Dog castration

[herbie]

I had my Spanish water dog done last friday and he has to have stiches out next Monday they muzzeld him to get him out off cage and want to do the same when they take stiches out i dont want them to do this as he not vicious just very scared my hubby reckons if i put baby oil on stiches when they snip stiches they will come out easier whats everyone think?.

[woofgang]

i think, speaking from experience, that if he is very scared, he is better muzzled. We are having the same problem with one of our dogs. he is a big goofy softy and well liked at the vets but he hates it there and gets very difficult. We know and trust our vets and have been going there for years and we know that if he ever did bite a staff member there, he would have to be treated very differently. I did a course of work with him earlier this year when we went to the vet every day and the staff there met him and gave him treats. I worked with him at home and then at the vets having a muzzle on and being given treats then having the muzzle on at the vets and the vet staff giving him treats. It worked to a point and he is now handleable there but he is still muzzled to be examined or treated, then the muzzle comes off and the vet makes a big fuss of him.
It is up to us to protect our dogs from themselves and if that means a muzzle then that is what it means.
I have no experience of the baby oil thing but have had stitches in 5 different dogs now and they have all been removed with no problem or tugging...personally i don't think it would make enough difference and would suggest that either way you keep your dog safe by using the muzzle.

[herbie]

Thanks for answer am just worried if they muzzle him he will be scared of people going near his head and become snappy and maybe difficult to clip when he goes groomers.Also we had him done as he was getting aggresive with other male dogs but took him fora walk today and he went for a bich puppy which was jumping around him when should he calm down a bit?

[karenmac60]

When I had my dog done, I took him back to the vets but he'd already removed the stitches himself, so you might not need to worry about it.

[lankeela]

If he is muzzled then it will be a simple act to snip the stitches, but if he isn't and struggles then someone might get bitten or he might pull the stitches out himself. I am sure baby oil will make no difference whatsoever to them!

[lankeela]

Castration takes several weeks to take effect from a physical point of view, but if he has learnt to be aggressive with other dogs you will need to re-socialise him and re-train him with other dogs. Castration is not an instant cure all for behaviour problems, it merely stops them producing puppies once it has taken effect!