How Dogs and Other Pets May Act Post-Anesthesia
The medications used to put a dog “under” can have a lasting effect on your dog (or other pet), potentially for several days after treatment.
First, the body’s ability to control temperature can be greatly affected by anesthesia. Your dog may suddenly be hot or cold regardless of the temperature. So, you may see panting, shivering, or other signs that your dog is comfortable. It is smart to keep your companion in a slightly warm (but not hot!) room.
Your pet may also feel groggy and tired even hours after the operation is performed. Do not worry, being sleepy is normal. Sometimes, an animal will seem fully alert after surgery, and then suddenly tired. Delayed reactions are common. Your dog may also be less responsive to commands and stimuli (such as other pets).
Anesthesia affects the nervous system. Your dog, cat, or other pet may have trouble walking or standing after being put under. This is normal and typically wears off within a few days. Lending your dog a hand and showing him or her to their favorite spot to stretch out is wise once you get home.
Anesthesia can cause nausea and may result in vomiting. A little bit of vomiting for a few days after the procedure is typically nothing to worry about (unless you see other warning signs, such as blood in vomit). Loss of appetite may also occur.
When we are anesthetizing a pet, were taking control of their breathing—we are controlling their heart rate and their blood pressure. So, those are all potential complications if they have any underlying diseases like kidneys, kidney disease, or heart disease would increase their risk.
Yes, and we have a way to assess that and a grading system that grades the risk of anesthesia of each pet, whether there is little to no risk or high risk. If they have any underlying conditions or diseases ahead of time, whether thats maybe a heart murmur or heart disease or if they are overweight—those are risk factors. Then other things might be if they have any breathing difficulty or kidney problems. All of those things are increasing their risk for anesthesia.
Again, depending on the type of procedure, I generally tell owners not to feed them immediately when they go home. They might be hungry, as, in many procedures, theyre fasted, or weve withheld their food. But when they do that, sometimes they go home, and they gorge and then vomit, and then you get concerned and call us. Generally, after you get them home for a few hours, feed them about 50% of what you would normally feed them. If they dont eat, thats okay. Im not too concerned about that. If they eat and act hungry, dont feed them anymore for three or four hours later. Let that food settle because theyre kind of like kids; they dont always know whats best for them, and they might overeat.
Those two things we just mentioned are significant. Theres a lot that goes into the physical exam in assessing your pets overall wellness—of course, the blood work results. The other thing that we do to ensure your pets safety during anesthesia is the monitoring that we do before, during, and after anesthesia.
Anesthesia comes in a few different forms. We think about the initial and pre-anesthetic medications that can be given to calm the pet to help with pain management. There is also induction anesthesia, which brings that dog under anesthesia so that they can be intubated and kept on general anesthesia, which is typically gas anesthesia. And thats delivered by an endotracheal tube. And the pre-anesthetic also helps them wake up more smoothly. By giving those multiple steps along the way, we can provide fewer drugs overall and then, in turn, make that safer for your dog.
Caring for Your Dog After Surgery: What to Expect
Once the vet checks your dogs vital signs and deems it safe to return home, you will be given a set of home care instructions specific to your dogs procedure. This may include instructions for cleaning the dogs surgical wound site, dietary restrictions or other information. Always follow the care instructions provided by your vet.
In addition to these home care instructions, you will likely want to take the following steps to properly care for your dog—and maximize their comfort as they recover:
What to Expect After General Anesthesia
Whether you have a young dog and you’ve scheduled routine neutering, an old dog who needs dental work, or an active dog who has torn a ligament – you may be scheduling a veterinary procedure that requires anesthesia.
There’s a risk involved any time a dog is given drugs to put him under for surgery. So it’s important for responsible dog owners to be aware of potential complications, have a plan in place beforehand, and work with a veterinarian to ensure your pet’s safety.
When it comes to routine procedures, what pet owners least expect is a call that something’s gone wrong. But that’s exactly what happened to first-time pet owners Lisa Marchese and Gudry Genao after they brought their five-month-old Havanese puppy in for neutering procedure. Minutes after the procedure began, their beloved Petey died.
“We weren’t nervous about the neutering; if anything, we felt bad for what we heard he was going to experience afterwards,” says Marchese. “It never crossed our minds something would happen.”
Although anestheia-related deaths are rare, they can occur. Approximately 1 in 2,000 healthy dogs die under anesthesia each year, says Preventative Vet author and veterinary anesthesiologist Dr. Heidi Shafford.