Puppy neutered: Tummy growling, can I feed him before 5 hours?

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You do not need to feed Coach anything special for his surgery, it is always best not to change things up too much. He should receive proper pain medications that should keep him very comfortable, & this will do more to prevent nausea & loss of appetite than anything else. He should do just fine. Take care.

He may still be a bit groggy or nauseous from anesthesia yesterday or he may be a bit painful still. If he doesn't have pain medication, contact your vet and ask the something be dispensed. Mix in some warm water or a teaspoon of baby food with his food to stimulate his appetite. You can also offer a bland diet of plain white rice mixed in equal parts with boiled boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Once he begins eating, transition him slowly to his regular diet. Make sure he has water or some unflavored PediaLyte to drink to prevent dehydration. This should pass in the next 24 hours. Monitor for lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain. If Odin doesn't begin eating in the next 24-36 hours, have him examined by your veterinarian.

Poor pup! If he's vomiting, not eating, and isn't able to keep anything down, this is very concerning - so I would recommend taking him back in to your veterinarian today to be seen. It's possible that this could be some type of complication related to his neuter surgery, or could be a totally separate problem. Your veterinarian can examine him and may recommend blood work, x-rays, or other testing if needed to help diagnose the problem and see what kind of treatment is needed.

This can happen. Between being fasted prior to surgery and pain medications, his GI system may be empty yet or slow. Continue to feed him as you normally and he will eventually defecate. If he doesn't within 48 hours of eating normal meals, have him rechecked by your veterinarian.

You can give the pills in a small amount of peanut butter, canned dog food, or wrapped in a piece of cheese or lunch meat if needed - this should not hurt anything for his surgery :) The main concern is that we don't want a dog to have a full stomach going into surgery, since if he vomits while he's waking up there is a chance of aspirating the vomit into the lungs. But a small bite of food to give a pill should be just fine.

Hi, and thanks for your question. That could be completely normal after the procedure and anesthesia. I would suggest to withhold food for the next 8-12 hours and then start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice diarrhoea, more vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

It is not unusual for dogs to not have interest in food and water that first night after anesthesia and surgery. However, if you have concerns that something isn’t right then it is always safest to have her examined by a veterinarian. Your veterinarian may have an emergency number or they may refer to a local emergency center. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon.