Always learning something new. Today it's about dog spay/neuter
options. It's been over 15 years since I last had a dog spayed as our
last dog came to us already done.

You think of surgery as having everything carefully monitored during,
pain meds after, etc. but apparently there can be quite a few options
involved.

When I dropped off Sierra they offered me several options (adding to the
cost of course) which I could have said no to.

1. A blood workup to make sure her liver, kidneys, etc. were normal.

2. Pain meds if necessary

3. EKG and blood pressure monitoring during

I said yes to all. I wanted to take every precaution to ensure my girl
is safe during the procedure, and as comfortable as possible.

But the questions brought up the issue of options during spay/neuter and
I did a bit of research on the net after dropping her off this morning.
They talked about how different vets charge different amounts, some as
cheap as $50 but which do NOT include all the precautions etc. and to
always ask. My vet normally charges about $140 without the additionals
for a dog her age/size but we are on discount for her being adopted from
Animal Control. Some vets around here charge upwards of $300.

The articles talked about the different types of anesthesia, some of
which are safer than others. Apparently some anesthetics put a heavier
load on the kidneys and liver, so you'd want to know the status of the
organs before giving the anesthetics via the blood panel. This is
especially important if the dog is older.

They said you should ask whether the vet sterilizes instruments after
every use and scrubs in between (!) I would have assumed yes to both
but this article says you should ask. THAT'S a scary thought!

Also ask whether your dog will be hooked to a heart monitor, EKG, etc.
as you cannot assume they will be. Apparently there are also different
types of sutures that can be used, which have pluses and minuses. They
may use absorbable sutures that do not need to be removed, or regular
sutures that do. Laser surgery may also be an option.

There are also debates about the optimal age for spaying/neutering.
Newer anesthetics and procedures allow for younger dogs to be done.
There were discussions on how being in heat, pregnant, overweight, and
so forth would affect the procedure as well.

My point to anyone reading this is to simply be aware that not all vets
use the same level of precautions, or use the same anesthetics and so
forth during. Be informed. Ask questions. Don't assume.

--
Bad Dog Books
http://books.gityasome.com
Gityasome Tshirts
http://www.gityasome.com

Sharon Delarose said in
rec.pets.dogs.health:

The articles talked about the different types of
anesthesia, some of which are safer than others.
Apparently some anesthetics put a heavier load on the
kidneys and liver, so you'd want to know the status of the
organs before giving the anesthetics via the blood panel.

14 years ago, I paid extra for a better form of anesthesia for
Rocky, I no longer recall the names of the "bad" vs. "good"
anesthetics, but the bad is no longer used in my experience.
They insisted that Rocky spend the night because of potential
complications from the anesthesia (Hey! I bought the good
stuff!). Today, I would have insisted that he came home with
me. They did have an all night tech, but it was a large
practice.

--
--Matt.

In article ,
Matt wrote:

14 years ago, I paid extra for a better form of anesthesia for
Rocky, I no longer recall the names of the "bad" vs. "good"
anesthetics, but the bad is no longer used in my experience.
They insisted that Rocky spend the night because of potential
complications from the anesthesia (Hey! I bought the good
stuff!). Today, I would have insisted that he came home with
me. They did have an all night tech, but it was a large
practice.

--
--Matt.

I wish they'd given me the option to bring her home today. I did ask,
especially since we do have a crate for her etc. and can easily keep her
quiet, but they simply don't allow it. Apparently they once did but
found it safer to keep them. Don't know how it's safer if there is no
night watch, though.

I don't know what type of anesthesia they are using or if anybody uses
the "old stuff" any more. I didn't know there were different types
until after I came home and started researching it. Hopefully it's the
good stuff!

It's a father/son practice, the father having been there for decades
with an excellent reputation. The son coming in fairly recently, within
five years I think, bringing some of the "newer" ideas with him such as
the EKG.

Still waiting for the All Clear call. Hard to concentrate on anything!
We've just had her a month but she is fully in my heart. I am totally
emotionally invested in her.

