Why is my dog pacing after anesthesia and surgery? Is it normal?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While I am unclear what you are specifically referring to in terms of his behavior, it is fairly common for cats and dogs to feel differently and show signs such as lethargy and sedation for 24-36 hours following anesthesia. The fact that he ate is a good sign. Best of luck!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Buster, it can be exhausting on surgery day. It can be considered a "normal" occurrence for pets to be tired the day of surgery due to the anesthesia and analgesics (pain control medications) administered for the surgery itself. On occasion they may also experience some mild vomiting (i.e. once following a car ride, after eating supper/drinking water). Buster should want to sleep tonight and we do not want him running around/playing until the surgery site is healed (minimum 2 weeks). If he is too mobile/active this could result in hemorrhaging at the surgery site or failure of the incision. If he continues to vomit, seems painful/agitated, or excessively tired/lethargic then he should be evaluated by his veterinarian or an emergency veterinarian. I instruct my clients to always monitor there mucous membrane (oral gum) color at home the night following surgery to make sure it stays pink (normal color).

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.

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!

If you think Timmy might be in pain, then you could potentially give him pain medication that was prescribed. Some dogs will act restless when they are recovering from anesthesia, so if you don't think he seems painful you should simply minimize contact and stimulation and give him time to recover. He'll eventually fall asleep. You may need to confine him to a smaller room or turn the lights out.

Hello, sorry to hear about Taz. Sedatives and anesthesia may take up to 24-32 hours to wear off in some dogs, particularly older patients. Other factors that contribute to this include any concurrent illnesses such as liver disease, kidney disease, or even his ulcer. If Taz continues to be sedate and without an appetite, then he should be rechecked at the latest tomorrow morning. If he seems more lethargic or painful, then he should be evaluated sooner. Please contact your veterinarian to inform them that Taz is still sedate and not wanting to eat as they may want to see him sooner depending on his concurrent medical history and what agents they used for anesthesia. Hope this helps and 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.