My dog is groggy and can't stand after surgery. How long does it last?

Casts or bandages are rarely placed after most orthopedic or soft tissue surgeries. Depending upon the procedure performed, Diesel may need to rest to allow his wound to heal, so perhaps he shouldn’t be weight bearing yet. It is also possible that he is still painful despite the prescribed pain medication, or may be experiencing excessive sedation from the pain medication, depending on which medication he was given. At this point, I recommend calling your vet to discuss if any modifications should be made in Diesel’s medication doses or if he should be examined by your vet. I hope he feels better soon!

Hello, thank you for your question. General anesthesia/sedation can take 18-24 hours to completely work it's way out of the pet's system. Fat Boy may still be quite sleepy and prefer to lie on the cough or bed for the rest of the evening tonight, but should be back to his normal self by tomorrow. If he is unrousable or taking short shallow breaths I would recommend having him rechecked by your veterinarian to ensure that he is not having a reaction to any of the medications that were used. Hope this helps, good luck!

It depends quite a bit on what drugs and doses were used for anesthesia, so unfortunately it's difficult to give a good answer to this question without being able to look at his medical record. But in general, for most anesthetic procedures, it's not uncommon for many dogs to remain somewhat groggy or drowsy for up to 12 hours or so afterwards - my rule of thumb for owners at our clinic is that their pet should be acting normal again by the following morning, but not to worry overly much if they are a bit sleepy or "off" for the rest of the afternoon or evening after going home. However, the pet should be able to get up and walk around, eat and drink without problems, etc. - if they are groggy to the point of being unresponsive or unable to stand, this is not normal. If you are concerned about Falkor, the safest course of action would be to call your vet's office and describe how he is currently acting - they should be able to tell you if this is reasonable, based on their anesthesia protocol. If he is unresponsive, having difficulty swallowing, or seems to be getting worse over time, I would take him back to your vet or your nearest emergency clinic to be checked.

Hi, sorry to hear about Daisy's troubles! Pyometra surgery in most cases is relatively uncomplicated. She should be on pain medication and antibiotics that your vet would have provided. many pain medications for dogs can make them sleepy. 60 hours post of she should be starting to feel back to herself within another day. If she is still lethargic and is having any problems like not eating diarrhea, a fever or acting dull, she should be rechecked by your vet. If she is not having any of these, she may just have hard a tough time with anesthesia. I would say by day 3 or 4 if she is not back to herself, call you vet and ask if it could be related to any medication she was sent home with. If she is on pain medication, you may also want to try to cut the dose in half to see if that helps. Good luck, wishing Daisy a speedy recovery!

Hello, sorry to hear about Rocco. Based on the invoice, it appears that Rocco had full anesthesia, however, this should be confirmed with your veterinarian. With either anesthesia or sedation, pets can be sleepy and groggy until the next morning. So allow Rocco some additional time to recover from his procedure and contact your veterinarian tomorrow morning after breakfast if he is still not acting more like his normal self. One of the medications used appears to have been reversed (dexdormitor), and the the butorphanol can take up to 12 hours to wear off. Gas anesthetics may also take longer to be removed from the body. Keep him quiet tonight and allow him to rest after his procedure. He should be back to normal by the morning. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Cruz. It could be he is just very tired from the surgery and anesthesia. I'd keep an eye on him for now, and if he isn't back to normal by the morning, give his vet a call. Best of luck.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Loki. Anesthesia can make a dog a bit off balance for a bit, and it take a bit for a dog to return to normal. Keep an eye on him tonight, and if he's still acting this way in the morning, give his vet a call. Hopefully, he should be back to normal in the morning. Best of luck.