It doesn’t matter if it’s an extensive dog bone surgery or regular neutering, as knowing your pet needs surgical treatment can already be stressful and distressing for anyone. Every pet owner wants their furry babies to be taken care of by skilled, knowledgeable, and competent vet surgeons, and nothing is wrong with that. However, you must remember a few pointers before taking your pet in for surgery.
Let’s tackle how you must prepare your furry buddy for a successful surgical treatment.
How to Prepare Your Furry Companion for Pet Surgery
Whether your furry companion is scheduled for complex orthopedic surgery or a simple spay and neuter, you might get anxious and do everything possible to ensure your dog’s surgical operation goes smoothly and hassle-free. This is why we’ve collected five pre-surgery care suggestions you must do to alleviate your worries and confidently take in your canine on their surgery day.
1. Ensure your pet’s vaccinations are up-to-date
Ensuring your dog’s core vaccines are up-to-date protects them and your whole community and household. This is why most pet centers encourage all visiting pets to be up-to-date with their dog vaccinations. Pet dogs that aren’t vaccinated are vulnerable to dangerous pet diseases and can pass these conditions to their fellows and pet parents.
So when preparing your furry friend for surgery, take your pet for a vet checkup. This is to ensure your pet is healthy and qualified for the surgery they must take and for veterinarians to know whether your pet should not have surgery if there are conditions that might put their life at risk.
2. Make them a safe recovery area
When preparing your dog for surgery, it’s vital to have a safe place ready for their healing when you get home. You can also use a large crate for your pet to stand and turn. Put comfy blankets and padding so they don’t rest on a hard surface. When choosing an area for your pet to heal, put them somewhere with limited traffic that can keep them less socially and physically active to guarantee their fast recovery.
3. Give your pet a bath on their surgery day
Once your pet gets admitted, veterinary surgery professionals will administer sedatives and perform health check-ups to relax your pet. However, you can help the vet surgeon’s team by giving your furry companion a bath and bringing them clean since the pet’s surgery site will be clipped, sanitized, and cleaned before the surgical procedure.
This will also help ensure that the vet team doesn’t spend too much time cleaning the surgery site. Otherwise, your pet will be under anesthesia longer. You may visit them here to learn more about their common surgical procedures.
4. Refrain from giving them food and water on the surgery day
A vital thing you must do the morning of your pet’s surgery is to guarantee they don’t have access to water and food. This is because consuming and drinking may cause them to aspirate during anesthesia, which might be lethal. Many vets have people drop their pets at their office in the morning for extra blood work, catheter placement, and testing, so it is crucial to get there at the time of the appointment.
5. Train them with basic commands
If the surgery date is in a week or so, this is a great time to boost your pet’s obedience skills. Some basic commands your pet needs to know are stand, sit, stay, and down. The stay command will be valuable after the surgical treatment if you need to momentarily leave your pet to prevent them from following you around the house.
