How Soon Can I Walk My Dog After Neutering? Timeline & Guide

Dog owners consider neutralizing their dogs if they don’t want to breed. However, that could be challenging to take care of them after a surgical procedure until they are fully recovered. In that case, most dog owners might be thinking about how soon a dog can walk after neutering or spaying.

Read – How long will my dog be in pain after neutering?

Therefore, I thought to discuss the average time of recovering after the neutralizing surgery, the difference of recovering time for male and female dogs, things to avoid and more.

So, How soon can I walk my dog after neutering/spaying? It is advisable to give at least 48 hours of complete rest after neutering. You can start light exercises after healing the wounds and when you see your puppy is recovered to some extent. Usually, it takes around three days to see your puppy walk painlessly.

However, it would be best to meet your vet for an after surgery check-up after three days. If your vet says that everything is normal, you can walk your dog for short distances. Also, it is advisable to let them fully recover before you give them the usual amount of activities.

I have faced this challenging situation with my Jack Russell Terriers named Shaggy and Lenny. Despite having wounds and stitches, they wanted to play and run as before. I was worried about their rest and recovering speed at that time.

Therefore, I did a lot of research and discussed it in detail with my vet. I thought it would be generous to share my experience and insights with other pet owners.

Let’s intensely discuss all the facts relating to your dog’s recovery time after neutering surgery. I have listed below the main topics that I discuss in this post. Feel free to jump straight to the topic you want.

How soon can I walk my dog after neutering? Recommended Timeline

I have created a general timeline for walking your dog after a neutering or spaying surgery above. Let’s discuss that timeline more intensely to get a clear idea about why it is crucial.

• First 48 hours after neutering – Rest / No walking

It is advisable to let your dog rest up to 48 hours after the surgery. In most cases, surgeries are invasive to pets since they haven’t a clear idea of what has happened to them.

Even a tiny wound can make them stressed and destructive. Therefore, it is essential to give them time to heal and recover. 

Your dog doesn’t understand what happened to them. He may try to act normal, tolerating his pain. Therefore, you should try to put some restrictions on his physical activities after a neutering surgery until healing the wounds.

• 2 to 3 days after neutering – light exercises are fine

After 48 hours, your dog can have light exercises. It would be better to do some small activities with your dog inside the home or in your garden.

However, it depends on your dog’s attitude and recovery speed. If you see that your dog has gained some energy back and recovered to some extent, you are free to spend little time playing with him.

• 3 to 9 days after the surgery – Short walks with rest are fine 

Typically, vets ask for a checkup after the 3rd day of the neutering surgery. It is essential to observe and monitor the wounds with an expert eye. Therefore, don’t miss the vet’s appointment. 

You can walk your dog for shorter distances while having some breaks. Please don’t give him complete freedom to play as he wanted. Only give some physical activities to keep his energy. 

It is totally fine to climb some stairs after 3 days of being neutered. However, try to identify whether your dog gets pain when climbing stairs since extra energy are needed. If you see he is not comfortable climbing stairs, carry him.

• 10 days onwards – Back to normal

You will be asked to meet the vet after the 10th day of neutering surgery. Most of the time, everything will be fine at that time, and your loving dog will be fully recovered and healed the wounds. 

If your dog is having complications with healing, you can ask for antibiotics or further treatments after consulting your vet. 

If your vet says everything is fine, your dog can come back to his regular routine.

What are the risks of walking your dog too early after surgery?

You may consider walking your dog soon after neutering surgery. However, there are some risks of walking your dog too early.

• Delayed healing – walking before the wounds are healed may cause delayed healing. When a dog walks, it may defecate the wounds or stitches. And also, walking or running may cause breaking the fatigue muscles. Therefore, it will take more time to heal the wounds.

• Defecate the wound – If your dog walks before the incision is not close, there is a risk of opening the wound. It will be severe pain for the dog and will take more time to recover again.

• Risk of infections – When you take your dog outside before full recovery, you expose him to plenty of bacteria that may cause an infection. Therefore, please don’t take that risk.

• Increased pain – moving might cause pain for them. And also, other reasons I discussed earlier lead to severe pain for them.

Therefore, as much as you consider how soon can I walk my dog after neutering, you also should consider the risks of walking them soon after surgery.

How far can I walk my dog after neutering?

It is advisable to start walking inside the house or garden after 48 hours of the surgery. You can walk him for around 10 minutes while having small breaks.

