Snip, Snip

Poor Max.

Today (just 1 day shy of 11 months old) Max went under the knife and was neutered. Even though we planned to wait until Max was at least this old (because of the conflicting information we read about neutering a dog too early and stunting his growth), we felt terrible having this done today. Especially after signing a document stating that I realize something could go terribly wrong during his surgery causing even death, we both worried about him all day. We didn't worry only about the surgery but also wondered if he would be the same ole' Max afterward.

He apparently did well. I dropped him off around 7:45 this morning. He weighed 83.3 pounds which is actually lighter than I expected him to weigh. I visited with the vet for a few minutes about some questions I had. Max has some places under his chin that we have been wondering about. We had no idea where they came from and a while back they were bleeding. The vet said it is like acne (at least that's the closest thing to compare it to). He told me just to keep it clean and that I could use peroxide to clean it. He said some dogs have it even worse and it's all around their mouths. He said it is pretty common. I hope I'll be able to keep it clean so it doesn't get worse.

They told me to call around 2 this afternoon to see how Max was doing and what time we could pick him up. I didn't ask how long the surgery took or what time he had it. Matthew picked him up around 4 this afternoon. He said he came out of the back just tugging on his leash like normal. He's a strong dog with bad leash manners...and he was the same ole' guy when Matthew picked him up. We haven't put the cone on him up to this point (which we had to buy at the pet store - this proves that nothing is free anymore, I would have thought the vet provided the cone). We are supposed to keep him from incessantly licking his wound and jumping. Other than that, he is not really limited to what he can and can't do. We'll see how that goes.

He whined a bit tonight, but I think it's because no one would throw his toys for him to fetch. He kept getting toys and tossing them at me. When I wouldn't pick them up and throw them, he would pick them up and toss them at me again. That dog is persistent. He hadn't eaten in about 24 hours so when I fed him tonight he just gobbled it all up. I added a can of green beans to his dinner just to see if he would eat them. They add filling and moisture to the food without any other fat or many calories. I thought I would try this now and again when he won't eat his food to see if it makes a difference.

Here are the before (the first picture) and after pictures (the second one). He really doesn't seem to be in pain or anything yet. I'm glad to see things went well and hope we won't have to make a return visit to the vet this week or next.