Dog gravely ill after neuter surgery and shots?

Question

I adopted 2 puppies from my local shelter in November 2006. The are now 6 months old and had their spay and neuter surgery last thursday. My male dog is not recovering well and I can see that he is diminishing rather quickly. He is lethargic, will not eat, only will drink water and later vomit or expell foul watery stool. Ive had him back to the vets and they did numerous tests and x rays and everything shows negative. I am ready to have him put down because he is clearly ill and the vets are just scratching their heads. Is it possible for him to have a reaction to the rabies vacination or something associated with the surgery? Of course, the vet says no, but my gut is telling me yes.

parvo was the first tested for, then the stool sample, x ray, blood test taken, and about 6 other diseases possible were checked for. Nothing turned up. Blood tests was "out of whack" possibly due to his vomiting.

Early this morning, Buster passed away peacefully while being cradled in my arms. I am very sad, and I thank you all for your input.

Answer 1

Please bear in mind that I am answering more from an emotional point of view, but do what most of the others have said. Try to give your "little one" some more time, use an eye dropper to force feed, use Pedialite, DEFINITELY, get another vet's opinion. It is possible that he is having a reaction to the surgery and drugs especially because of his age.
Please, please, give it more time and use the positive advice of the other people answering.
I've seen it happen before where a very, very ailing animal will recover and be the best pet for which anyone could ask.

Answer 2

This is not an allergic reaction to the anesthesia or surgery (that would have happened at the time or shortly afterwards) or vaccines (vaccine reactions are usually minutes to hours afterwards, not days, and the symptoms are not the same). It is unlikely that the surgery site was infected, but possible (called scirrhous cord, but more common in horses). If the incision is red, swollen, or oozing or falling apart, then its infected, and YOU would be able to SEE it. Also your vet probably did blood work-serious infection would manifest as an elevated white blood cell count, and most non-vets or doctors would know this. Hence probably not associated with surgery/infection. Have your vet check his sodium and potassium levels, as a disease called addisons can cause vomiting and collapse. However, your dog could have parvo, distemper or giardia OR some 'wierd' metabolic or genetic disease.

Answer 3

I'd say it's worth getting a second opinion if you are feeling that something is wrong after the surgery. At least you will have peace of mind in knowing whether or not it has anything to do with that.
Giardia is pretty common in pound puppies. Sometimes it is not so easy to detect. Ask your Vet about giving him some pumpkin pie filling for the upset stomach. He could be having a reaction to several things. Shots and surgery for one, new environment, if you started him on a new food, that can really mess up some dog's systems if food is not gradually changed.
Don't put him down! This sounds like something that will pass but may need medication.
Also, is there anything he might have eaten or any plants in your yard or house he may have chewed on that could make him sick?

Answer 4

Go to another vet! I had a similar problem when I had my old Newfoundland neutered. First off they gave him too much anesthesia, then his incision got infected and let off a very foul smell. It's probably an infection from the neutering! Good Luck! Hopefully with some antibiotics and a new vet your dog will be 100% better.

Answer 5

Our vet told us that some dogs do have awful allergic reactions to certain shots. Listen to your gut. Vets make mistakes. I would definitely get a second vet’s opinion before making the decision to put him down.

Answer 6

My vet will not give shots to dogs if they are having surgery or if they are ill. I don't know how close the shots were to the surgery but it could be the problem. He will not give my dog her shots even close to having her teeth cleaned. Go to Another Vet.

Answer 7

Yes, it is very possible for a dog or cat to have a reaction to vaccines. My Weimeraner had a reaction to his first vaccines. Go online and search for adverse vaccine reactions for dogs. You will be surprised. More and more newly graduated vets are very careful about vaccinating dogs. Many do not think that yearly vaccines are called for.

Answer 8

My brother's Australian Shepherd got very sick and lethargic after he was neutered. I don't think he got quite as sick as you are describing or for as long but he did get sick also. My suggestion would be to take him to another vet to try to figure out what is wrong before making the decision to put him down.

You will want to feed the real pumpkin, not the pie filling. It will be right beside the filling but make sure it says real pumpkin.

Answer 9

I love dogs. I'm so sorry for the poor little pooch. I think they should check his incision again for infection. Did they try antibiotics? Poor baby. Try not to take it too hard if you lose him. At least he had love. You did a good deed by adopting him and gave him a better life than he would have had otherwise.

Answer 10

Yes, in a similar way to humans or any living creature he can have a bad reaction, he can also be allergic to the anesthetic. Try to feed him peadialite from the pharmacy, it is for babies that cannot keep anything down, I used it on my cat who was sick from smoke inhalation, I had to force feed. Also regulate his temperature, keep him cool. I work in a hospital and we have people come through with different allegies to meds all the time, the flu vaccine, antibiotis etc.