Why is my dog struggling to walk and crying after hospital & spay?

I am sorry to hear that. It sounds like she may be painful. Call your and see about getting her in for a recheck exam. If there is an emergency vet near you, I would recommend that you take her in to be seen. Unfortunately without seeing her and without knowing if she's received any medications at home, I cannot advise you to give her anything at home to help, she just needs to be seen by a vet. You can request a consultation so we can exchange information back and forth and I may be able to further advise you, but ideally a vet needs to examine her in person as soon as possible. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Poor Bella! I am assuming she is not walking because she is in pain. All dogs react differently after being spayed and some have a higher tolerance to pain. I am not sure if she was given any pain medications but you should call your vet and let him/her know that she seems painful. Your vet should be able to add or adjust her medications to help relieve the pain. Hopefully, she will be feeling better in a few days.

Hello. It depends on how long you are talking about. If she was spayed a couple of hours ago, yes, she would still be a little woozy. If she was spayed a day or so ago, then she should have all the anesthesia out of her system. Can you check her gum color? They should be a nice pink color. If the gums look pale, grayish or blue to you, she should see a veterinarian immediately. If color is good & it has been a few days, she may be low in blood sugar. Make sure she is eating & you can give her a teaspoon of Karo syrup or honey a couple of times a day. If you are still concerned about Dolly, please take her back to your veterinarian immediately. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would not worry too much at this point. Zoii has just undergone major surgery and it can take up to 48 hours for her to fully recover. She is probably still processing some of the anesthesia that is in her system. She also was probably very stressed and did not get much rest while at the vet so she is making up for that now. Just keep an eye on her tonight and if you are still not comfortable with how she is acting in the morning you can take her in for a recheck. My guess is that she was just more sensitive to the drugs used and it is taking her a bit more time to recover than some cats. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Neurologic issues can take time. It is great that she is up and bearing weight on her own, dogs are so amazing. Hopefully she had xrays to look for a spinal/pelvic fracture, collapsed disc space, etc. as these would be important to rule out as well. You will need to give her potentially even months to know what her new normal with be. Hopefully she will at some point be deficit free or only have a mild deficit but it is too soon to tell. Keep working with her. Hopefully your vet has recommended a physical therapy/rehab plan for her. If not, you could request referral to a rehab therapist. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using PetCoach! I'm sorry to hear about Xena. So if the position you describe (with the hurt leg extended) is when she is SITTING, I am most suspicious of a torn ACL. This is especially suspicious if she will walk on 3 legs but not the injured leg. Staffies between the ages of 1 and 5 are textbook for that particular injury. If it is when she is standing, that would be an odd way to carry herself and not typical of the usual injuries. (And I would see your vet). Finally, with this information, I cannot rule out a back injury or disk problem - more likely if she truly cannot stand, even if you help her up and put her back legs under her. You don't list Xena's age but as I mentioned before, if she is young, some sort of soft tissue injury is more likely. If she is older, an arthritis flare up or other problem may be more likely. Long story short, I recommend getting her in as soon as possible for evaluation and some safe pain medication. We as veterinarians have so many wonderful pain medications that are safe for long term or occasional use. As such, I would strongly recommend heading to your vet and NOT giving over the counter pain medication (it is not as effective and can interfere with what we would ideally prescribe). If you are unable/unwilling to go to the vet, probably the “least bad” choice would be aspirin. Be sure to use a product labeled for dogs and use the dosing on the bottle. See the link below for more information about the safe use of aspirin. https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/aspirin/ Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Xena!

Poor pup! It sounds like she may be in pain still or having a hard time recovering from her surgery. I would let your vet know right away so they can either provide a different medication, or have her seen to make sure there isn't an infection or other complication that needs to be addressed.