Neutring a dog - is a 2 night stay reasonable?

[Masha]

Hello,

I just got off the phone with the Vet and this clinic's policy is that they keep a dog for 2 night when he is being neutred (bring him in the night before and he stays until the morning after the neutring).

Is this normal? Other people who I know have told me that their dogs, both male and female, were in early in the morning and then picked up in the afternoon of the same day after their spay or neuter surgeries.

I was under the impression that neutring was a minor surgery. Even people who have minor surgeries are in and out in the same day; isn't a 2 night stay for a neuter surgery a bit excessive?

Any feedback would be highly appreciated!!



Jeremy Monkey

[breeze]

my regular vet, yes early morning and pick up the same day..

my oth vet brought in the night before surgery stay the night and then brought home..

I have done both and IMO the extra nights stay is prefer by me.. when I brought my dogs home the same night they were so groggy and I had to watch them carfully. I prefered the peace of mind I got from the extra nights stay..

it is minor surgery and there is nothing to worry about it depends on what the vet is comfortable with and you..

[marsupial mama]

I can only speak of experience getting my female kitty spayed, but here goes... they took her for 2 nights too and the way they explained it was that the animal has to "fast" (no food or drink) before getting a general anaesthetic (I assume they do it for neuter as well as for spay even though it's a less invasive procedure?), and it's easier for them to do it in the animal hospital than for the owner at home. Especially in my house, I have kids who like to hand out pet treats! And a cat who will help herself to any unauthorized goodies left lying around... Then of course they need to keep an eye on the animal in the 24-hr post-op period to make sure everything is o.k.

I phoned around a number of vet's offices before making my choice, some of them take the animal the morning of surgery and you pick him or her up the day after, all being well.

I think the reason why people get kicked out so early after surgery is because of cutbacks in the health service, BTDT and it wasn;t fun but this is

Anyways I hope all will go smoothly with your dog's surgery.

[badger]

What is BTDT?

[t.pettet]

My vet keeps them for 2 nights also which I put down to being vigilant and giving the best post-op care.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by badger

What is BTDT?

Been there, done that.

[Tommysmom]

Tommy had a full endoscopy done at the same time he was neutered, and even then he didn't stay overnight. We dropped him off in the morning and picked him up late afternoon. With all of his other vet bills, I don't think I could have afforded to have him stay two nights!

[Masha]

It is about 550+tax for a Neutr, seems a little high b/c that is what my parents paid to have their girl doby spayed but I am not that concerned about the price as long as it translates into good medical care....

I am just not sure whether it is beneficial for him to endure two stressful nights away from home.... wouldn't he recover better if he was in his home, resting in his crate where things look and smell familiar vs. the vet clinic?

[Redcrew71]

Supposed to have my next week. Drop off at 8 pick up at 4pm.

?...beside a snipe here and their....is castration normal part of this procedure for males?...sorry..not up to speed on it.

[SnowDancer]

I expect the night before the surgery is to ensure that your dog does not eat/drink anything in the a.m. - very hard not to with the rain puddles and now snow (I also live in Toronto) - not to mention pine cones, bark, garbage etc. - and food in the house that pups are so clever at getting. My guy had his teeth cleaned last month and I took him in the night before for this very reason - saved having to cancel the surgery due to said tree bark and mud puddles. Some vets do allow a male dog to home late on day of some surgery, but then want to see the dog again the next day. Female dogs generally always spend the night.

[Love4himies]

Is your vet charging you for boarding? Do you mind paying the extra? My vets ask for the animals to be in by 8AM and picked up by 5AM.

Call other vets in your area to find out what their policy is. If there is no reason for the extra stay then you have to ask yourself if you are paying for their new BMW.

IMO, animals are less stressed at home and would recover much better.

[clm]

Some vets like to be sure of what the animal has had to eat or drink prior to the operation, some like to do bloodwork beforehand. Ask your vet why, they may have a very sound reason for doing it. If you don't want to leave your dog for 2 nights see if they'll let you pick it up the evening of the operation. Otherwise, you could always find another vet.

Cindy

[chico2]

WOW,$550+tax for neuter,I've only had cats neutered,maybe it's more expensive with a large dog
My cats were neutered in the morning,picked up the same day later on,with no problems.

[Masha]

Hi,

I did ask them why they needed him for two nights and the replied as follows:

First night its so that they can take his blood, temperature, fast him and to get him used to the surroundings.
Second night is so that they can keep giving him painkiller injections at controlled intgervals (but there are pills too...) and to also keep an eye on his recovery (I doubt that the only night nurse on duty will keep checking on a dog that was neutred more than I would).

They claim that the 2 night boarding is free, but its not free as it is clearly built into the "total" price of the neutr, they just dont list it seperately.

I personally believe that he would recover better and with much less stress if he is at home.

[Mango0721]

WOW ! $550 + tax for a large dog to be fixed thats crazy ! my male doberman cost $235 tax included and i got him microchipped at the same time and i brought him in at 8am and picked him up after work around 5:00. i can understand the whole 2 night thing because some people "feel bad" that their dog has to miss supper and then end up giving them treats or something to tye them over ... and its great that they wanna keep him until the morning after to make sure there are no complicatons ... but is there some one there over night ??? if not i would think he would be better off at home where you can check on him instead of being alone in a strange place. hmmmmm ...

