My dog won't drink water after surgery. Is this normal or concerning?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If the dental surgery was yesterday I would give it some more time for the interest in water to come back. I've seen this commonly post operatively where the patient does not want to eat or drink for 1-3 days after the procedure and is then fine after. If she is not taking in any water at all, you can syringe feed her some water throughout the day to ensure she is taking in enough water. Adding moisture to the kibble will give her water but likely not enough if you are only adding a small amount. I would add in 1/2-1 cup of water to the kibble and see how she does with this. If the decreased thirst continues beyond 2-3 days, I would call your veterinarian again and discuss this with him / her over the phone about what they would like you to do next. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Anesthesia can make a dog quite sleepy. She should be back to normal in the morning. And yes, it is normal to see a decrease in appetite and a decrease in drinking water. Again, this should be normal in the morning. If it's not, you will need to take her back into the vet.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This depends on a lot of factors including if she is otherwise exhibiting any symptoms of sickness, if she is eating canned food which already has water in it, how much water she is actually having, among other things. If she is not drinking anything especially if having other symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and/or lethargy, she should be evaluated as soon as possible to prevent dehydration and to investigate the cause. If she is otherwise doing well and is eating canned food, it would be ok to monitor her for another 12-24 hours and if not improved to have her evaluated by a veterinarian then. Hopefully she returns to normal and there is no need for a veterinary visit. Have a great day!

I'm glad Lou is recovering well from his surgery! While it is concerning he won't drink water, it's good he will take the ice chips. He's still getting water if he's taking the ice chips . Try putting the ice chips in water, and you can also give him ice chips alone as well. If after a couple of days he's still refusing to drink water, then I'd give his vet a call. Best of luck!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lucy. Anesthesia will slow down the gastrointestinal tract and make bowel movements less frequent. Plus she was probably not eating well before surgery due to being ill and most patients are fasted for a bit after surgery. This means there is likely less food in her system to come out. Unless she is straining to defecate, it is typically not worrisome that she is not defecating regularly yet. As far as the drinking, she most likely received IV fluids under anesthesia and while hospitalized. This would have provided her with a large amount of fluids. Now eating the canned food, this is supplying her with moisture as well. As long as she is eating and is acting normally, then I suspect her recovery is going well. If you have any concerns though, I would seek emergency care this weekend just to be sure. I hope this information helps!

Poor guy. The fact that he is producing urine and pooping means that he is getting something in his system. Is he getting people food instead? If he is eating some people food, try mixing the food in with his normal kibble. Or you can try another brand of dog food that is perhaps more palatable for him. Some good dog food brands to consider are: Royal Canin, Eukanuba, or Purina One. If he still doesn't want to eat his normal food after 2-4 days or starts acting abnormal or lethargic in any way, then at that point it is best to get him checked by your vet just to make sure everything is ok. Best of luck with your pet Shadow moving forward and I hope that he regains his normal appetite soon! Take care. : )

Poor Baxter! The breathing deeply and hard can be a sign of pain, and I am concerned that he won't drink water. While it's normal for a dog to not have much of an appetite after surgery, he should at least be drinking some water. I would give your vet a call know to let them know you are seeing these signs in Baxter. They can tell you if they want to see him.