Can someone please explain?

[eroomlorac]

Okay, as I said in a previous post, I had my little dog spayed yesterday. When I brought her home, she was pretty subdued, probably due to the anesthesia. Well, today, just 24 hours post surgery, she is acting like nothing ever happened to her. She is happy, peppy, wagging her tail. She is alert and appears to be in no pain at all, though I do have a couple days worth of pain pills for her. Here's what I don't understand. Any human being post abdomen surgery, is usually in some amount of pain. Your belly muscles are sore, it's hard to get in and out of a chair, bed, etc. Why does it seem like my dog is in no pain at all? Is it because they don't stand upright and therefore don't use their abdominal muscles like we do? If anyone knows, I would appreciate the explanation.

 

[JennyBug]

Weird... still follow vet directions, though (I was told not to let my kitty jump for a week after her spay).

Your theory might be correct. I would assume since dogs are on all fours they don't use their abdominals as much as humans do. Good luck!

 

[bryan071108]

Thats how I felt! When I got my shih tzu spayed, the second we picked her up she was totally normal. She started wagging her tail and jumping around in the vets office!

 

[equus_peduus]

I actually have no idea. However, because animals are on all fours, they do use their abdominal muscles... 's called organs + gravity. They don't use the muscles for posture quite the same way though.

I think a lot of dogs handle pain a lot better than we do. Human toothache = very unhappy human. And yet probably 80% of the dogs and more of the cats that I see on a daily basis have really horrid teeth, and almost every dental procedure has some degree of severe periodontal disease, if not a tooth root abscess. And these are animals the owners would swear are 100% normal at home. Of course, most of them are even more normal and happier after we remove the icky teeth, but the point is - they seem to handle pain well. Probably has to do with the fact that if they hurt, no-one's going to take care of them, so they need to not appear to be hurting.

Some animals certainly do act like they hurt. It's more common after a more invasive surgery that involves a longer incision (e.g., dog ate something stupid, we gotta go find it). But the majority of young, healthy dogs that get spayed or neutered don't have any problems after surgery.

 

[alli713]

Lila was the same way. When I got her spayed I was looking forward to atleast a day break from her puppy energy. Yeah, didn't happen. She was crazy like normal. Guess they're just lucky and can handle pain better than humans..

 

[greychins]

Kailey was the same way. For the rest of the first day she was out of it and we joked that she was "high," but the next day she was bouncing around as usual and I had to try to keep her from jumping up onto the bed (3+ feet off the floor) so she wouldn't rip the stitches out...

I would think some of it might have to do with the fact that while they do still use their abdominal muscles, they don't use them in quite the same way we do - to hold them upright. Their legs are for that. But other than that possible idea, I really dunno...

 

[macygray]

Just like Lola, Carol! I was planning on staying off from school for a couple of days to look after her while she recovered...In the end we got it done in the holidays so she didn't need it - She wouldnt've anyway.

Glad she is feeling....great!!

 

[bowtiehotrod]

Animals "hide" their pain so they don't expose themselves to the prey-drive of others. In nature, a weakened animal is more likely to become prey for someone else, and even their own pack or pride may turn on an injured animal who's showing outward signs of distress. By not displaying distress, an injured or ill animal avoids triggering the prey instinct in his companions and in any other predators who may be in the area.

 

[Ash]

Lol be happy she's not soaking up the guilt trip like Spirit did! I STILL feel bad about getting her spayed when I think of how she milked it rofl

 

[Jenn]

animals hide their pain, especially when they are excited to be with their human friend. You still need to follow the vet's advice and keep the dog's energy level down a notch for a few days, but I think it is perfectly normal behavior.

 

[Riven]

Personally, I think that people are weak, and instead of bucking up their pain most of the time just sit around and whine and cry about it.

I had two children with natural child birth, yes, it was not fun or easy, but I knew that BEFORE I had them, it's pain with a purpose. 100 yrs ago people had a baby, and still got dinner done that day, because they NEEDED to.

Dogs don't whine asking for an epidural, pain pills, etc. That's just my thoughts, and yes, I rarely take pain meds, Tylenol, aspirin, or anything like that. I also have a very high pain tolerance. Possibly because it's the way I am (genetically wired), or possibly because my mom didn't baby me every little fall, bump, bruise, or sliver I got. I treat my kids the same way. My youngest, she takes some nasty crashes, and pops right back up with her personal slogan of "I'm okay" and keeps going.