[Masha]

This is a 24HR Hospital and there is always atleast one nurse on duty, so he would not be alone, but still...

235$ with microship? WOW thats less than half of the cost that they quoted me, I was expecting somewhere around 200-300.... I will definitely give a call to some of the other vets in my area...

Anyone knows a good Vet with reasonable prices in the North Toronto /Thornhill region ?

[glitterless]

$500 for a neuter is outrageous. I think my dog's spay was only about $300 and they didn't charge us to keep her the 1 night. My other dog's neuter was probably only about $200...he came home the same day, though.

I wanted Echo to stay the one night after her spay. She would have had to be carried out to the car, then carried back in the house and watched like a hawk all night. I felt more comfortable leaving her at the clinic because I knew she'd spend most of the night sleeping. By day 2, I think the dog would be more comfortable at home.

[Ford Girl]

I paid $300 with the chip, blood tests, 10 day recheck, kit and kaboodle, $550 is alot!!! I droped in the am, picked up in the pm. I was told that what I paid was alot, other clinics charge less the that here. I would have to say Calgary is comparable to Toronto, living and expense wise.

Do what you are confortable with.

[SnowDancer]

Are you having the neutering done at the McMurrich 24 hour clinic? I ask because of the 24 hour reference. I think the price is high and I expect at least $135 of it is for the second night "boarding". Gone are the days in most cases of a $40 or so boarding fee plus cost of applicable nursing services. When my Eskie had has teeth cleaned last month, the cost of the night before stay was included in price - would have been the same even if I had taken him in in the a.m. - a lot less hassle than if surgery has to be cancelled due to dog finding something to eat/drink before the surgery. So, yes, the second night would be adding to charge. In Toronto I would think probably around $300 ish for the neuter - of course pre-operating tests must be factored in - age of dog - any special health issues etc. I like McMurrich and am so happy that the clinic has opened - for emergency purposes - sure beats a 3 hour drive to Guelph. I am glad that my Toronto vet opens on Sundays.

[lauriet]

IMHO, and in hindsight, the 2-night stay sounds kind of appealing.

When I had Gromit neutered earlier this fall, he stayed at the vet overnight after surgery as they wanted to monitor him after the anaesthetic. At the time, I would have loved to have him there the night before for "no food or drink after midnight" which was very stressful for both of us. My guy's a real scavenger, and when I had to keep him away from even water he got sad, as if he was in trouble. It was a tough night. Keeping him away from his stitches when he got home was another "adventure" that went on for a few days, but was most challenging at first. (BY the way, if they send your guy home wearing a cone, don't take it off!)

I paid around $550 (ouch), but our vet has a list of options which had the price going from high $200s(if I remember right) to the max of $550. We had to decide ahead of time how much to have done and were willing to pay for. Microchipping was a $$ option, as was laser surgery (vs. scalpel), pre-surgery bloodwork, etc. Overnight stay wasn't listed as one of the price factors.

[Masha]

The Vet did say that they use laser as well, is this a better method? Could be the factor that drives the price to over 500$.....

[chico2]

Masha,I don't know how much any vet charges for laser-surgery,but that could very well be it.
The more I read about your experience,yes,it was a lot of money,but it seems to me your pup had excellent treatment.
The laser is usually an option the vet offers at a slightly higher price.

[Masha]

Hi Chico,

He wasn't neutred yet, he is only 4 months I am just reseaching the options that are available to us, trying to decide which vet to go with...

[ancientgirl]

When I had Vlad and Oksana done, I took them into the vet hospital in the morning and picked them up the following morning. I rather it was done like that, because I felt that in case there were any complications at least they would be under the care of the vets.

[SnowDancer]

Laser I believe does cost more. Actually I thought you were ready now to have your dog neutered - wasn't sure of age and if there were any health conditions - age etc. that would require a 2 night stay. My guy was done at 7 months - this is when Eskies are generally "ready". We have gone to same Toronto vet for over 25 years so no problem figuring that out. We had "traditional" neutering - no problems - just keeping him quiet for 10 days wasn't fun.

[chico2]

Masha sorry about that,but it's good,now you have time to research.
I don't think I would pay $550 for neuter,it's fairly routine,not as invasive as spaying a female.
I've had several cats neutered and there was never a problem,they just stayed the day,long enough for them to recover and eat a bit.
Most of the time blood-work is done before,to make sure there will be no surprises when they are put under.

[cherryberry]

well the original question was asked over a year ago, but for current readers, the spay neuter clinic is now open in new market it is going to cost me $80 to spay my shih tzu. it is cheaper for a male, and even cheaper for cats.

good luck

[King]

wow 80 dollars that's really good. I just got King neutred and it going to cost me about 330 dollars at the most with a two night stay. I had the option to bring him in this morning but because I work at 7 it would have been hard. They kept him overnight tonight to make sure everything is going good then I can call at 10am and he has no temp I can pick him up after that. They have that extra night there for people who have to work early.

[Rottielover]

At my vet, Harley stayed the night before because I was unable to get him there early morning of the surgery. 5 hours after surgery I was able to pick him up, there were no complications. The night of, he tore his stitches, then had to get staples, he never realized he had surgery. Rotts and there pain tolerence.
He was just over 100 lbs, but charged me for a 100 lbs dog, it cost 225$, but I also had his hips done at the same time which cost 160$. Best time to do it since he was already under.
He was also 11 months old when he was done