Basset hound with back surgery

chloemable · 03-27-2011, 12:33 PM

My 9 year old female basset had back surgery for a ruptured disc last tuesday, I got her from the vet on Friday and since i got her home she will not eat anything, she does drink water. She has also an enlarged heart and is on lasic and endophrill for her heart, so steriods were out of the question. I'm sure it was a very tramatic experience for her and we have tried to make her as comfortable as possible. She is much more alert than she was when she came home and actually sits and looks out the window. She will not try
to walk or use her back legs but she has feeling in both them and the vet said it will probably take 2 to 6 weeks to see improvement. Are there any things that I can do to speed up the process, and get her to eat and what can I expect?
Thanks

jaleely · 03-27-2011, 03:56 PM

ask the vet it this food behavior is normal. Otherwise just offer her something irresistible until she can get food down and takes more interest. Some of the meds she's on might curb her appetite.

chloemable · 03-27-2011, 07:20 PM

Im hoping that the meds. are what is curbing her appetite. The vet said it is normal for a dog to lose their appetite for a few days after major surgery, but the only thing is. that she has always been small for a basset, which in most cases is a good thing, given their tendencies to become over weight as they age, but , it means that she doesn't have a lot of weight to lose before getting pretty skinny and weak, that is my biggest worry. I know that she doesn't not feel good because of the surgery, but, she needs to eat something to keep up her strength. I have tried steak, hot dogs, ham, and treats, all of which she would knock you down to get any other time. Tried some vanilla ice cream on my finger and put it on her mouth and cheek and she licked it off, so thats better then nothing I guess.

Soundtrack · 03-27-2011, 08:04 PM

If she's still not eating tomorrow I would certainly discuss it with the vet. Some antibiotics can cause nausea which may be why she doesn't feel like eating. As far as I can recall Myrtle never missed a meal following her back surgery.

You might try canned cat food, many dogs like that because of the strong odor.

I presume the vet has told you about walking her with a sling, and described the range-of-motion and physiotherapy exercises you should be performing with her?

chloemable · 03-27-2011, 09:36 PM

yeah, we discussed the walking her with a towel under her stomach , but the vet said that she should just rest for a few days and try to recover some first. it was a pretty serious surgery, she has about a 4 inch cut on her back with about 13 staples in it. I'm sure it is sore as can be and I have probably moved her more than I should have. But the not eating is really what concerns me. We tried some hills A-D food from the vet, which they said that she ate after her surgery, but she won't even look at it. I am going to call the vet tomorrow and see if I can bring her in and see if they can get her to eat something or give her an IV. I know that most all Basset's are stubborn but she wrote the book on it !

Sophie.12 · 04-02-2011, 12:36 AM

Just wondering how your basset is doing and whether or not her appetitie has returned after her surgery?

SophieB · 04-02-2011, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sophie.12

Just wondering how your basset is doing and whether or not her appetitie has returned after her surgery?

Me too as it's quite worrying. I would cook her some sausages or chicken and minced beef, rice etc just to try and get something inside her.

Bassets are stubborn and you can't force them to eat but I do hope everything is progressing, even if it is slowly! Don't try and force her to be too mobile too soon or you may do further damage!

bubbad · 04-02-2011, 12:06 PM

You can force her to eat if you really need to.Mix a little cottage cheese together with cooked chicken or even raw hamburg,make a small ball open her mouth and put it as far back in her throat as possible close her mouth and rub her throat till you fill her swallow.A couple of those to start with may help her apitite come back.You can do this a few times a day. It doesn't sound like the nicest thing to do but if you want to get something in her this will do it.

louise36 · 04-07-2011, 03:34 PM

Hallo everyone
I took my female basset for dental surgery today, teeth cleaning! I am a bit worried - when I picked her up from the vet her eyes were even more droopy than usual, the red part of her eye covers more than half of her eye! Is this normal after having anesthesia?

Soundtrack · 04-07-2011, 03:47 PM

Yes, that's quite normal. When they first wake up you can't see their eyes at all, just the red.

She should be fine in the morning.

