Dog recovering from surgery

Futurecrook

We brought the dog to the vet today with a swelling on the side of his face which turned out to be an abscess in one of his teeth. He's had several teeth removed as a result and is now home with us. He's still quite lethargic from the anaesthetic and isn't able to move from the couch or hold his head up. He won't eat or drink but we are supposed to start him on a course of antibiotics. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this?

Another problem is that he's showing signs of being in pain - howling, panting whilst lying down, etc. I assume the vet gave him some sort of pain relief but I wasn't the one who picked the dog up so I'm not sure of any of the details. Is there anything that would be safe to give him? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Blueprint

My dog had to have a rear tooth removed when he was 7 months old due to a bit having cracked off; he had the big lump on his face too. He was actually really calm
after coming out of surgery and pretty much back to normal the next day. It's easier for a young dog to recover though, so if your guy is older it will be harder for him. My dog wasn't in any noticeable pain (he was given pain relief tablets for the next day, so he was on something when he came home already).

I'd call your vet's out of hours service and speak to the emergency vet if you're worried, at the very least he can reassure you over the phone.

I've never had a problem giving the dog medicine - if it's a tablet I just smear some peanut butter on it and he swallows it right down. If it's a liquid, just mix it with something tasty.

Sigma Force

Keep him warm, I wouldn't worry too much about not eating at the moment because he's sore and starting him on some tasty soft food when he feels better. But he could probably do with drinking even a little, perhaps if you can crush the tablet and put it in a syringe with water and have him drink it like that.

If he's just back from the vets today they usually give an injection of antibiotic as well as pain killer so you probably don't need to start the antibiotic until the morning. Although don't take my word for it it's just usually what's done.

Some dogs take longer to come around, our little one took a good 24 to get back to her normal self after she had teeth cleaned years ago, the other dog was up and about within minutes.

Poor thing probably is in pain as well the pain killers last a good while but usually wear off by evening. Some dogs don't need extra pain killers but sometimes it's a good idea to get a pain killer from the vets just in case.

Main thing is making sure he's not ill and there are signs of recovery or at least improvement if worried at all contact the vets. Keeping him warm and comfy so he can sleep it off. He might feel better by the morning.
If he's no better in the morning then deffo. get to the vets for a check up and more pain relief.

Some plain yogurt is a good way to get medication down but it might be best to confirm with the vet wether he needs antibiotics tonight because if they already gave him a shot of it when they'd finished the op he might get too much.

Futurecrook

Thanks. Yea, he's quite an old dog so that's probably not doing him any favours, the poor thing. I rang an on-call vet to ask advice and was told to ring our own vet to check what medication he's already been given, so I've had to leave a message and I'm waiting for them to ring me back, which will hopefully be soon.

star-pants

Great advice given already.

If he's on antibiotics and coming out of anesthetic - he'll not be himself for a while.
Even my pup when she got neutered, she wasn't herself for a day or two. And then she'd yelp when a stitch would catch if she jumped or something. It's not nice because you can't explain to them what's happened.

Obv the vet's the best to explain about when to give what medication. And people have given tips on how to give them to your dog. In a bit of cheese is what we did before, if he's wise to tabs tho, give a plain bit of cheese (insert other food here) and then a piece with it in it, then another straight after of plain again, usually they just love the treat n gulp it down.

Just give him lots of attention and make sure he's not over straining to do anything, make sure he can reach his waterbowl - if his mouths sore it might be sore to bend his head a certain way, so if he doesn't mind you could bring the bowl to him.
He'll start to pick up soon hun, he just needs some rest now I'd say.

Futurecrook

star-pants wrote: »

Great advice given already.

If he's on antibiotics and coming out of anesthetic - he'll not be himself for a while.
Even my pup when she got neutered, she wasn't herself for a day or two. And then she'd yelp when a stitch would catch if she jumped or something. It's not nice because you can't explain to them what's happened.

Obv the vet's the best to explain about when to give what medication. And people have given tips on how to give them to your dog. In a bit of cheese is what we did before, if he's wise to tabs tho, give a plain bit of cheese (insert other food here) and then a piece with it in it, then another straight after of plain again, usually they just love the treat n gulp it down.

Just give him lots of attention and make sure he's not over straining to do anything, make sure he can reach his waterbowl - if his mouths sore it might be sore to bend his head a certain way, so if he doesn't mind you could bring the bowl to him.
He'll start to pick up soon hun, he just needs some rest now I'd say.

He won't eat or drink anything. At all. I've been trying for ages. He's able to use his tongue again but just won't drink. I've tried bringing him the bowl and tilting it towards him and just trying to pour it into his mouth too but nothing. And he still won't stop howling.

andreac

Try not to worry about him not drinking, the anaesthetic knocks them out of sorts for at least 24 hours, it takes them a good long time to come round 100%.
He will be in pain and discomfort too, so best thing is just keep him comfortable and leave him be, he wont be in the mood to eat or drink anything yet.

I would be a little concerned about the howling though, sounds like hes in quite a bit of pain. He could also just be coming around from the sedation and is a little disorientated too, they can affect them in all different ways.

Did they say to start the drugs tonight? I wouldnt worry too much as you can prob start them tomorrow, i would just try leave him be and let him rest for the night.

Futurecrook

andreac wrote: »

Try not to worry about him not drinking, the anaesthetic knocks them out of sorts for at least 24 hours, it takes them a good long time to come round 100%.
He will be in pain and discomfort too, so best thing is just keep him comfortable and leave him be, he wont be in the mood to eat or drink anything yet.

I would be a little concerned about the howling though, sounds like hes in quite a bit of pain. He could also just be coming around from the sedation and is a little disorientated too, they can affect them in all different ways.

Did they say to start the drugs tonight? I wouldnt worry too much as you can prob start them tomorrow, i would just try leave him be and let him rest for the night.

We have him wrapped up on the couch with lots of blankets so hopefully he's comfortable. Yea, the howling is mostly what's worrying me. To me that would indicate that he's in pain. But I would have assumed that the vet would have given him some sort of painkillers? As the vet hasn't gotten back to me I suppose all we can do is wait and see how he is in the morning.

Thanks for all the advice so far. I really appreciate it. It's funny, I don't think I ever realised how much I love the smelly old guy until now. :P

Blueprint

A lot of the time when they operate on older dogs and cats, they give them fluids under the skin to protect their organs and keep them hydrated, so this might be a reason why he's not drinking - he might be hydrated enough and just not feel thirsty.

I hope he feels better in the morning!

Futurecrook

Thanks for all the replies. He came to life at about 5 this morning and now he's almost back to his usual self. Doesn't seem to be in any pain anymore either.

joyce2009

just reading the posts now and was hoping to hear that he had slept off the anaesthetic and was back to him self,,,so im happy to hear he's ok. thats great news:D:D

Blueprint

Great news!