Dog hernia?

[FourRingCircus]

ODS's pup was spayed on Monday - the sutures are pretty wonky looking, IMO, but I figured if they did what they needed to do, then whatever. Weeelllll.... looks like she might have a hernia or something. Of course I notice it at 5:30, after the vet's office is closed. We have some iffy weather coming, so who knows what tomorrow will hold (if travel will be possible... our road doesn't get treated often, and we're almost always are on the snow/ice/rain line).

It doesn't bother her when I touch it, so maybe it's not a huge deal? At least according to one site I was looking on:

http://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/post-surg ... -7009.html

"Canine Hernias

Hernias occur when the sutures in your dog's abdominal wall collapse. This can result in fat, intestines and even internal organs falling out of the abdomen and protruding beneath the skin. If the hernia consists only of fat, it shouldn't cause your dog pain or serious consequences. If your dog appears in pain from the lump, suspect that the protrusion consists of intestinal parts or even organs (commonly the bladder) and get her to the vet immediately. Your pet might require emergency surgery to save her life."

 

[Dood]

She should be kept quiet and not allowed to be too active or rambunctious for the first couple weeks to allow the skin to mend but it is highly unlikely the stitches would tear as they are VERY strong and it is probably inflammation and/or swelling

There are two layers of stitching - internal ones that disolve after a few weeks and often cause swelling and a "knot" under the skin and external ones that hold togeather the hide/pelt and must be kept dry and clean and don't let her lick at it either

 

[FourRingCircus]

We've actually got her indoors for now, and she's doing her best to convince us that she should stay :lol: (only one accident, and it was by the door after we didn't see her wandering around... and last night around midnight she woke me up barking and whining so I let her out of her kennel). Should I be taking her out on a leash rather than just letter her out on her own to go potty? She's just now getting some energy back...

Here are a couple pics showing the lump that's forming. It's not at all painful for her, she'll let me push on it (gently) and feel around a bit. I don't remember anything like it yesterday or this morning.



Should I try putting some gauze over the stitches and taping it to keep it in? Hopefully the weather holds off tonight, then I can call in the AM.

 

[wamplercathy]

Licking and chewing can lead to this kind of damage. But like Dood said she needs to be kept calm. That might mean placing her in a bathroom away from all the fun or penning her up, and taking her out on a leash to potty.

Is she wearing a cone of shame? (https://www.google.com/search?q=dogs+we ... CbEQsAQIGw)

If she will allow it, place an ice pack on it for 15mins every couple of hours. Place the ice pack in a towel before placing it on the area.

 

[FourRingCircus]

No cone... and she has been licking, not sure about chewing. Is it something that will heal, or will they need to repair it surgically?

She's actually done well to just lay around during the day, it's when she went out to potty this afternoon that I saw her perk up, I wonder if that's when she did something.

The weather appears to be holding off, so hopefully that means I can call the vet first thing in the AM.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Most vets use surgical staples or steel suture material on the underlying abdominal muscles these days, so I doubt it is a hernia... and I have actually seen incisions that look swollen like that from too much licking.

You definitely need a cone- I don't want to jinx you, but fingers crossed that she hasn't pulled the surface stitches out by morning. :clover:

If you happen to pop in and see this post tonight, you can make your own collar to prevent licking. It is not the "cone of shame" style, but rather a stiff collar to keep her from bending her neck around. You will need to cut a piece of carpet long enough to encircle her neck, and wide enough that it goes from the base of her skull to where her neck joins her body. Use duct tape to secure the "collar" around her neck.

You can see a professional version here:

http://stopbite.net/testimonials.html

 

[FourRingCircus]

Actually, those stitches look the same as when she came home... just a poor stitch job :x . The other dog we had spayed there came home with neatly done metal sutures - these look pretty crappy, to be honest. I started paying closer attention and she's actually not licking the stitches, but the razor-burned area around it. Poor girl. How weird do they get with the collar on? Is it something where she would be irritated enough to snip at the kids or anything? She's been fine with them so far, although during YDD's last fit she did retreat to the basement for a few (I don't blame her, I would if I could as well!).

 

[wamplercathy]

Hope your pups doing well. I place the cone of shame on my chug every so often because of allergies. His belly will break out and then gets worse because he licks and chews to stop the itching. They get a little weird but then move on. Our boxer on the other hand lost it when she saw the chug in the cone of shame. Ran and hid till we removed the collar. :lol: :lol: :lol: Dogs are weird in general. Even thought about filling the cone with cheerios while Teddy Bear was in it and see how long it would take for him to eat his way out. :twisted: :lol: :lol: :lol: Would he dump it or keep it up so he didn't have to share? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Anyways hope your pup is doing better.

 

[FourRingCircus]

We didn't make it to the vet before the storm hit It's still there, but still not bothering her thankfully She took off on me last night/this morning when I let her out which I am sure didn't help. The dog I saw in our carport that I thought was our other one? Nope, evidently not. I didn't think twice about letting her out b/c the other one is nearly 10 years old so they don't really run and play much. Imagine my surprise when she took off down the driveway after her! I started calling for both of them, then caught some movement off to the left. Our other dog... Doh! I have no idea whose dog was in our carport, guess is one from the guy down the road (he lets them roam, no matter how many times we talk to him. One of his dogs is the sire to the litter that Star came out of, and our other dog had to get fixed b/c even though we had her up his giant of a dog jumped the fence... same one also came after our son one time when we were in the hospital with our youngest. They just roam the area). Makes me think that my hunch was right that Star was getting ready to go into heat for the first time which is why we went in this week (I thought they were supposed to go through one cycle before getting spayed which is why we waited otherwise I would have had it done sooner! I think my mom told me that one time... someone did!)

I have a feeling once we get her there (once roads are cleared... we thought for sure a plow would come by today, but no luck), they will end up having to do more surgery, and we get to start this adventure all over again :roll:

__________ Sat Jan 23, 2016 4:51 pm __________

It's been fun to watch these two bond though... when they are outside Star gets a little weird for some reason... hyper and overprotective almost. Inside? Best of friends. Frankie (the kitten) even licks her ears.

<br /><br /> __________ Thu Jan 28, 2016 10:08 pm __________ <br /><br /> So far no surgery needed! Yay! We (slowly) made our way into the vet's office on Monday and he poked around a bit at it and said it looked OK to him. We go back Monday to get stitches out and he'll look at it again. It doesn't seem to be as big as it was, so maybe some weird swelling?? No idea. It's still not bothering her though, so I guess that's a good sign.