If you've ever had abdominal surgery, you probably didn't feel like running around the block as soon as you got out of the hospital. That's not necessarily true of puppies and young female dogs after spay surgery. Keeping her calm and quiet can take some effort.
Spay Recovery
It takes most dogs about a week to 10 days to recover from a spay surgery without complications. While puppies can eat and drink not long after surgery -- their growing bodies need the calories -- dogs spayed after the age of 6 months shouldn't be fed for a few hours after returning home, with small amounts initially offered. They can have water. Your dog might not have a normal bowel movement for a day or so after surgery. Take her outside on a leash to "do her business" rather than let her loose in a fenced yard.
A Quiet Place
Keep your dog in a quiet place away from the household's major traffic patterns. Provide her with a bed on the floor, so she doesn't have to climb into it. Restrict her to a relatively small space, so she can't start running around the house. You might want to play soothing music for her while she's resting.
No Visitors
Minimize distractions while your dog recuperates. Keep other pets and small children away from her. If possible, don't have visitors to the house for the week after the surgery. That's especially important if your dog has superior watchdog tendencies, because her instinct is to bark and check out strangers.
References
Writer Bio
Jane Meggitt has been a writer for more than 20 years. In addition to reporting for a major newspaper chain, she has been published in "Horse News," "Suburban Classic," "Hoof Beats," "Equine Journal" and other publications. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from New York University and an Associate of Arts from the American Academy of Dramatics Arts, New York City.