It's not normal to worry so much is it?! Ddog and general anaesthetic

[Boynamedsue]

I'm such a massive worrier and ddog is definitely precious first dog. Hes a retired racing greyhound and his teeth aren't great, he needs them cleaning and is booked in for a scale and polish tomorrow. It needs to be done under general anaesthetic and I'm just really worried about him. I know it needs to be done and he'll probably be fine but I can't stop reading about complications with anaesthetic. It's so stupid!

I don't really know why I'm posting really. Just to vent I suppose and maybe someone can tell me I'm being silly!

My dog is booked in for neutering at the end of the year and I am a little nervous about the anaesthetic but mainly because people have mentioned that it affected their dog with whining and not being themselves afterwards. At my vets you can pay to have blood tests performed prior so they can check their health and determine if anything special needs to be considered for their care which I am going to have done, not sure if you have the option of anything similar.

What complications are you particularly concerned about?

I honestly don't even know! just that I know there are always risks with anesthetic and that greyhounds can be particularly succesptible to them. He's only 4 though and he's healthy. He does have a sensitive stomach so I'm expecting some unpleasant poos afterwards (he'll be on antibiotics for gingivitis too) but I can cope with that.

Hope your dogs neutering goes well bitey.

Hi @Boynamedsue, we also have a rescued ex racing greyhound who needed his teeth cleaned last year, so I completely understand your worries re general anaesthetic given Greys need special consideration. As long as your vet is aware of those needs, I.e a lower dose and not to do it by weight like you would for other breeds then there's no additional risk I believe compared to other dogs. Hope their cleaning goes well and try not to worry! 😊 (Easier said than done I know!) x

Try not to worry, he's young & healthy. Remember that the vet will have done loads of GAs on dogs and will know what they are doing. I'm fairly sure they'll do checks beforehand to make sure he'll cope with the GA & they'll be monitoring him throughout the operation.

I haven't had a dog of mine have a dental under GA yet, but I have on an elderly frail cat & he was absolutely fine and it was worth doing.

It's normal to worry a bit, but I'm sure he'll be fine.

I think the actual risk is very very small especially with healthy dogs but the reason I will opt for the blood test is a bit of reassurance that if he had an underlying health condition I wasn't aware of it that might increase his risk this would be helpful for them to know.

I am sure other than the poos your dog will sail through and have lovely clean teeth after. However, I think it perfectly natural to worry as they mean so much to us.

Thank you, I've spoken to the vet about it, she was lovely and said there is always a risk but they do them all the time.

I'm having a large glass of wine and distracting myself with crap telly. Ddog is snoozing on his bed blissfully unaware of the stress he puts me through!