Rough day
Well, Kiba had his teeth cleaned. They took him in at 8AM, his procedure was at 9AM, they called by noon to say he was awake and okay. They told me I could pick him up at 4PM...he still wasn't walking very well. :(
It's 9PM and he hasn't moved from his bed. He wags his tail, one time, when I give him pets and tell him he's a good dog, but ( Read more... )
It's 9PM and he hasn't moved from his bed. He wags his tail, one time, when I give him pets and tell him he's a good dog, but ( Read more... )
So many dogs hold their breath while they're under, and I assure you it's really not too big a deal. Usually turning their Iso down will cause them to breathe normally again, and barring that we can breathe for them if need be. I end up doing this a lot, no matter the dog's age or size (though little dogs tend to have more issues with this), and as long as everything else is OK (heart rate, blood pressure, color, etc), we don't tend to worry too much about it. We just get to spend more time at the dials and fawning over them, and we all know how much Kiba loves fawning :)
Him eating is an excellent sign, so it sounds like he's doing well. How was he walking when you took him from the clinic? He was probably just a bit sensitive to the drugs. Especially since he is a husky. They tend to get worked up in the cage so when the excitement wears off the drugs tend to hit pretty hard.
Try not to worry too much (easier said than done, I know). With such a loving momma, he'll be back to normal soon :)
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My poor dog. :( I hate seeing him this way & I feel so guilty. His teeth weren't even that bad...
*hug* Thanks for answering questions though...I feel better about giving him the tramadol. If he can't sleep and keeps whistling I'll see what he thinks of those Pill Pockets I bought (great invention, those).
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No need to feel guilty, either. You made sure his teeth never got bad enough that toxins entered his body. Those toxins are nasty things and can really pull a number on his organs. I can't blame you, though. I need to get Libby's teeth cleaned (pug mouth. Yay...), and I dread it too, even though I'm in the biz ;)
And pill pockets are indeed great. But, should they fail, you can put the pill in peanut butter. Since it's so sticky, they end up not having a choice but to swallow the pill if they want the food :P
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Also, I just thought I'd let you know: there're actual pet dental hygienists that can clean dog's teeth without anesthesia. It's pretty neat. It's more of a preventative measure, as once the teeth need to be removed obviously anesthesia is needed, but now that's he's had his teeth cleaned you can probably use that service to prevent him from having to go under again.
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I stopped giving the Tramadol because it really added to his disorientation. I figured out by the evening; his worst problems were emotional by then. Kiba is a very...strange dog. I wouldn't say he's neurotic at all (in fact most of the time he's an incredibly happy, outgoing, confident dog), but when something traumatic happens to him, he does not handle it well.
Once last year he slipped coming inside the house, coming up the back stairs (he does not like stairs anyway), and for a ~week~ I had to either take him out the front door or carry him down those stairs. He just froze and couldn't be coaxed or dragged or bribed into coming up the stairs. I had to carpet them and then, with him, one paw at a time, help him up those stairs with treats and example until he figured out thety were "safe". And then just like that he was over his phobia and fine.
After this tooth cleaning, he seemed all weird, slinky, afraid and crying...mostly (I surmised) because this awful thing happened and he couldn't figure why, and he was having an anxiety attack! So Friday night I "apologized" to the dog by playing with him (he likes pouncing on cat toys on strings), I got him to eat his own dog food by rubbing a fingerful of peanut butter into it (he'd refused it all day), and I brushed him. All normal stuff (except the peanut butter but he was afraid to eat his crunchy food so he needed a bribe). And now, he's stopped crying and creeping around. He's sleeping without whining and he's stopped howling when I leave the room. Still not bouncy yet, but almost normal.
Huskies! Weird weird dogs! Are they known by vets to be a little too touchy and sensitive for their own good? He is so strange and smart but sometimes he makes these weird connections and really needs an emotional "reset" or he gets the wrong idea and it stays in his brain for a log time.
My old Aussie Ruby stepped on a fish hook once playing on a beach. She never yelped or made a peep...just came up to me quietly on three legs and gave me her hurt foot. After a kind fisherman with wire clippers took the barb off for us, she smiled a dog smile and ran off on all fours having never made a fuss.
Kiba tore a dewclaw once on a shrub, running in the woods. It was a minor tear, but he had to be carried out of the woods and bandaged and fussed over at a vet's office before he was okay, and he cried like a baby about it.
I know this is long...I just was wondering if you knew why some breeds are drama queens and others are taciturn. It's baffling to me! Maybe knowing this can help vets to tailor their treatment of different breeds. I think if Kiba hadn't been locked in that cage all day waiting for me, he might have had an easier time. I swear that trauma of the cage was the worst part for him.
Anyway... *hug* You are so awesome for helping me with him. I've been so worried and your advice really helped. Thank you hon. ^_^
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Yep. Huskies are known as being very sensitive to things. Especially confinement. My best guess for that is that they're more closely related to wolves than most other dogs, so being confined is very hard for them. They also seem to be more sensitive to the drugs than others, and I'm not really sure why that is. Them, rottweilers, and boxers are though (and probably others I can't think of right now).
Also, if you ever do look into a non-anesthetic dental, he won't need to be confined. They usually do it as an in-and-out procedure where you wait in the waiting room. It sounds like it could be a good option for Kiba in the future :)
You're very welcome! I will offer you and advice/knowledge that I have for your furbabies any time you need it *smooch*
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