After castration help please

[Madmandy]

Hi, i'm new here and am desperately looking for some help and reassurance for my 8 month old Cocker Logan who was castrated yesterday.
He was as we expected him to be yesterday when we got him home - sleepy !!
He''s wearing the dreaded Elizabethan collar and it's really stressing him out. He''s also sitting down all the time, he won'the come if you call him and he hasn't had a wee or a poo since before the vets first thing yesterday morning. If he does move he goes really fast for a short distance then sits straight down.
He did eat and drink last night but when we put him in the kitchen to bed as we do every night  he cried and cried and this morning when I came down he was just crouching on the floor and he'd obviously been there like that all night.
Is there anything we can do to help him or should I go back to the vets? ?

[Ernies mum]

Ah bless him , Ernie was out of sorts the following day and did whine off and on . We didn't bother with a collar as it stressed him out and he didn't bother with his stitches , I know some people on here have used baby grows and cut the legs / arms out as well as putting the poppers along top of dogs back .
I think if Logan was mine I'd ring the vet this morning and get some advice , my main concern would be that he's not weeing .
Did the vet give you some pain killers for Logan for once the anaesthetic has worn off , as he sounds very uncomfortable , I'm sure the vet will advise you and probably ask you to bring him back in to get checked over . I remember when Ernie was castrated my vet said to bring him in if I had any concerns . We also had a follow up booked in for a week after the surgery .
Sending Logan  , hope he's feeling better soon x

[Markr64]

It could be a number of things, but I would suspect the "Lampshade of shame" as the cause, he is feeling a little worse for wear and to add to it all he has to try and walk around with something that just isn't natural for him. try him without it and see if there is a change, but do watch him all the time to ensure he does not start licking the wound.

[siam]

Sorry to hear your wee fellow has had a miserable night. Alfie had an op earlier on this year and just sat and cried in the hard collar when we took him home from the vets. Having had a few hard collar experiences with our previous cocker I'd bought this soft collar for him which he was much happier with.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrive-BCC3-Comfy-Collar-Medium/dp/B00GROXCPS/ref=sr_1_5?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1446624730&sr=8-5&keywords=lampshade+collar

You'd probably get one locally and some vets sell them.
Alfie was also completely out of sorts overnight after the anaesthetic and cried and couldn't settle. 48 hours later he had perked up 100% so between the collar and the after effects of the anaesthetic that's 2 reasons to put Logan out of sorts.
However I would be phoning up for advice if he's still not weed. Hope he picks up as the day goes on.

[Jane57]

I agree regarding the lampshade, I knew Riley would be traumatised if he had to wear it.
I bought him a pet medical vest, basically like a baby,s bodysuit, it fastened under his legs, we only had to unpop the poppers for him to wee/poo.

I did sleep downstairs with him the first night and he was fine .
He really only whined as soon as we got him home from the vet.

Maybe try with the baby grow idea, he will be much happier I think.
He really should be having a wee/poo soon so keep your eye on him and if you feel he isnt right then call the vet as usually they are much more back to themselves the following day.
Hope by later today Logan is feeling better.

[AlanT]

Earlier this year my 2-year old Archie had his stomach opened to retrieve a corn-cob.

Whem I collected him from the Vet-college hospital they gave me a collar but told me that I probably would not need it.

The dog took no notice of the wound and recovered in about 2-weeks.
You have to watch them of course but collars are for persistent lickers.

Incidentally it seems to have become fashionable to castrate dogs quite young. Years ago we never did this unless we had a real reason to. It is a nice earner for vets, remember.

I have a well behaved entire male. Mind you, I work the socks off him every day.

[Chrisjo]

My cocker Baxter was castrated in July and I bought a padded soft collar from the vets which was great as could lie down on it and sleep in comfort .He was very agitated for about 3 days after the op pacing around and not eating but soon made a recovery .Hope all ok soon for your little one x

[tenaille]

We found with Beau that solid cones amplify sounds into his ears (like a great big ear trumpet) and as he is generally noise reactive this causes him loads of grief, so we use floppy ones when possible or just watch him like a hawk to head off any scratching.
In this instance I would get the vets advice.

[daw]

Poor lad- sounds like a real trauma for a young pup.

[Archie bean]

I agree. Take the cone off and only resort to it if he is bothering the stitches. That said, although most dogs bounce back very quickly after the op it is worth keeping a close eye on things. Check the wound for signs of infection or abnormal swelling. A call to the vet might help put your mind at rest. Although my dog Archie seemed OK after the first day he developed serious complications on the second or third day and needed drains inserted to empty out a series of sterile cysts that formed around the internal stitches. Poor thing had to wear the collar for over three weeks because the drains were plastic and he wanted to chew them. I'm sure nothing like this will happen to your boy, don't feel like you are making a fuss if you think something is wrong.

[Ernies mum]

How's Logan doing , hope he's feeling more comfortable now ?

[Jaysmumagain]

Why do these vets persist with these cones, when those padded collars are so much more comfy.
Think they should try walking around with a bucket on there heads for a day and night

[Murphys Law]

Murphy rubbed the shaved area raw because of the cone. We decided it was doing far more harm than good so took it off and tried to limit any locking.

[Jane57]

Why do these vets persist with these cones, when those padded collars are so much more comfy.
Think they should try walking around with a bucket on there heads for a day and night

Arent they the most ridiculous invention ever. Ok maybe in the past it was the "only" thing but now there are so much better ideas.
I found the pet medical vest amazing. It actually hugged him and I think made him feel secure and relaxed.

[Mudmagnets]

In the vets defence, it probably has a lot to do with what they think their customers are willing to pay for a short term (hopefully) need. I imagine the comfy collars are dearer than a cone. Maybe the vets should ask their customers when they are having operations if they would like a cone, or would prefer to buy their own collars?

I know when I had my first few dogs castrated, the vets at the time used to supply post op food at a ridiculous price, they don't seem to do that these days, and prefer to leave it up to customers with a recommendation of feeding a light meal.