When you take your dog in to the animal hospital for surgery, your mind is likely on nothing more than your dog making it through surgery successfully. However, once your dog is through surgery and in recovery to come out of anesthesia, your thoughts likely shift to what you can do to ensure that they heal as quickly and successfully. Get to know some of the steps that you should take after your dog has surgery to be sure that they make it home safely and are on the fastest road to recovery possible.
Be Careful When You Greet Them.
You will likely be very anxious to get your dog home from the animal hospital as quickly as possible after they are awake from anesthesia. However, you will need to be aware of a few important things when you pick them up and transport them.
Minimizing your dog's excitement when you greet them at the animal hospital is important. Because they just had surgery, your dog will have sutures that could rip if they begin jumping or running around when they are excited to see you. Crouch down to their eye level when they greet you so they do not jump, and do your best to keep them as calm as possible.
Control The Trip To The Car And Home
Once you get to the car, you will also need to be careful. Your dog may try to jump right into your car on their own and may injure themselves or rip their stitches. Additionally, although they are awake, your dog may still be affected by anesthesia and may have problems like bumping into objects, stumbling, and even jumping into a closed car door. Proceed with caution and if possible, carry your dog to the car.
If you can, take someone with you to pick your dog up from the vet so they can sit with your dog on the ride home. This will help to keep your dog calm in the car and prevent them from more stumbling and further opportunities to injure themselves or rip stitches.
Keep Them Calm At Home
For the first several hours and even days following your dog's surgery, an important element of their recovery is rest and relaxation. As such, you will need to do what you can to keep them calm at home.
If you have children, you will need to ask them to leave the dog alone and refrain from running around when your dog is in the room. Your dog may want to join in with the kids and derail their healing. Keep the lights dim and curtains drawn in the rooms the dog is resting in to maximize their relaxation. As the days pass, you will notice your dog has more and more energy. This is good, but you will still need to make sure they are not overdoing it.
For more information, contact Stroudsburg Animal Hospital or a similar location.
