Very worried about my other dog!

[shockinblue]

Hello, this is the first time I've mentioned this, but I actually have more than one dog. My other dog, which is my dad's, is a cocker spaniel mix. 4 years old. Male.

He was neutered the same day as Jack. However, his recovery is odd. It's been two weeks now. His cone has been taken off, he doesn't lick at the wound, but I've very worried for various reasons:

- his surgical site had been bleeding a bit here and there for the first few days after his surgery. It has stopped recently

- he drinks water and will go out to pee, but he will not eat his food by himself

- for the first few days he ate with a little help (the cone was a bit big), then we had to switch to hand-feeding, and then these past two days he's just been refusing his food

- he mostly lies down in his crate and sleeps, or he'll be in a lie down position and watch whatever's going on in the house

And I'm concerned because before his surgery, his was always barking like crazy at anyone who came up to the door, rang the doorbell, or walked into our house. He even growled at squirrels in the backyard! He was just so... energetic and fuelled by his hormones. But now his barking is lesser, quieter, and he doesn't respond the same as before. I wasn't expecting such a drastic change.

My dad said he'd take him to the vet on Monday, but I was just wondering if anyone else on the forum could tell me what's possibly going on with my other dog. I'm just hoping he's as healthy as he could be. Way before his surgery I've noticed things - like he'd lick his bum a lot, and after switching him to ToTW which Jack is also on, his poop came out in solid balls/drops instead of logs. And it was never much despite eating 1 cup. He used to be on Beneful.

[Removed #5]

Seepage from a spay / neuter isn't too unusual. So I wouldn't be too concerned about that and since you said it's not any more it sounds like that's healing nicely.

All that I've had done have bounced back to something resembling their "normal" personality within a week or so, so I'd be concerned as well - especially since you say he's not eating. At surgery plus two weeks he should be back on normal diet - or real close.

Let us know what you find out Monday, eh??

[sutsibe]

I'd be concerned enough to make sure that he does make that Monday appointment, but not enough to get him in on an emergency basis, unless he suddenly seems worse or like he's running a fever. In rare cases, the anesthesia can have unusual effects for quite a while after, and this could be the case (maybe). It's also possible that the fact that he's an older dog has had some effect, here - it IS a more difficult surgery for an older dog than for a young pup. Best have a vet evaluate him, and go from there.

It would be usual for him to produce less stool on TOTW than on Beneful - there's much more grain in Beneful, which would produce a lot more waste product (logs, rather than balls/drops). Was his stool softer when he was on the Beneful? That might be a reason he licked his bum more then - Cockers often have anal gland problems, as I recall, and a firmer stool would tend to empty the anal glands more effectively!

[shockinblue]

Here's an update.

The vet took him in and did a culture, etc, etc. Put him under anaesthesia, and then went to work. He called later and said he removed the dead tissue, cleansed the site and dosed it with strong anti-biotics. He didn't notice anything wrong the scrotum or anything like that, but there were two caverns in the poor boy from the infection. Vet said it might have been from an infected towel clamp during the neuter surgery prep.

But he came out of this current surgery just fine, he's all patched up now. He's been given pain meds and anaesthesia, and aside from the incision there's a hole in the ends of the incision with a tube for the body to expel the remaining pus and gucky stuff. He's staying overnight at the vets, and according to the vet, Max looks happy - like he's had 4 bottles of whisky. Lols.

[Removed #5]

WE cross our fingers and paws and pray!! You say he looks happy, that's better than most of mine have after being spayed / neutered - most of them look like they're still working on that fifth!!!

Keep us up on how he's doing, eh??

[shockinblue]

This morning the vet called and said Max was fine, and ate his meal all good. I went to pick him up at 6, and he was just super excited to leave the place - ignored me the first time too and headed straight for the door. Then again, I was never really his favourite person. That and his bangs are so long, I barely remember him having eyebrows!

Anyways. He comes home, goes straight to the backyard to do his business. Drinks a little bit of water, but totally ignores his food.

Fine. I grab some plain yogurt and coat his meal portion after portion. Compared to the first time he's refused his food, this time he ate 3/4 of his meal provided that it was coated in yogurt. All right.

Now the next problem is. Either a) it's because he's on antibiotics - which the vet said could cause him to lose his appetite, or my dog just isn't interested in Taste of the Wild anymore. He used to be on Beneful. Then we changed to Blue Buffalo. And then after getting him the salmon flavoured bag, he stopped eating it as much. Then we switched him over to ToTW and he was okay. And then this surgery hits and he rejects his food again. Perhaps I should just go back to Beneful?

Either way he's got the cone on and some kind of drainage tube stuck in him to get rid of all the last of the nasty stuff. He won't be back at the vet's till Friday for a check up on that tube.

[Siberian Shadow]

Really glad the vet has sorted out the infection,always better to get them checked out as infections can become life threatening if they escalate.

His appetite could be affected by the anaesthetic but you say he has eaten more than before,so that's an improvement.

It can also play havoc with a dogs digestive system to frequently change their food,especially when he is feeling so sensitive at the moment.

I'm sure his appetite will pick up when the medication wears off and he is feeling more like himself.

[sutsibe]

Beneful has a number of things added to it to make it more tasty, such as sugar, and the ingredients are not nearly as good as the TOTW or Blue Buffalo. I haven't found a healthy dog yet that will starve itself, although quite a few more will hold out for something they think tastes better - kind of like a kid preferring Twinkies to broccoli. Additionally, looking at the ingredients in one of the Beneful foods (Beneful® Healthy Fiesta Dry Dog Food | Beneful®), I noticed that one of the ingredients is actually Propylene glycol - antifreeze! - which is poisonous (and has a sweet taste, which dogs and cats often like)!