Senior dog post-dental surgery: Recovery time & appetite tips?

Poor Matilda! It's not unusual for dogs to be a bit depressed and sore for a few days after major dental work like this - just like people! She should feel a bit better each day, and should be back to normal by 7-10 days after the procedure. Make sure to feed her soft food in the meantime so that she can eat without hurting her mouth. If you have any concerns about how she's healing, you can always check with the vet who did her dental to make sure that everything is going as expected :)

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Matilda! I am not familiar with using a tube in the nose to deliver oxygen and anesthetic gas for dentals or surgery. We use endotracheal tubes down their throats for this. It sounds like Matilda has irritation from the tube most likely or she has an infection. Just make sure she is breathing normally to be sure her heart and lungs are ok. If she has a history of a heart murmur a recheck with your Vet may be the best thing. Irritation from the tracheal tube should resolve on it's own in a week, getting better each day. If she has kennel cough she may need an antibiotic or something to help with the cough. I recommend calling your Vet today to discuss her symptoms and see if they can prescribe something to give her some relief that you can pick it up. They may want to see her first though. I hope this helps! Good luck!

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.

Try feeding her some sloppy soup with rice and white boiled chicken, or canned dog food. You may have to sit next to her and entice her to eat. Be patient, she will start eating . The Tramadol sometimes will not work very well, so she may be in pain.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what the problem is since I do not have the lab work in front of me. If she is having symptoms of pancreatitis she most likely needs medications to help relieve these symptoms along with initiating a low fat diet. I would also want to know why she is now developing pancreatitis and at her age, I would strongly recommend an abdominal ultrasound if she is not improving. Prescription diets like Hills low fat I/D might be the best for her long term. If you have not initiated a bland diet, please follow my guide below. If there is no improvement or she worsens, you should take her back to your veterinarian for a recheck, further diagnostics and treatment. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

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.

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!