Feeling Guilty For Dog Having Operation

brad123

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Hi All, I just wondered if anyone else had been in same situation and how you coped with it. We have a gorgeous Golden Retriever who is the most friendliest dog in the world and is so loving and sociable. She has severe hip dysplacia and needs an op on both hips, the rehab means she will be confined to a crate for 5 weeks maybe a couple more and it literally breaks my heart to know she will have to be like this. We have put the op off and covid affected it too but its now penned in for her first op after Christmas. We've bought the crate and I feel awful looking at it. She's 5 now and does need the op doing as its quite severe. I just feel so guilty and actualy upset at what she will have to endure for rehab to make sure its a success.
 
There is no way of getting around it, it will be hard and it will kill you inside what choice do you have.
I remember having to starve my cat before her small op and I have never felt so terrible. Fortunately all went well and she was eating big time the next day.
You just have to accept that you are going to feel, terrible for however long it takes but sitting with your dog whilst in the cage each day, giving it plenty of fuss will hopefully make things a little easier but as I said it is going to be hard.
 
Try not to feel guilty as you are doing the best for your dog and there's a lot of owners out there who are not as loving as yourself and would forgo their dogs quality of life to save on the vet's bills. Once the op is over and once she has fully recovered, out of pain and is feeling better I'm sure she will appreciate her new pain free life. And you could always spoil her with extra doggie treats and cuddles etc :clap:
 
We are setting up a bed futon for the kitchen where her crate will be and we have a TV down there so we are taking turns us and the kids in sleeping down there and at night one of us will be there with her. It's just knowing what she is like and what she will have to do is not going to be nice for her.
 
Don't worry about the look of a crate, crate training is a thing and was terrific for our border collie from pup to house trained. It may be a little different with an adult being introduced to one, but it will keep her safe and I'm sure you'll make it very comfy for her, she will soon make it her own home for a few weeks.

She certainly won't feel like doing a lot immediately after the op anyway other than give you those eyes to make you feel even more guilty ;)
 
One of my cats was hit by a car and needed 6 weeks in the crate. If he didn’t, his hips wouldn’t heal.
 
If it helps, look at it this way:

It's 5 weeks confinement to give her possibly 5 years of pain free life.

I reckon that's a pretty good ratio.

Of course, that's looking at it logically as I'm not emotionally involved...
 
If you don't do it know you will regret it. I would have it done there are some very good specialist vets that do a really good job. Our beautiful Cocker had a tumour on her side that grew quickly to the size of a tennis ball. This was the second one she had and the first was removed, we thought successfully.

Our vet had just taken on a soft tissue specialist and on seeing her said he could remove it. Hell of an op for her and she spent three nights at the vets. Gave us another two precious years with her. Now she has gone and I miss her dreadfully.
 
Well tomorrow is the day after 5 delays this year due to ear infection, no staff, no spare equipment etc, I'm really nervous and feel awful for putting her through it. It's really going to break my hart as she is such a social girl.
 
You're human and you love your dog so you're bound to feel bad about it.

At the end of the day, no matter how you all feel about it, it's the best thing to do for both you and your family. It sucks but it is what it is. You'll get more time together and she'll be better able to enjoy that time with you after the op.

Also, it's highly likely that the next 5 weeks won't actually be as bad as you've built it up in your mind. As pet keepers (I don't like "owners") we all tend to overthink this kind of stuff, but the reality is your dog will adapt. It's what they do.

And well done for not taking an easier way around this. Sometimes we have to do something a bit crap to get something better in the end. It'll be worth it, honestly it will :smashin:
 
I had to keep one of our dogs in a crate for 7 weeks. Shes a small Chihuahua and hurt her back while playing.
She could not walk and the vets advised to rest her.
She actually quite enjoyed her time in it. She also got very territorial over it with the other dogs lol.
Shes all better now
 
@brad123 thinking of you and your dog. What's her name?

It's obvious from your posts how much you love her and she obviously loves all of you. You're a responsible dog owner.

It'll be tough but she'll know that you are doing this because she needs it. She won't judge you.

Much of the time dogs live in the moment so despite being fairly incapacitated, it'll all be something that she experiences minute by minute. As long as you are all there for her, she will be fine.

Good luck and keep us updated.
 
3yrs ago our dog had the bright idea to eat a stone in the garden. Vet had to open her up and remove the stone from her intestines - so she was then confined to a crate for many weeks to recover and heal. I felt sorry for her but I never felt guilty.
 
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Just dropped her off, typical Retriever eyes, here's a pic of her. So at home now nervous and worried and both the wife and I feel sick with worry.

240825895_10161092612127738_1391023988885339523_n.jpg
 
She’s gorgeous. The waiting around in these situations is awful. It’ll be over soon and she can start to be fit and happy again.
 
She's a gorgeous dog.
When my dog had an op he pretty much didnt leave me for about a week (he is clingy at the best of times). The cone was the worst for me. He looks sad at the best of times, but the cone getting in the way of everything just made it worse.
 
We have a beautiful Goldie, he had to have x5 cancerous tumours removed in Jan, one on the end of his nose, the poor thing. He was really banged up when he came out of the vets, so much so, I didn’t recognise him as our dog. I was really shocked and never want to see him like that again. He had to have a cone on for 6 weeks. We felt really bad and so sorry for him. But, it was very much for the best, he has bounced back brilliantly now and looks a picture of health. Dogs are amazingly resilient, they are also very good at coping with pain, so no matter how bad you feel, you have definitely done the right thing. Your beautiful doggy won’t hold it against you, but I’m sure will want even more fuss than usual :) don’t beat yourself up as you have your doggies best interests at heart

I’ll post some pics when on my laptop, a before and after (now) so you can see how well he’s bounced back

I hope everything has gone / is going well with the operation
 
As promised, before and afters of our beloved Goldie. He turned 9 last month and as you can see from the last 3 pics is doing really, really well. You'll get there, best wishes

Post Op 💔
IMG_7995.jpeg

Recovery Sleep 😥
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Feeling Sorry for himself but getting plenty of love!
IMG_8005.jpeg

6 months later 😍
IMG_9002.jpeg

IMG_9100.jpeg

IMG_9305.jpeg
 
Oh that happy face, such a handsome boy. He looks so happy and probably forgot about what went on I'd imagine, once back to walkies etc.
 
Hi All, I just wondered if anyone else had been in same situation and how you coped with it. We have a gorgeous Golden Retriever who is the most friendliest dog in the world and is so loving and sociable. She has severe hip dysplacia and needs an op on both hips, the rehab means she will be confined to a crate for 5 weeks maybe a couple more and it literally breaks my heart to know she will have to be like this. We have put the op off and covid affected it too but its now penned in for her first op after Christmas. We've bought the crate and I feel awful looking at it. She's 5 now and does need the op doing as its quite severe. I just feel so guilty and actualy upset at what she will have to endure for rehab to make sure its a success.
I think that's the thing to focus on. It's something that has (or had) to be done, otherwise it would have seriously affected the quality of the rest of her life.

But all the same, it's a horrible time when they're at the vet's. I remember the first time we took our cat in for dental work. Hated leaving him, but after living rough for several years his teeth were in a bit of a state, he was having trouble chewing, dropped constantly, and was at risk of picking up some nasty infections.
 
My Millie needed her teeth done and the hardest part for me was staving her before the op, of course it had to be done but that does not make it any easier. But theyu bounce back to their old selves so quickly makes us humans with our paper cuts look very inadequate.
Before you know it she will running you rafgged and you will wonder what all the fuss was about. :thumbsup:
 

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