My dog has a weak back end after dental surgery. Should I worry?

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.

I wouldn't be too concerned at this point if the dental was only just done today. Your dog underwent a pretty significant procedure and may not be the same for a couple of days. Give the pain medication as directed by your veterinarian unless your dog vomits again. If this is the case, call your vet about switching to something else. Post-anesthetic nausea is not uncommon so you might consider giving some pepsid or prilosec if you have any around the house. Hope this helps.

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.

I am glad to hear she seems to be feeling well. Occasionally, the Gi tract will have a mild temporary change during/after anesthesia which can result in the changes in the stool that you saw. I would recommend that you feed her a bland diet (boiled chicken and white rice) for the next couple of days. As long as she's acting normally, eating, and isn't vomiting, I don't think you need to be too concerned. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

If Cooper had general anesthesia for a dental cleaning it could take 24 hours or more to recover from anesthesia. He may have been given different medications than in the past. The trachea and back of the throat can be irritated by the endotracheal tube and cause coughing or reverse sneezing. I would recommend calling the veterinarian who performed the procedure and expressing your concerns. If they are not open and you feel Cooper is in distress, having difficulty breathing, or in pain I'd recommend seeing an emergency veterinarian.

Hello and thank you very much for reaching out to us. Yes, I do believe you should contact the vet and take her back in to get a recheck appointment. Because a dental cleaning was performed, I would have the veterinarian pay particular attention to the teeth and make certain that there aren’t any problems post cleaning. In addition, I would also have the veterinarian possibly run a blood CBC chemistry profile just to make certain that all of the internal organs are functioning correctly. Thanks a lot for your question. I hope I have helped.

Older dogs can take longer to completely process the anesthesia medications and return fully to normal. If she's on any pain medications after the cleaning (for example if she had dental extractions), that could also be causing some sedation. If she's eating, drinking, going to the bathroom, and appears comfortable, there's nothing you need to do right now and can give her another day or two to be totally normal. If she's not back to normal tomorrow evening, it might be wise to take her in for an appointment Friday before the weekend to make sure nothing else is going on.