What factors influence dog anesthesia dosage based on weight?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The biggest issue with obesity is stress on the heart and the lungs. Breathing abnormalities while under or in recovery can be huge complications in obese dogs. With that being said I personally do not see higher anesthesia complications in obese dogs over lean dogs. Anesthetic complications are rare and unpredictable and affect all age groups. I hope this helps and I wish you and Maisey the best!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Most vets today will use a "pre-med" (combination of a pain medication and a sedative) which is often a mix of an opioid and a sedative (often hydromorphone and acepromazine, or some mix of this sort), then an "induction agent" which is usually either propofol, alfaxan, ketamine/diazepam, or ketamine/midazolam, and then will use a gaseous inhalent which is pretty much always isoflurane. Any of these drugs are fine, and often the drug that is best is the drug that your vet is most comfortable using. Thiopental is an 'old school drug' which is less favoured compared to these newer drugs, however it can be used completely safely as well. Doing pre-anaesthetic bloodwork will reduce the risks involved by making sure there is no organ dysfunction prior to surgery. I would suggest just asking your vet how the procedure works, and would check about if IV fluids will be used, what monitoring is present, as the monitoring is probably the most important part of a safe anesthetic, more-so than the type of drug that is used. Best of luck with Lucy!

The answer to your questions depend on the health status of the dog and the procedure needed to be done. If the dog is in a good health status, either anesthetic can be fine, even for senior dogs. Only your vet can make the risk assessment for anesthesia.

There are a couple of reasons that they may have delayed Aubree's surgery. Overweight dogs have a lot more fat in their abdomen which makes the spay procedure more difficult. The surgeon today may have felt that the surgeon who is on tomorrow is a better surgeon or may have worried that they didn't have enough time on the schedule today to do both her spay and her dental. Overweight dogs will sometimes need more careful anesthetic monitoring, but that is always part of what we do when a dog is under anesthesia. Although anesthesia always has risks in any dog, we do everything we can to minimize those risks and certainly the health benefits of a spay and a dental cleaning are worth those risks. Remember, they would not have delayed Aubree's procedures unless they felt it was in her best interest, so they will do everything they can to take care of your baby. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and makes you feel better. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Both of these drugs are commonly and safely used in anesthesia for dogs. Often they are combined with other medications or inhaled anesthesia. If you have concerns about anesthesia, I recommend discussing those concerns with Oso's veterinarian. Doing things such as preanesthetic bloodwork and fluid therapy while under anesthesia can help identify or minimize anesthetic risks.

I always recommend lab work. If there is a heart murmur then I recommend either an echo or at minimum chest x-rays. IV fluid therapy, and usually propofol anesthesia induction (but several induction medications are available for geriatric dogs). Of course close monitoring of vitals, an efficient procedure and keeping them nice and warm. We do a lot of geriatric procedures at our practice and very few complication rates. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

In an overweight dog, there is more fat tissue to get through, and within the abdomen there is fat covering everything making it more difficult to see, and slippery to handle the tissues. It is a little more challenging than a spay in a thin dog. If they rescheduled the procedure with a different veterinarian, it is possible that the veterinarian on duty today wanted to make sure she was in more experienced hands. A spay is a very routine procedure, although no surgery is without risk. You should be thankful that the veterinarian today did what was best for Aubree, and I hope everything goes well tomorrow. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.