My dog can't pee or poop and tail won't move after surgery. Why?

If the area is too swollen for him to urinate (ie the urine cannot be evacuated through the opening prepared by the surgery), then this needs to be rechecked by your veterinarian. He could also withhold urinating due to pain, so make sure you give him the pain medication given to you for him by the vet , or get some from the vet for a few days. Any movement, including pressing to poop, probably hurts, so Ginger may try to avoid eliminating. Again, pain medicine is necessary to help him eliminate without fear and pain. Food wise, I suggest you feed him the food he is used to, do not abruptly changed his diet. If Ginger does not urinate within another 23 hrs, it is an emergency and he must be seen by the vet.

Please contact your vets office to discuss her progress as without a full history of all of her injuries and wounds, how much she ate or drank when she was in the clinic and how well she had been toileting before she went home it is impossible to guess whether this is expected or if it is a set back from how well she had been doing. Tehy may need to adjust her pain medications, or assist her either with enemas or manual expression of the bladder which would require an extended hospital stay until she is more stable or they may be able to demnostrate some handling and exercises to help support her balance and encourage her to toilet normally

Poor Lucky! My biggest concern is how much pain he may be in and whether anything else was injured during the incident when his tail was broken. You can try to give him some canned pumpkin to help make it easier for him to have a bowel movement. For his size, I would give about 1 teaspoon twice a day. A broken tail really shouldn't affect how he urinates especially since he is a male. Unfortunately, there aren't any good over the counter meds to give to help with pain as most are toxic to dogs. You can read this article on aspirin and decide whether it is safe to give to him. I would definitely go on the low end of the dose if you decide to give it. Ultimately, if he isn't improving, I would strongly recommend to have your vet take a look at him to ensure nothing else is going on and to get him started on the proper pain meds to help him feel better. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/aspirin/

I'm sorry to hear that Mayhem hasn't been feeling well. The signs that you describe - reluctance to use stairs, pain on manipulation of the tail, not pooping (likely due to pain while posturing/squatting), lethargy, and a decreased appetite - are all most suspicious for a sign of back pain. This could be a result of a soft tissue injury while playing, intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), fibrocartilaginous emboli (FCE), among others. Regardless of the cause, it sounds as though Mayhem is quite painful and would greatly benefit from an urgent trip to the vet for an exam and pain medications. Do not give any pain medications at home (including aspirin), and only give medications prescribed by his vet as most human pain medications are not safe for use in dogs. I hope that he feels better soon!

Hello and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern! After any surgery involving the GI tract, some bleeding can be normal. I would expect this to lessen and resolve after a week or so. If the bleeding becomes more pronounced or Scooby does not appear to be doing well, I would get him to your vet for a recheck as soon as possible. You should also periodically check his gum color. The gums should be nice and pink. If the gums are pale or pale pink, I would get him seen by your vet sooner rather than later. Please let me know if you have any other questions concerns. I am also available via consultation

I'm also concerned that Diseal has not urinated or passed stool since Wednesday. The biggest concern of that is the not urinating. I think it's best you take him into a vet immediately to get checked out. Please take him to his vet now. Best of luck.

It sounds like Moose may have some gastro-intestinal upset. You didn't mention vomiting-- If there's been no vomiting then that is good. However, decreased appetite and the loose stools are concerning. When the colon (large intestine) is inflamed, sometimes they feel like they need to poop even though there isn't anything more coming out. As for what may be causing the GI upset, it could be gastroenteritis which is inflammation of the stomach and or intestines-- this could be from eating something out of the ordinary such as getting into the garbage or eating mulch, etc, or it may be secondary to anything from kidney disease to cancer. I don't see Moose's age listed; if he is older, the concern that there is a more serious underlying problem is higher. If he is a younger dog, gastroenteritis is more likely. Since he seems lethargic, I strongly recommend that you take him in to the vet at your first convenience. If the lethargy is getting worse, or if he starts vomiting or having blood in the stool or vomit, seek emergency care. If you are unable to take him to the vet, you can offer a bland diet (boiled chicken and white rice) for a couple of days and see if that helps. If it is not improving, please get him in for an exam. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!