Hi all. Lacy got spayed last night (8 months old or so) and is really, really lethargic since she got home. She hasn't eaten a bite nor taken a drink of water, and has mostly just laid on her pillow. When we brought her back to the shelter yesterday, she was clearly extremely nervous and scared (we're guessing that we'd leave her there). She was shaking this evening for a while, so my daughter and I laid with her and comforted her.

Any chance that her lethargy/sleepiness is depression or being freaked out? Or might it just be post-op medicinal hangover combined with a night with little sleep in the cold concrete shelter?

 

Don't sweat it Nate. She will be groggy for anything up to 24 hours depending on how quickly her body gets the anaesthetic out of her system.

Keep an eye on her though. When she wakes she may try and pull the stitches out which may need an elizabethan collar to stop.

She's better this morning. Still not quite herself, and she can't make herself poo (she tries), but she is responsive and non-groggy.

natescape:

Hi all. Lacy got spayed last night (8 months old or so) and is really, really lethargic since she got home. She hasn't eaten a bite nor taken a drink of water, and has mostly just laid on her pillow. When we brought her back to the shelter yesterday, she was clearly extremely nervous and scared (we're guessing that we'd leave her there). She was shaking this evening for a while, so my daughter and I laid with her and comforted her.

Any chance that her lethargy/sleepiness is depression or being freaked out? Or might it just be post-op medicinal hangover combined with a night with little sleep in the cold concrete shelter? 

Mostly the latter, probably a little of the former. She's probably grown to be quite fond of her new home, and probably was quite worried that she wasn't going to be going back to your home after you left her at the shelter. That's just part of the sad part about anytime your pet needs surgery - it's pretty obvious when they are worried you're abandoning them. Seems to be especially true of shelter dogs - since they've already been abandoned before.

She will though also be pretty lethargic from the surgery, and the anesthesia gradually wearing off. A little comforting will be good for her.

Yes I can relate, our yellow lab (my avatar, yes she's a bit short-changed on the yellow) was really a sad case of lethargic hangover for the first 24 hrs.  She got a lot better on day 2, maybe about 75% normal, day three maybe 90% alertness back.  Day four she was full alert but still sore and you have to keep them from going full tilt for about 2 weeks if I remember correctly. 

Whatever the vet said, follow it on what to let them do as far as exercise.  We had to keep ours on a leash even in the yard for a while to slow her down.  She really wanted to play frisbee too.

Keep her hydrated too so she doesn't get constipated from the lingering effects of anesthesia.

Hey Nate,

Is Lacy firing on all cylinders again?

 I hope so

Thanks for asking, fluidpower. She's better, although she seems to be having some control issues... pooped yesterday AM (after I had taken her out and she had done it for me) and again in the afternoon for my wife. Not good, but understandable. She;s also been having a hard time listening to commands, but her/our lives have been non-routine lately.