For the Dog Owners... what care is involved after nutering procedure? (1 Viewer)

[Brian Mansure]

Our Chinese Shar-pei, Bella is going to be spayed in a few weeks at the local vet.
The veterinarian asked if we would like her to have the traditional procedure or a newer laser procedure but we were not sure what to decide.
For any dog owners that have had there dogs spayed or nuetered by "laser mehtod" over traditional procedures, what benefits to your dog were there?
I'm assuming less scaring but is the healing time the same or less?
Is there less pain involved for man's best friend?
The laser procedure is only $50 more than the traditional spaying.

I appreciate any and all suggestions and comments.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[John Garcia]

$50 more would make it a little more than twice the cost compared to the $40 it cost me for the "normal" procedure.
Does scarring really matter? 1) It's a dog 2) They have fur, it will basically never be seen 3) They aren't human, they don't care about scars
I would expect healing time to be similar, but I am not familiar with the laser procedure. If I remember (it was some time ago), my dog only took a day or two to fully recover. They anesthetize, so the animal should not feel anything. My dog pretty much slept around for the rest of that day, and was kind of slow the next day, but she was fine in no time at all.
I believe I remember that you have to clean the incision site with some anti bacterial soap and keep them from licking it until the stitches come out, but that's about it.

 

[Brian Mansure]

Thanks John.
I kinda feel the same way about the scaring but then again I don't want to put my dog through any unnecessary pain/scarring to save 50 dollars either.

If anyone else has comments or first-hand experience with the laser procedure I'm interested to hear/read about it.

Brian

 

[MichaelG]

A knife and a couple of towels.
Sorry, couldn't help it. I am a dog lover and it's nice to see someone who is concerned about the pain he/she might go through. Since I am planning on getting a dog as soon as I get out of apartment living.

 

[Michael*K]

Never had the laser procedure. Both of my dogs were fixed through "traditional" means and never had problems. One of the guys on the forum (Julian Reville) is a veterinarian and would probably know the differences better than anyone.

 

[Danny R]

I'm not even certain the pain is that much if the procedure is done properly. Our little pug show absolutely NO symptoms after her proceedure was over. In fact she was running around the house like a banshee chasing our cat and had as much energy as she ever does.

I think a lot of it depends on the skill of the surgeon, and how small they are able to make the incision.

 

[Julian Reville]

I think a lot of it depends on the skill of the surgeon

Exactly.
Lasers are great for some things, useless or not needed for others. They are also expensive to buy ($25,000 and up) and have a steep learning curve. I can't afford one and I do ovariohysterectomies every day using cold steel.
Sorry, vet humor, bygones.
Incisions heal side to side, not end to end, so a small incision is not necessarily better. I make enough of one so that I can see what I'm doing, not going entirely by feel.
If your vet has a good rep, go for it.
NO RUNNING OR JUMPING FOR AT LEAST 2 WEEKS AFTER SURGERY PLEASE

 

[Brian Mansure]

Thanks again to everyone who replied.

Julian,
It's definitely nice to get your expert opinion on this also. We are going through the PAWS program which is helping with the costs and I believe they have provided us with a list of qualified/seasoned vets in the area.

So the consensus on this one seems to be...
go with the traditional method.

Ok, will do.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Jeff Savage]

I had my dog spayed last year via conventional methods. She is a small dog (45 Lbs.). The incision was only about 1 inch long. There were no stitches to worry about (dunno how the Vet. pulled that off but I guess they were all inside or something). She rested for the rest of the day and was up and about within a day or two.
One of the warnings my vet gave me was to not have the operation while the dog was in heat because it messes up their hormones.
Get this my vet's name is Dr. Bone...no joke
Laters,
Jeff

 

[ollie_k]

some ice for the poor fellow