I was so proud of her this morning. She walked on a loose leash from
the car to the vet - no pulling, no jumping, no distracting. She was
totally calm in the car. In the waiting room there was a dog on a
lady's lap and she didn't bat an eyelash. She's becoming a truly
awesome companion and it looks like she's going to grow up to be very
well mannered.

Yesterday for the first time, she and Dakota flopped out together,
curled up next to each other in a happy dog pile. Dakota even let her
have the favorite ball for awhile which absolutely amazed me. I thought
that ball was sacred!

--
Bad Dog Books
http://books.gityasome.com
Gityasome Tshirts
http://www.gityasome.com

On Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:13:25 -0400, Sharon Delarose
wrote:

Always learning something new. Today it's about dog spay/neuter
options. It's been over 15 years since I last had a dog spayed as our
last dog came to us already done.

You think of surgery as having everything carefully monitored during,
pain meds after, etc. but apparently there can be quite a few options
involved.

When I dropped off Sierra they offered me several options (adding to the
cost of course) which I could have said no to.

1. A blood workup to make sure her liver, kidneys, etc. were normal.

2. Pain meds if necessary

3. EKG and blood pressure monitoring during

I said yes to all. I wanted to take every precaution to ensure my girl
is safe during the procedure, and as comfortable as possible.

But the questions brought up the issue of options during spay/neuter and
I did a bit of research on the net after dropping her off this morning.
They talked about how different vets charge different amounts, some as
cheap as $50 but which do NOT include all the precautions etc. and to
always ask. My vet normally charges about $140 without the additionals
for a dog her age/size but we are on discount for her being adopted from
Animal Control. Some vets around here charge upwards of $300.

The articles talked about the different types of anesthesia, some of
which are safer than others. Apparently some anesthetics put a heavier
load on the kidneys and liver, so you'd want to know the status of the
organs before giving the anesthetics via the blood panel. This is
especially important if the dog is older.

They said you should ask whether the vet sterilizes instruments after
every use and scrubs in between (!) I would have assumed yes to both
but this article says you should ask. THAT'S a scary thought!

Also ask whether your dog will be hooked to a heart monitor, EKG, etc.
as you cannot assume they will be. Apparently there are also different
types of sutures that can be used, which have pluses and minuses. They
may use absorbable sutures that do not need to be removed, or regular
sutures that do. Laser surgery may also be an option.

There are also debates about the optimal age for spaying/neutering.
Newer anesthetics and procedures allow for younger dogs to be done.
There were discussions on how being in heat, pregnant, overweight, and
so forth would affect the procedure as well.

My point to anyone reading this is to simply be aware that not all vets
use the same level of precautions, or use the same anesthetics and so
forth during. Be informed. Ask questions. Don't assume.

I would not go to a vet who considered pain medication and monitoring
during surgery to be 'options'.

Sharon Delarose said in
rec.pets.dogs.health:

I wish they'd given me the option to bring her home today.
I did ask, especially since we do have a crate for her etc.
and can easily keep her quiet, but they simply don't allow
it. Apparently they once did but found it safer to keep
them. Don't know how it's safer if there is no night
watch, though.

I'm the client from hell. If I thought that it was in my dog's
best interests to not stay overnight in an unsupervised
veterinary, the veterinarian would have no option. The vets are
my employees for this procedure.

--
--Matt.

On 3 Nov 2010 17:49:21 GMT, Matt wrote:

Sharon Delarose said in
rec.pets.dogs.health:

I wish they'd given me the option to bring her home today.
I did ask, especially since we do have a crate for her etc.
and can easily keep her quiet, but they simply don't allow
it. Apparently they once did but found it safer to keep
them. Don't know how it's safer if there is no night
watch, though.

I'm the client from hell. If I thought that it was in my dog's
best interests to not stay overnight in an unsupervised
veterinary, the veterinarian would have no option. The vets are
my employees for this procedure.

