Why is my dog sleeping so much after a recent dental procedure?

Sometimes after dental extractions they can develop a connection between the nasal and oral cavities called a fistula. This can allow oral cavity food, bacteria, saliva, etc. to enter the nose which can sometimes lead to these signs. Often times there may be nasal discharge as well. As well there are other post anesthesia problems that can occur less frequently. Since this sounds like a notable change post dental i would have it evaluated by your family vet. They can look at the extraction sites and do a thorough oral exam (sedation likely required) as well as check for normal airflow via the nose and normal airway function. If you think the sleeping a lot is new as well then this could be related or some other issue. Rechecking some bloodwork will likely be recommended as he is an older pet that underwent anesthesia. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I wouldn't be too concerned at this point if the dental was only just done today. Your dog underwent a pretty significant procedure and may not be the same for a couple of days. Give the pain medication as directed by your veterinarian unless your dog vomits again. If this is the case, call your vet about switching to something else. Post-anesthetic nausea is not uncommon so you might consider giving some pepsid or prilosec if you have any around the house. Hope this helps.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Matilda! I am not familiar with using a tube in the nose to deliver oxygen and anesthetic gas for dentals or surgery. We use endotracheal tubes down their throats for this. It sounds like Matilda has irritation from the tube most likely or she has an infection. Just make sure she is breathing normally to be sure her heart and lungs are ok. If she has a history of a heart murmur a recheck with your Vet may be the best thing. Irritation from the tracheal tube should resolve on it's own in a week, getting better each day. If she has kennel cough she may need an antibiotic or something to help with the cough. I recommend calling your Vet today to discuss her symptoms and see if they can prescribe something to give her some relief that you can pick it up. They may want to see her first though. I hope this helps! Good luck!

It depends quite a bit on what drugs and doses were used for anesthesia, so unfortunately it's difficult to give a good answer to this question without being able to look at his medical record. But in general, for most anesthetic procedures, it's not uncommon for many dogs to remain somewhat groggy or drowsy for up to 12 hours or so afterwards - my rule of thumb for owners at our clinic is that their pet should be acting normal again by the following morning, but not to worry overly much if they are a bit sleepy or "off" for the rest of the afternoon or evening after going home. However, the pet should be able to get up and walk around, eat and drink without problems, etc. - if they are groggy to the point of being unresponsive or unable to stand, this is not normal. If you are concerned about Falkor, the safest course of action would be to call your vet's office and describe how he is currently acting - they should be able to tell you if this is reasonable, based on their anesthesia protocol. If he is unresponsive, having difficulty swallowing, or seems to be getting worse over time, I would take him back to your vet or your nearest emergency clinic to be checked.

Eddie's trachea could be irritated from the ET tube used during the dental procedure. Keep a close eye on him, and if this continues over the next 24 hours or he has trouble breathing, take him into a vet immediately. Best of luck.

Hello and thank you very much for reaching out to us. Yes, I do believe you should contact the vet and take her back in to get a recheck appointment. Because a dental cleaning was performed, I would have the veterinarian pay particular attention to the teeth and make certain that there aren’t any problems post cleaning. In addition, I would also have the veterinarian possibly run a blood CBC chemistry profile just to make certain that all of the internal organs are functioning correctly. Thanks a lot for your question. I hope I have helped.

If there are no other signs (like coughing retching or sneezing and others) this is not usually a very clinically significant symptom. In case other signs are present as well, an upper respiratory tract infection/inflammation could be present.