# Small dog (Papillon) anesthetics question (spaying)



## Papilove (May 20, 2010)

I've never owned a dog that came under a classification that was hard to anesthetize due to size. I've read that Papillons are sensitive to it and it is dangerous, and I'm a bit worried (probably prematurely) about the effects during spaying. I want to get my girl spayed when she's old enough. I've seen a lot of posts where other paps on here have been spayed. Has anyone experienced a problem due to anesthetics?


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## vabird (Jun 5, 2007)

Hi Papilove, I'm a licensed vet tech that has specialized in anesthesia for over 20 years. It is all I do. Calm your fears. Papillons are not sensitive to anesthesia. I know that is the opposite of what you've read on a lot of papillon web sites and may have even been told by your breeder. It is a prevalent but untrue myth that paps are sensitive to anesthesia. They react no differently to the drugs used in anesthesia than any other breed of dog. 

Because they are small they can get cold during surgery just as other small dogs do so it is essential that methods are aggressively used to keep them warm. Other than that, they are no different than any other breed. That being said, there is always a small risk with anesthesia but it is a smaller risk than not spaying your girl. Safe protocols should be used with up to date and constant monitoring. 

You should always feel free to voice your concerns to your vet and comfortable asking questions. If he/she is unable to address your concerns then maybe you need to change vets.


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## Papilove (May 20, 2010)

Thanks for that! The breeder never said anything about it, but I keep reading about small dogs, and Papillons being in there, sensitivity to anesthesia. I'm glad it is not the issue they make it out to be. I've seen a lot of Paps on here who have just been spayed, and they seemed just fine, but you know, if it was a 1 in a 100, ... well, the other 99 have already gone through--you're turn. haha. Really though, I'll talk to my vet about it. I might even just make an appointment with the vet staff at UofI (it's close by, and we used to take our horses there)... if I don't feel comfortable with our local vet doing it.


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

vabird said:


> Hi Papilove, I'm a licensed vet tech that has specialized in anesthesia for over 20 years. It is all I do. Calm your fears. Papillons are not sensitive to anesthesia. I know that is the opposite of what you've read on a lot of papillon web sites and may have even been told by your breeder. It is a prevalent but untrue myth that paps are sensitive to anesthesia. They react no differently to the drugs used in anesthesia than any other breed of dog.
> 
> Because they are small they can get cold during surgery just as other small dogs do so it is essential that methods are aggressively used to keep them warm. Other than that, they are no different than any other breed. That being said, there is always a small risk with anesthesia but it is a smaller risk than not spaying your girl. Safe protocols should be used with up to date and constant monitoring.
> 
> You should always feel free to voice your concerns to your vet and comfortable asking questions. If he/she is unable to address your concerns then maybe you need to change vets.


I honestly don't believe this. 

Papilove, I would contact Laurelin when she gets back from vacation because I am pretty sure that I read something about Summer having a bad reaction to the anesthesia when she had her eye surgery. Take the advice who has a lot of experience with the breed.


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## Papilove (May 20, 2010)

Thanks Boolette. I have lots of time to research it. I'll talk to Laurelin when she's around. (I didn't realize she was on vacation, I thought it was awfully pap quiet around here, lol).


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## grab (Sep 26, 2009)

I have never seen a Pap react badly to anesthesia, which isn't to say it cannot happen, but I've not personally seen it. Ive also not heard it mentioned in any of the anesthesia classes I've been to. We do keep them warm as we do all dogs, particularly small dogs, during surgery. I think many of the reactions are to the injectable anesthetics/sedatives, rather than the gas anesthesia itself. And there are ample ones to choose from. If you are worried, you can always request that your vet induce sedation with gas anesthesia and skip the injectable drugs altogether. 

We do this on elderly dogs or dogs with heart issues, etc so that, if there is an issue, they wake up almost immediately after the gas is shut off. I prefer not to do it with my own pets' surgeries, but it is an option if you are worried.

Sizewise, my little 4 lb poodle (who lacks any bodyfat whatsoever) was recently spayed and had a dental and she came through great


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## Papilove (May 20, 2010)

Thanks Grab. I'm going to talk more with my vet when I take Batty in for shots and there is always U of I, like I said earlier. They have a small animal clinic it's a teaching hospital, and they are an excellent resource. I've never used them for the dogs in the past, but I have used them for the miniature horses we had plenty.


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## vabird (Jun 5, 2007)

This is an excellent article about papillon anesthesia that also applies to all breeds and dogs. It appears on the national papillon club website.

http://www.papillonclub.org/index.p...-papillons&catid=59:health-articles&Itemid=99

Nowhere does it mention any anesthesia sensitivity in papillons. It also discusses the use of gas only, something I do everything I can to avoid. Gas is the most hypotensive agent we use. We use other drugs in order to reduce the amount of gas that is necessary.


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## Mr. V (Jan 28, 2010)

BooLette said:


> I honestly don't believe this.
> 
> Papilove, I would contact Laurelin when she gets back from vacation because I am pretty sure that I read something about Summer having a bad reaction to the anesthesia when she had her eye surgery. Take the advice who has a lot of experience with the breed.


Why would one case of "bad reaction" in one individual warrant the spreading of a myth about an entire breed?

This is a myth.

The only validated "sensitivities" to anesthesia that I've ever encountered are for sight hounds. And this doesn't even apply to all anesthetics. Just the ones that rely on tissue redistribution and do not undergo complete hepatic metabolism.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Actually I have heard many places they are sensitive to anesthesia but I couldn't validate them either. I'd have to read more. I'm paranoid and I do all the lab work possible before putting them under just to play it safe. I haven't had a problem with a spay yet.

Summer did have a bad reaction to Propofol when she had her surgery. It is really an unusual situation and probably an isolated thing. She underwent two surgeries (one emergency) in a day and the second one cause her to have seizures and therefore she wasn't able to be operated on that day.


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