Estee got “fixed” today. Is it safe to give her 1/2 an Ibuprofin or something for pain? She is in obvious discomfort and I feel horrible. She was this AM 53lbs, has not eaten since yesterday really and tonight had about 3oz of steak I made for her (Porterhouse w/Mesquite wood on the grill if that matters).
Yup - our dogs have gone the 1/2 ibu route in the past and were fine.
Ah, man! Well, max adult dose based on 70kg is 800mg at a time, up to 3,200mg per day. I’d give a full 200mg (normal OTC) dose. Better yet would be some Tylenol (325mg) since it does not increase bleeding though since her recent surgery.
Thank you my friend. I will give her Tylenol…I hope that helps her.
the surgery can be a tough thing for the first night or two. both of my dogs were sick when they got home after surgery. Buster had inflamation for several days, Maddie a couple of days.
i will give no advice on the ibu–i’ve never done it and don’t want to say it’s ok. the other poster has experience, rroof knows meds.
i do want to say not to be upset if she doesn’t want steak. it’s heavy food, she might prefer something lighter, she has just been through trauma. also it is not uncommon for them to throw up, as they’re re-introducing their stomach to food. she should be ok, probably just nervous, sore, and shocked.
did your vet give you anti-inflams? if not, go back and insist on it. was a great help for Maddie, my little girl. plus, it’s good to have that around in case you need it.
also, if you have any chicken broth try that, it’s tasty, she might prefer that.
She ate the steak, did not hesitate. She did vomit earlier (6pm ish Central time). She wants to be happy, she just isnt…sad as it is it reminds me of Shy’s last days…wanting to be happy and too sick to be 
Either tylenol or Ibuprofen should work.
Sorry, I didn’t read the other posts. As a fellow dog-owner, I had a bit of tunnel vision as soon as I saw the puppy emergency title.
Good job for following Bob Barker’s advice. My dalmation Majerle is sans testes.
ok, good she ate it. still in favor of the broth if you have it.
she’s had trauma, just keep reassuring her, she’ll be ok. the med might help her. also, it’s not even close to the same situation as Shy, remember that. in a couple of days you’ll be trying to contain her while she heals :).
be careful. Dogs lack the enzymesin the liver to break down acetaminophen, so avoid it. It will still do the job, but it carries higher risks. All of the NSAID’s can thin the mucous lining of the stomach, causing ulcers. The safest painkiller is buffered asprin. General dosage for dogs is 5-10 mgs per pounds of body weight every 8 hours and make sure you give it with food. I’ve always given the asprin with a dose of Maalox too just to ease the wear and tear on the stomach more.
2.5-4mg per pound MAX of IBP for dogs. I would lean towards the 2 side with her being a puppy still.
When our boys were neutered, we had the opposite problem. They were up and sprinting thorough the house by 2000hrs that night.
Again, Tylenol would be safest in the short run - less GI side effects (which is important right now) and little binding to platelets for bleeding issues in light of her recent surgery. Acetaminophen can be exrected unchanges in the kidney and does not have to broken down to be eliminated. See below:
Based on reactions in our canine patients, this is the ranking I would give
these medications: safest = acetaminophen (Tylenol tm), also safe =
aspirin, less safe = ibuprofen (Advil tm, Motrin Rx). However, this is
the ranking that I would give them based on the reports in the literature
and factoring in the likelihood of a bad reaction causing death: safest =
aspirin, also safe but less so = acetaminophen and less safe = ibuprofen.
The reason for these rankings include these things. Aspirin is reasonably
likely to cause gastric ulcers, which can be life threatening if ignored
but which respond to withdrawal of the medication. Acetaminophen doesn’t
seem to cause ulcers but there are uncommon reactions to it in which liver
failure occurs and this may not respond to therapy, so death is a
possibility. Ibuprofen is very likely to cause ulcers, with 100% of dogs
developing ulcers with the use of ibuprofen in at least one study. On the
other hand, lots of my clients come in and tell me “I gave my dog an
ibuprofen last night” and I have only had to treat one or two cases of
ulcers and I can’t recall a dog dying from this medication, yet.
