[chloemable]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

How is she?

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

 

[SophieB]

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]

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]

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?

 

[Soundtrack]

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.

 

[ROCKWOOD]

Droopy eyes after teeth cleaning.

Whew, I signed up here just to find the answer to this. My dawg just had his teeth cleaned and his eyes are out of it...totally droopy. He's doing better though....eaten, drank and wanted to play a bit, but he's still too groggy....

I want his eyes back to normal and I'm SURE he does too....

Hope the dog who had back surgery is back in the game!!!

 

[houndmomma]

Scary as it is they will get back to normal. All three of mine were blessed with bad teeth and need to get done every year. Just remember they were put under so it takes a little bit for them to come back to 100%.

 

[houndmomma]

I’m so sorry about your girl. I know firsthand that’s extremely stressful surgery for them. My Flasher had it a couple years ago. Have you tried a chicken and rice for her? Whenever my girl was sick I would boil a chicken set it aside – then cook some veggies in the broth then cook the rice in the broth then break up the chicken and she couldn’t get enough of it.

Regarding the not wanting to walk. A week after Flasher had the surgery I took her over to TOPS rehab center for a four hour complete evaluation and recommendation on physical therapy. One of the best things I learned there was you have to help a basset up by moving their back legs up and under them (slow and steady) because of all breeds if a basset learns it can get around without walking but dragging it will. At the surgery center they told me not to help her up and to have the water dish away so she would have to drag herself over to it, and that she would eventually try and walk on her own. When they saw at TOPS that I was letting her do this the doctor couldn’t believe it. She told me not to ever let her do that. Within two days of the visit she was trying to walk on her own.

We also used the sling under her belly for her therapy that I can put up on youtube for you if you would like. For the rest of her days I was blessed to have her she was able to walk. I use to say she walked like a drunk sailor the way her back end would wobble - or at times when she would go out to potty her back end would fall and she would right herself and look at me with an “I’m OK mom” kinda look. God I miss that look – but that’s off topic. Oh, and funny – but she could still run like the wind even though she couldn’t walk the same.

Here is a link to TOPS – maybe you can give them a call. I know that people come from all over to see them. I’m just lucky they are close by me. - http://www.tops-vet-rehab.com/

The only other thing you can do is keep her as comfortable as you can and if possible spend as much time with her that time will allow. I moved down to the family room with her and spent a few months sleeping on the floor just so she wouldn’t be scared if she woke in the middle of the night. Also keep in mind they give them some really strong drugs so some of what you’re seeing is not your girl but the reaction to not only surgery but also a reaction to the meds she’s on.

If you ever need anything please let me know – sometime it helps running things by someone that been there. It’s not only scary for her but the whole family I know.

Sending out prayers that she recovers as quickly as possible and you have the strength to deal with all that’s ahead of you.

Jen~