Exactly. I use two vets: a multi-vet practice with a newer facility
and lots of expensive technology, and a mobile vet who worked at said
multi-vet practice for 10 years and went out on his own when it was
sold to a corporation. Obviously the mobile vet doesn't do surgery,
so when Oksana is spayed next month she'll go to the other vet
hospital and will come home the same day. They don't have anyone in
the hospital overnight, and they would not be successful in convincing
me that my dog is better off overnight in a strange place with no one
around than she would be at home. The fact that my husband was a Navy
corpman and is like having a live-in vet tech is helpful, but not the
deciding factor. The deciding factor is that I don't want my dog
staying overnight at the hospital without a very good reason, and spay
surgery is not a very good reason.

On Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:12:01 -0400, Sharon Delarose wrote:

Still waiting for the All Clear call. Hard to concentrate on anything!
We've just had her a month but she is fully in my heart. I am totally
emotionally invested in her.


good luck to you, and relax, stay calm


I was so proud of her this morning. She walked on a loose leash from
the car to the vet - no pulling, no jumping, no distracting. She was
totally calm in the car. In the waiting room there was a dog on a
lady's lap and she didn't bat an eyelash. She's becoming a truly
awesome companion and it looks like she's going to grow up to be very
well mannered.

be happy, congrats

In article ,
Matt wrote:

I'm the client from hell. If I thought that it was in my dog's
best interests to not stay overnight in an unsupervised
veterinary, the veterinarian would have no option. The vets are
my employees for this procedure.

--
--Matt.

I tried to be the client from hell. I actually went and talked to the
vet in person about my concerns hoping to bring her home. He would not
budge. The only offer they made is to move the dog to a 24-hour
emergency type facility, at my expense of course. They absolutely will
not let the owner take them home that day.

He said it was their experience that problems occurred from the owner's
care the first night, and they had experienced enough of it that they
simply didn't allow it any more. They do not trust owners to follow
directions and not break protocol because the dog is whiny or making sad
eyes.

Here's a weird twist. A friend of mine from back home has heard my many
stories thru the years of the dog owners in the neighborhoods I've lived
in here. She made the observation that based on the stories I've told
her, would it be any wonder that the vets wouldn't trust the owners?
She did have a very valid point.

*sigh* 14 more hours.

--
Bad Dog Books
http://books.gityasome.com
Gityasome Tshirts
http://www.gityasome.com

In article ,
sonofdog wrote:

good luck to you, and relax, stay calm


I was so proud of her this morning. She walked on a loose leash from
the car to the vet - no pulling, no jumping, no distracting. She was
totally calm in the car. In the waiting room there was a dog on a
lady's lap and she didn't bat an eyelash. She's becoming a truly
awesome companion and it looks like she's going to grow up to be very
well mannered.

be happy, congrats

I do appreciate that, Andal. I meant to add that not only did she walk
on a loose leash, she walked right next to me keeping perfect pace with
me :-)

As for the relax, calm, sorry... not until she's back home with us!

--
Bad Dog Books
http://books.gityasome.com
Gityasome Tshirts
http://www.gityasome.com

In article ,
sighthounds & siberians wrote:

I would not go to a vet who considered pain medication and monitoring
during surgery to be 'options'.

This is my third vet attempt since moving to this county. I think we
moved here maybe six years ago? I'm having a very hard time finding a
happy place.

It may simply be the norm here outside of the big expensive hospitals.
One neighborhood I lived in, a neighbor's cat's tail got chopped off
somehow and they did NOT take their cat to a vet. Maybe that's common
enough in the outerlying counties (such as ours) that the vets make
everything optional to cater to that type of owner.

Someone shot one of the "pet" ducks that live on our lake with a bow and
arrow recently. People have shot at them with airguns, too, in the
past. For sport, not food.

The local vets may simply not have a lot to work with as far as owners
go. If it weren't for mandatory rabies shots, a lot of dogs would
probably never even see the inside of a vet's office here.

--
Bad Dog Books
http://books.gityasome.com
Gityasome Tshirts
http://www.gityasome.com