Is local or general anesthesia safer for my dog, especially if senior?

This is a good question! Any anesthesia has risks, and there can be increased risk in elderly dogs because their organs aren't functioning as well as they used to function. That said, however, your vet would not put your dog through anesthesia if they thought it was too great a risk. You can request your vet to run a geriatric blood panel to see how his organs are functioning to get a better idea of the risk of anesthesia. If he needs a tooth pulled, having it out will make him feel much better and I do recommend having it done if your vet thinks it's safe to do.

If your vet is not comfortable with performing anesthesia on your pet, ask for a referral to a veterinary neurologist. Jodie may need to start medication for her seizures if they are becoming more frequent, and the neurologist can help you with that and also help discuss risk vs benefit for a dental. Denta disease and broken teeth are extremely painful, and should be addressed if the neurologist thinks it is safe. A veterinary anesthesiologist can also be recommended to perform the anesthesia during the dental if needed. In the meantime, keep a seizure log to monitor what is happening, and if Jodie has a seizure lasting more than 5 minutes take her to the emergency hospital, as this can be dangerous.

It is never safe to do a non-anesthetic dental, and it should never be preformed on a dog. I can understand your concern, but Daisy does need that loose tooth removed and her teeth cleaned. PetCoach has a great article about why you should never chose non-anesthetic dentals that discusses if anesthesia is safe, and what happens when a pet's mouth is cleaned under anesthesia. I will link the article below so hopefully some of your concerns will be alleviated. As for her breathing, dogs who have a short snout typically breathe better with an ET tube (endotracheal tube) which is used during a dental procedure. I would recommend having it done if your vet feels it's safe, as it will make Daisy so much more comfortable. https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-s-the-deal-with-anesthesia-free-dental-cleanings/0

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Most vets today will use a "pre-med" (combination of a pain medication and a sedative) which is often a mix of an opioid and a sedative (often hydromorphone and acepromazine, or some mix of this sort), then an "induction agent" which is usually either propofol, alfaxan, ketamine/diazepam, or ketamine/midazolam, and then will use a gaseous inhalent which is pretty much always isoflurane. Any of these drugs are fine, and often the drug that is best is the drug that your vet is most comfortable using. Thiopental is an 'old school drug' which is less favoured compared to these newer drugs, however it can be used completely safely as well. Doing pre-anaesthetic bloodwork will reduce the risks involved by making sure there is no organ dysfunction prior to surgery. I would suggest just asking your vet how the procedure works, and would check about if IV fluids will be used, what monitoring is present, as the monitoring is probably the most important part of a safe anesthetic, more-so than the type of drug that is used. Best of luck with Lucy!

That is true that anesthesia is more risky in older dogs, but it still can be done safely. Frida will be in a lot of pain from these problems with her teeth, and it will likely lead to a decrease in appetite. I think you have to weigh the risks of the dental vs the benefits to her. Having her teeth treated will help her so much and keep her from being in pain, but only you can decide if the risk is worth. The vet has to tell you the worst case outcome, but they wouldn’t have suggested a dental if they didn’t think it was ok to do. I hope this helps.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I personally don't think age is a major risk factor for anesthesia. Most of the problems or deaths under anesthesia are unpredictable and can happen to any age. Doing blood work and checking for any underlying issues like a heart murmur before surgery is great. Anesthesia is monitored closely by the veterinary nurses: blood pressure, oxygen levels, EKG, animals are intubated and are on oxygen and on IV fluids. There are health risks to leaving diseased teeth in the mouth as well. Overall if Angel is a healthy senior I think she will do fine! Good luck!

I always recommend lab work. If there is a heart murmur then I recommend either an echo or at minimum chest x-rays. IV fluid therapy, and usually propofol anesthesia induction (but several induction medications are available for geriatric dogs). Of course close monitoring of vitals, an efficient procedure and keeping them nice and warm. We do a lot of geriatric procedures at our practice and very few complication rates. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.