golden retriever undescended testicle

Question
Hi there,
My Golden is 2.5 years old and he was neutered three days ago.
He had an undescended testicle, his surgery cut is descent size. Since the surgery, he's been very depressed and the area looks red and irritated. I took him to the vet this morning, and she prescribed some painkiller, inflammation medicine, a solution to clean the area and ointment. He has no fever and he's been eating okay. But he looks very sad, and in pain,  I guess because of irritation.
One problem is I can't hold him down to put the medicine on him, he cries. Is this normal? I thought dogs were supposed to be okay couple days after the surgery? Thanks for your help.

Answer
With undescended testicles unfortunately it is a more complex surgery than a standard neuter.  This will lead to a longer recovery period.  Try to apply the medications as much as he will possibly allow, perhaps rewarding with treats after so it is a more positive experience. Different individual animals will have more or less swelling but as long there is no sign of infection (pus-like substances, lethargy) he should recover fine, just needs a bit of healing time.