My Dog Just Got Spayed, When Can She Play?

You may be wondering about spaying your dog if you have a female pup. Spaying is the means of removing the womb from a female dog or removing the ovaries and uterus.

Surprisingly to some, spaying actually is the socially responsible decision to make. When you spay a dog, it offers them benefits they otherwise wouldn’t have, including preventing any infections.

Once you spay your female dog, know that what is required from you as the owner is the delicacy and involved care over a set period. Just like a human woman after uterus surgery, a female dog needs time to heal up.

Immediately after having spaying surgery, your female dog will have many restrictions.

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How Long After Spaying Can My Dog Play

A female dog should receive absolutely no exercise during the first two weeks. The following two weeks can be taken lightly, but vets recommend on-leash exercise.

Below is a three-step guide on what to do with a female dog post-spaying.

1. Monitor your pup for two weeks to be sure she does not sustain any infections or open any wounds.
2. All play should be avoided. If this step is ignored, there is a likely chance your dog will have her stitches coming out, she to start bleeding, or worse.
3. Your vet will prescribe your dog some antibiotics for your dog, and pain relief. You must make sure your dog finishes all of her medicine even if it seems your dog looks or feels better.

Female dogs’ metabolism slows down after getting spayed, so it would be best to reduce their meal intake, to maintain their body weight.

Your dog should recover significantly to its original physical ways before letting her run around and play.

Will My Dog Be in Pain After Spaying?

Because it takes ten to twelve days to heal, your dog might feel some pain once they’re done with their surgery. Something to note is your vet will be able to provide you with some pain relief medication for your pup.

It’s good to remember that if a human woman had surgery like this, they would be restricted from any activity to heal for nearly a month.

Spaying a female dog is a delicate process because the vet is making a large incision on their belly to remove their ovaries. The lengthened cut in your dog’s skin and muscle layers makes it painful.

You can make the healing process easier for her by using pain relief medications provided by your vet, along with proper delicate care from you.

During the surgery, dogs have been given a medical pain relief injection that relieves them of any pain afterward for eight to twelve hours.

Symptoms Your Dog May Experience After Surgery

Your Dog Could Become Overly Hyperactive

The last thing you want as a pet owner is for your furbaby to hurt. If you let your female dog run around after a spaying surgery, she can likely damage the incision.

Try to keep her calm by being around her to feel safe, and giving her loads of attention and love.

Anesthesia May Give Your Dog Some Unwelcome Symptoms

Anesthesia can make your dog relatively weak and tired for an extended period. During the time your dog is sleeping, it is possible that she might vomit or pee.

To avoid sleeping in her pee or vomit, especially where her incision is, use a puppy pad under her.

Your Dog Could Experience a Loss of Coordination

What many dog owners notice after spaying their dogs is that they could seem off when walking.

If there is any reason, you have to have your dog walking somewhere, make sure to avoid all types of exercise for the first two weeks, so pick her up whenever you need to; that even means getting onto the couch.

Monitor Your Dogs Eating and Drinking

Water and food intake can be limited immediately after surgery. After a few hours have gone by, you can introduce some water and a little bit of food later on in the day.

Doing these slower steps ensures you can monitor and track the quantity of water and food your dog consumes after being under anesthesia. If you are able to get your dog to eat and drink while keeping it all down, you can return to their regular feeding routines in the following days.

If you notice that your dog doesn’t eat or drink anything, call your vet.

How to Prevent Any Infection or Injury After Surgery

Spaying surgery is considered major surgery. The wound will heal in about fourteen days. The first three days post-surgery are the most critical, and you should leave your dog alone if possible.

Dogs tend to lick their wounds, and you’ll want to be sure that your dog doesn’t do this as it can bring infections to the areas. Below are some things you can implement for your dog post-surgery.

Leave Your Dog Alone

The best thing to do for your female dog is to leave her alone to let her rest for short periods of time. You can use the following steps to briefly understand how to keep your pet alone during the first three days.

1. Keep your dog crated if you will be leaving her alone for more than 30 minutes.
2. If you don’t have a crate, leave them in a small room with no hazards.
3. Keep them away from other pets and dogs.

Be Sure to Check The Incision

You should check your dog’s incision every day, twice, for any signs of infections, cuts, scratches, or bleeding. You want to be aware of any redness, swelling, and discharge.

By doing this daily, you can rule out any strange-looking stuff you wouldn’t usually know what it is.

Use Vet-Provided Antibiotics for Your Dog

Antibiotics play an essential part when considering any infection after surgery.

Your vet will most likely prescribe an antibiotic for your dog. It’s vital that you make sure your dog finishes every one of the pills, even if it seems your dog looks or feels better.

Get Her a Cone Dog Collar

Get your dog a cone collar; as I’ve mentioned above, you don’t want her to lick the wound at all. This cone helps limit what she can lick.

Keep Your Dog on a Leash

Female dogs can be very active, and when you do finally take your pup out for a walk, you’ll want to be sure that she doesn’t run off chasing a squirrel or another dog, resulting in opening her wound and creating a problem.

However, it could be very frustrating for a dog to go a long time with very little to no exercise, even though you should limit as much activity after being spayed.

Avoid Going to the Dog Park

Wait until after all your dog’s stitches have been professionally removed and her wounds are healed 100% before taking her to any dog park.

Provide Mental Stimulation Instead

During the time your dog is relaxing from post-surgery, use toys that are puzzles for your pup. Chewing can also be mentally stimulating for your dog so consider getting chews and bones to keep your pup busy.

Actually, chewing releases endorphins to the dog’s brain, which in turn gives them a more subtle, relaxing feeling.

How to Care for Your Dogs Incision Post-Surgery

There are multiple options for a vet to use as the “skin glue” for your dog’s stitches. Some are silk, nylon, or metal, but these require a visit back to the vet to be removed after fourteen days.

It is super important that you do not allow your dog’s stitches to get wet. No baths or playing in the rain/water, and don’t let them lie down on any wet grass.

You could start to notice swelling, redness, or hard tissue developing as your dog’s wound heals. You shouldn’t be concerned about the above-mentioned; however, if you start to notice any bleeding or discharge, immediately seek out your vet.

After your dog has had this major surgery, restrict them from all activity for at least ten days, but up to fourteen if you can. No activity means your dog cannot be off the leash running around, getting into any water, and definitely never unattended.

By any chance that you are unable to watch your pet then you should have them in their crate, or placed in a tiny room.

So, for your dog’s sake, remember what pain she will be in, that she needs 100% of your attention and care for fourteen days, and make sure that she is provided with some sort of mental stimulation if she seems bored or hyperactive.

At What Age Should You Spay Your Dog?

As we all know, female dogs enter a stage in their reproductive cycle to mate with male dogs. This is called heat, and it occurs twice a year and is when their estrogen levels increase.

At six to twenty-four months of age, a female dog will go into heat. It’s recommended to spay your female dog before its first heat stage.

Final Thoughts

Don’t take the spaying procedure lightly, it’s a big deal in dogs. Following your veterinarian’s recommendations keep to only light activity for two weeks.

If any complications arise, visit your vet and continue avoiding exercise.

Otherwise, once the majority of healing has taken place, your doggie will be able to get back to playing often throughout the day. It might even be a good idea to have a new toy for them as a reward.