03-27-2011, 12:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
chloemable Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 3	Basset hound with back surgery My 9 year old female basset had back surgery for a ruptured disc last tuesday, I got her from the vet on Friday and since i got her home she will not eat anything, she does drink water. She has also an enlarged heart and is on lasic and endophrill for her heart, so steriods were out of the question. I'm sure it was a very tramatic experience for her and we have tried to make her as comfortable as possible. She is much more alert than she was when she came home and actually sits and looks out the window. She will not try to walk or use her back legs but she has feeling in both them and the vet said it will probably take 2 to 6 weeks to see improvement. Are there any things that I can do to speed up the process, and get her to eat and what can I expect? Thanks

03-27-2011, 08:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
Soundtrack Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,577	If she's still not eating tomorrow I would certainly discuss it with the vet. Some antibiotics can cause nausea which may be why she doesn't feel like eating. As far as I can recall Myrtle never missed a meal following her back surgery. You might try canned cat food, many dogs like that because of the strong odor. I presume the vet has told you about walking her with a sling, and described the range-of-motion and physiotherapy exercises you should be performing with her? __________________ Rosie-Ch Soundtrack Cracklin' Rose CGN AGN RA Am RN TT Melody-Ch Soundtrack Unchained Melody TT Sailor-Ch Soundtrack Expedition Sailor RN TT Chili-Ch Soundtrack Spice Up Your Life Curry-Ch Soundtrack Canadian Brass Pepper-Ch Pennieslogon Living La Vida Loca CGN Vina-Ch Soundtrack Grand Illusion Leila-Ch Soundtrack Almost Paradise Deela-Ch Soundtrack Wink Of An Eye Hermione - Soundtrack Spellbound Eowyn - Soundtrack Rain Dance Last edited by Soundtrack; 03-27-2011 at 08:50 PM.

04-02-2011, 12:36 AM	#6 (permalink)
Sophie.12 Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 73	How is she? Just wondering how your basset is doing and whether or not her appetitie has returned after her surgery?

04-07-2011, 03:34 PM	#9 (permalink)
louise36 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2	worried Hallo everyone I took my female basset for dental surgery today, teeth cleaning! I am a bit worried - when I picked her up from the vet her eyes were even more droopy than usual, the red part of her eye covers more than half of her eye! Is this normal after having anesthesia?

04-07-2011, 03:47 PM	#10 (permalink)
Soundtrack Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,577	Yes, that's quite normal. When they first wake up you can't see their eyes at all, just the red. She should be fine in the morning. __________________ Rosie-Ch Soundtrack Cracklin' Rose CGN AGN RA Am RN TT Melody-Ch Soundtrack Unchained Melody TT Sailor-Ch Soundtrack Expedition Sailor RN TT Chili-Ch Soundtrack Spice Up Your Life Curry-Ch Soundtrack Canadian Brass Pepper-Ch Pennieslogon Living La Vida Loca CGN Vina-Ch Soundtrack Grand Illusion Leila-Ch Soundtrack Almost Paradise Deela-Ch Soundtrack Wink Of An Eye Hermione - Soundtrack Spellbound Eowyn - Soundtrack Rain Dance

03-27-2011, 03:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
jaleely Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Ventura, CA Posts: 942	ask the vet it this food behavior is normal. Otherwise just offer her something irresistible until she can get food down and takes more interest. Some of the meds she's on might curb her appetite.

03-27-2011, 07:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
chloemable Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 3	Im hoping that the meds. are what is curbing her appetite. The vet said it is normal for a dog to lose their appetite for a few days after major surgery, but the only thing is. that she has always been small for a basset, which in most cases is a good thing, given their tendencies to become over weight as they age, but , it means that she doesn't have a lot of weight to lose before getting pretty skinny and weak, that is my biggest worry. I know that she doesn't not feel good because of the surgery, but, she needs to eat something to keep up her strength. I have tried steak, hot dogs, ham, and treats, all of which she would knock you down to get any other time. Tried some vanilla ice cream on my finger and put it on her mouth and cheek and she licked it off, so thats better then nothing I guess.

03-27-2011, 09:36 PM	#5 (permalink)
chloemable Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 3	yeah, we discussed the walking her with a towel under her stomach , but the vet said that she should just rest for a few days and try to recover some first. it was a pretty serious surgery, she has about a 4 inch cut on her back with about 13 staples in it. I'm sure it is sore as can be and I have probably moved her more than I should have. But the not eating is really what concerns me. We tried some hills A-D food from the vet, which they said that she ate after her surgery, but she won't even look at it. I am going to call the vet tomorrow and see if I can bring her in and see if they can get her to eat something or give her an IV. I know that most all Basset's are stubborn but she wrote the book on it !

04-02-2011, 12:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
bubbad Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Boiling Springs,Pa Posts: 1,347	You can force her to eat if you really need to.Mix a little cottage cheese together with cooked chicken or even raw hamburg,make a small ball open her mouth and put it as far back in her throat as possible close her mouth and rub her throat till you fill her swallow.A couple of those to start with may help her apitite come back.You can do this a few times a day. It doesn't sound like the nicest thing to do but if you want to get something in her this will do it.

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