My personal preference for pain and fever in dogs is aspirin but we do warn
our clients to discontinue the medication if the dog stops eating and to
call us or come in for a recheck if that happens.
In cats the situation is different. Acetaminophen is very toxic to cats and
this medication should simply never be used to treat a cat. Aspirin has a
long half life in cats, at least 24 to 48 hours, so it will reach toxic
levels pretty quickly if it is given more frequently than once every 48
hours and the dosage is 10mg/lb so a baby aspirin (81mg) is a much more
appropriate dosage for a cat than an adult aspirin. I have not seen much
information on ibuprofen and cats but it is a good idea to avoid all
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications in cats, at least until one of
them does prove to be safe in someone’s clinical trials.
Mike Richards, DVM
Wow, we are in the same boat. My pup, Kona, a 35lb black lab was spayed today as well and we took her home this evening despite the vet wanting to keep her overnight (their std. procedure) I’m no expert on this by any means but I would echo what one of the others has said about having your vet give you anti-inflammatory drugs. Obviously, you probably can’t go to your vet to get some now but I’d try to call them first thing in the morning. I can’t offer you much advice in the way of Tylenol vs. Ibuprofin but I’d definitely look into getting a recommended drug from the vet for tomorrow and onward.
Kona has been moping around as well. The best thing we’ve found so far is to limit her movement, put her in her crate, but stay in the room with her. She may be a little anxious since it’s been a long traumatic day and she probably has no idea why she feels so funny. The best thing to ease Kona’s nerves has been to stay in the room with her and give her plenty of attention and keep her favorite toys close by. I don’t if Estee is the same way but Kona has been drinking a lot of water and panting a little bit. The vet said there would be a chance of a mild fever so make sure she has plenty of water. I know I may be the blind leading the blind but I hope it helps and good luck!
just curious, why did you take her home if the vet wanted to keep her?
seems like my vet won’t let my pets come home lately, we’ve been through alot lately with spaying, claws, 2 ER visits, etc. the slightest thing they’ll keep my pet(s) longer…
They didn’t want to keep her for any special reason related to the surgery. They actually were going to be closed after 7, when we picked her up and there were not going to have someone there monitoring her overnight. We are following the doc’s instructions, the same way she would have been treated at the vet: keep her in the crate, except we also get to keep an eye on her. I’d just feel safer knowing I can keep an eye on her so that if something did come up I could take her to a late night clinic. We’re checking in with the vet first thing in the morning though.
I’m sure a little ibuprofen would be okay. Our puppy, Marshall, was neutered almost two months ago, and he came home same day. The vet gave us some pain meds to give him for the next several days. We didn’t even need to use all of them. I’m sure you will find that your puppy will bounce back pretty quickly, hopefully tomorrow morning.
One other thing you will want to keep an eye on is that your puppy doesn’t try to lick/chew/bite the stitches from the surgery. Marshall was trying to get at those for several days so you have to keep an eye on them.
Good luck with the recovery.
don’t worry too much if she doesn’t eat right away. i think that is normal after something like a surgery. you should probably start her on white rice and broth (or i like to make sort of a risotto) until she can tolerate more rich foods again.
however, if the vomitting continues, a small dose of the children’s medicine Emetrol works great to settle their stomachs. My doggies like the lemon flavor. It tastes like Sprite. I’m not sure about pain meds, though. I think our vet gave us a prescription after the operations, but I can’t remember…
Chip - I know it’s late, I just logged on for the first time today. How’s ST doing now? How are u doing?
Chip, I hope poor Este is feeling better so, the best thing you can do for her is just be there for her. Does your comment about the mesquite wood on the grill mean you cooked the steak for her? If so, forgo the cooking it will be better for her raw. MY parents dogs have always had minced steak daily and it is the best “suplement” they can have.
Post us on Este’s progress, we will be thinking of her.
How’s she doing this morning? Better, I hope?
Spot
yeah, that’s good thinking! hope your pet is better!!!