to try.
Each pup is different in what they will tolerate and what works for them, so we tried a combination of an inflatable cone I ordered off Amazon, along with a recovery suit. We give her breaks during the day with the cone off when we are sitting with her so that we can still monitor her. We have found that she does best when she has a combo of both. We chose the softer cone so that it did not feel as restricting as the hard cone, but we have to monitor her more closely this way because she can reach her incision site. During this time, you have to take them to the bathroom on the leash, so her recovery suit rolls up from the bottom so it can stay on and we keep her cone on during that time.
Prepare special treats and a new bone that can distract the pup.
Keeping the pup from moving in an active way takes some intentional effort. We put different treats in the Kong and put it in the freezer so while she was sitting beside us, she had a distractor to help her with resting, which helps her not be as frustrated that she can not be up running around.
Set yourself up for some easier days.
Prep your home prior to your pup coming home from surgery with housework checked off your list. I did not do that and I really wish that I had thought of getting laundry done and put away and cleaning so that I did not have to worry about any of that in the first few days. Prepare freezer meals and other easy meal planning that is not going to take as much effort to provide during this time.
If you have a room in your house where there isn’t furniture, that is a great spot to set up for recovery. We do not have that option in our house and so the recovery has felt more tedious with one of us having to be with her constantly to keep her from jumping. Or also taking something to block off furniture pieces so you can use a room space.
Our pup is crate trained, so we use crate time as a place to get things done, work, and know that she is safely recovering in that space but we’ve had to do check-in crate times to make sure that she’s not licking the stitch site and that the cone has stayed on.
Make a family recovery chart where you each have different times with the pup during the day.
It can feel different when the pace you have felt with the puppy shifts during that time and the need to be with her more intently feels like a heavier load. We found that we have done better with shorter increments of watchful times and will give one another 15-minute times with the puppy and then rotate us all around.
Sending healing vibes your way as your pup recovers!