After 10 days, you can come back to the regular walking routine. However, avoid hard running and jumping until the wounds are fully healed.

Can my dog climb stairs after neutering surgery?

No, you have to carry him until 3 or 4 days have passed after the surgery. After that, your dog will be able to climb stairs without any effort as before the surgery. 

Avoid him climbing stairs when your dog walks painlessly. Not like walking, climbing stairs needs extra energy and effort that may cause him pain.

Caring guide for your dog after a neutering or spaying surgery

Seeing your dog in pain after any surgery is a heartbreaking sight for every pet parent. Therefore, helping them to recover fast is the best thing we can do.

We can do several common but meaningful things as pet parents for better caring for our four-legged friend.

• Bring your dog after a neutering surgery

Your dog may be stressed after the surgery, so try to keep them calm as possible you can. Bring your dog home safely in a way that protects the stitches.

It would be best if you don’t let them walk or climb stairs. You can use a cone to prevent him from licking the surgical wounds.

Let them sleep well and rest enough until wounds are healed. Your dog may want to play with you as soon as he gets some energy back. However, please don’t make them active until 48 hours after the neutering surgery.

• Arranging your dog’s sleep area

You have to be careful about the hygiene of your dog after surgery. Once you bring your loving dog home, arrange a sleeping area that is clean, warm and germ-free.

If your dog has a specific sleeping area, make sure that the place is properly clean. It will help for fast recovery and avoid any infections in stitched areas.

As I mentioned earlier, they need enough sleep for recovering. Therefore, make his sleeping area calm and silent. It would be best to reduce the noises at home since our dogs have extra sensitive hearing.

• Can my dog sleep with a cone?

Yes, of course. He can sleep with a cone. However, it may discomfort him but, it will help him avoiding mess with stitches and wounds.

If it is the first time your dog wears a cone, he may try to remove it. However, he will get used to it within hours. It is advisable to keep the cone until your dog is fully healed. When stitches are being healed, it feels itchy. So, he will try to bite it and make a mess.

• When can you remove your dog’s cone after a neutering surgery?

Usually, it takes around 2 weeks for the stitches to heal completely. Therefore, keep the cone until you meet your vet for the second checkup. If he says the stitches are completely healed, you can remove the cone.

• Keep them away with other pets in the house

If you have several pets in the home, they may be excited about what happened to the dog. They will try to play with him as usual. Therefore, keep them away with the operated dog.

Leaving your dog alone at home after a neutering surgery

You can let your dog alone at home after neutering only for a short period. He may need you at any time. And also, make sure to keep him crated if you go out.

It would help to minimize his activities. If you don’t have a crate, a small room with a lockable door would be enough.  

If you have other pets, keep them away when you go out. Otherwise, it would be a mess when you come back in a while.

How to Keep your dog sane after spaying surgery? 

Usually, dogs go insane after the surgeries because of fewer activities and missing the daily routine. Especially when they are wearing a cone, they act a little bit frustrated and messy.

However, you can do few things that will keep them safe during this challenging time. Those will distract his attention from the stitches and the pain while giving some safe activities.

• Walks in the house or garden

As I mentioned earlier, you have to prevent walking him for at least 48 hours. After that, you can start walking in the house or garden.

This will make him distracted from going for a regular walk. You can let them explore the house. They will enjoy it while having some healing exercises. 

• Stimulate them mentally using a food puzzle

Your dog may feel bored when he stays home for days after being neutered.

You can stimulate his mental situation using a food puzzle. Mental stimulation is important for fast recovery as well.

• Hide and find treats

This is a fun game you can do inside the house. You can hide treats in different places in the house. Please be aware of hiding those in safer places that will not have any chances of hurting your dog’s stitches.

Your dog will go room by room to find the treats using the scent. Don’t push them to do it harshly. Just give them time and enough space. This is just for distracting them from the pain.

Conclusion – So, how soon can I walk my dog after neutering?

We discussed almost all of the relevant information regarding one of the most frequently asked questions, ‘How soon can a dog go for a walk after neutering surgery?’ in this post.

In conclusion, It is recommended to give at least 48 hours of complete rest after neutering. After the 3rd day of the surgery, you can start light exercises and walks inside the home or garden for around 10 minutes. Please, see your vet after the 3 days to see the progress of healing.

Within 4 to 9 days after the surgery, you can start walking with your dog while having some breaks. However, keep him from excessive running or jumping. After 10 – 14 days, your dog will completely recover. That is the time to come back to the regular routine.

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