# My dog is listless, whimpering, and depressed a day after dental cleaning.



## Sharona (Feb 23, 2013)

Hi everyone.. I have an 8 year old pitbull/bulldog mix that I took in to have her teeth cleaned yesterday. She is an indoor dog and normally a happy, alert dog. Her recent blood work was all ok. Since I travel between two states, this was a new vet. This is a high-end and well known vet in the area with a good reputation and reviews. I wanted to take advantage of February being canine dental month and won't be back to my home until March. She was given Isoflorane, and then Torbugesic(?) for pain. She had no extractions or anything other than cleaning her teeth. 

When I brought her home, she was very listless, which I expected from the experience, so I put her on the bed and kept her warm and comfortable. She didn't move much, or eat or drink for most of yesterday. In the middle of the night she woke me up whining, which just is not normal for this dog. She was absolutely depressed but did not seem in any physical distress. I gave her a chlorhexadine rawhide piece to chew on to see if her teeth were sore and evidently they weren't because she had no problem chewing it. I felt all around her to see if she was favoring anything and she wasn't. It was a very rough night for both of us. 

This morning she seemed more active and drank plenty of water, and urinated normally, but didn't feel like eating much more than a few goodies. Now it is the next night following the dental work and while she had more energy today, she is still whimpering a little and seems very depressed. She looks at me and cries. I read some other threads about this kind of behavior after anesthesia/dental work and am hoping she pulls out of this soon as the other dogs did. She is still guarding the house and barking at any strange sounds, but is once again laying on the couch asleep, with occasional whimpering. I didn't take her back to the vet today because other than the whimpering and depression, she is way more active than yesterday. I don't want to traumatize her by taking her back there unless this doesn't stop. I feel like this did something to her brain because this is not her normal behavior. I am hoping beyond hope that it's just taking a little longer for everything to wear off, and unless she shows some signs of physical distress, I'm going to believe this will eventually wear off and I will have my dog back. I'm starting to believe that dental work and anesthesia is very traumatic for some dogs and don't think I'm going to make this an annual thing. If you have any advice or input I'd be very grateful to hear it. If she isn't back to normal by Monday I'm taking her back in. The waiting is driving me crazy. I just want my dog back.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Anesthesia can do a real number on anyone. Makes you feel crummy and foggy in the head. So I'd give her another day, maybe 2, and if she isn't feeling better by then call the vet. But for now I'd just say it's probably normal.

My mom's cat took 3 days to recover from her dental.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

My dog had Torb and was like that for 2 days. Give her another day to recover. The whining drove me nuts!


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

I know myself, when I go under I have anger management issues and throw stuff at the tv for 3 days, while crying at roomates and refuse to walk/stand up on my own the entire first day....it was a minor dental surgery where I had to be put under. 

Everyone is different


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## Sharona (Feb 23, 2013)

All, thanks for helping me out. Now it's Monday night and she seems back to normal again. I'll tell you, this scared me to death. I was afraid I was going to lose her. I had no idea how this affects some dogs and wonder why they do it? Is it from fear? Is it just an involuntary physical response? I thought she would perk right up that first evening but this went on right through two full days. I was beating myself up feeling so guilty putting her through it, thinking I was doing the right thing, only to cause her so much grief. I really wish the vet would have told me that some dogs can take days to recover and not to be alarmed if she doesn't stop whining, that the dog will appear to be in distress, but it is just some kind of reaction. As well as what I could do that might help her recover. One doesn't know if the dog is in pain or not and I was wondering why they didn't give me some pain meds for her? I hate seeing anything in pain or distress. Both this dog and I went through some serious stress with me wondering if I should rush her to the emergency vet or what because I was ready if she hadn't started coming around. I thought I was going to need a doctor too. I hope anyone who goes through this with their dog will see these postings and not be as alarmed as I was. Really glad to have my happy dog back!


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

You might want to look into giving raw meaty bones once a week to clean her teeth. It helps you avoid needing dental cleanings. Knuckle bones work well. It's the scraping of their teeth on it, and pulling at the sinews/meat that clean them. There are quite a few threads on here about them. Just search "Raw bones"


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