My Dog Is Anxious After Surgery. Now What?

First of all, be happy with your dog's successful surgery. Anxiety, stress, and restlessness are apparent after surgery. It’s painful for us as dog parents to see our dogs in pain, but it’s time to be strong enough to help your dog fight this stress.

It's the stress of not going out of home, not playing, not jumping, and no chasing. But following this restriction is crucial for quick recovery.

Most the parents ask the question; My Dog Is Anxious after Surgery. What Now?

Providing medication is not the end of the story; you will have to spend quality time with your pup. Leaving your dog alone in its low time is the biggest mistake by parents.

For the sake of your help, we approached the FREE EBOOK Relieve stress and anxiety in your dog to serve you with a guide.

The specific guide will cover the tips or ways to reduce dog stress after surgery.

Let me start this guide with a clear point: dog owners should not select random sites or companies to get dog products. Many sites offer wrong products and information because their concern is to earn money without even considering the dog's health.

The cup game

This can be a great time to play new games with your darling pup without even putting it into jumping or running. What about the cup game?

With limited mobility, cup games or puzzle games are the perfect options. Hide a trim and healthy treat under the cups and let your dog find it under each cup. Give the joy when they pick up the right cup and hide again at picking the wrong one. This sort of game not just keeps your dog busy but also improves cognitive abilities.

You can start this game with one or two cups. When you feel the dog has mastered this, continue playing with 3 cups in total. Let your dog smell the treat before you hide it under the cup.

Praise your dog with each correct guess. In this way, your pup will keep playing without getting bored.

Puzzle games

Interactive puzzle games are effective in stimulating the pup's mind. Visit the dog store and bring the best puzzles according to your dog’s breed.

Even you can do puzzles out of the old muffin box. Use the lightweight tennis balls to hide treats and let your dog find them. Again, the find and eat game will improve your pup's problem-solving skills.

In this way, you can keep your dog busy and not get stressed after surgery.

Dispensing toys

Dispensing toys is healthy playing because you can scarf down the treat in them. Filling the butter or peanut butter into the dispensing toys is another mentally stimulating activity.

According to the EBook, serve your dog with treat-dispensing toys instead of simple chewing toys.

If your pup is new to these toys, teach them proper use. Try providing toys under your supervision. Also, keep in mind to count calories to ensure you are not exceeding the limit. Extra calories are restricted for the dogs after surgery because they may gain weight which further causes health issues in the future. The additional amount of fats in the body may slow down the recovery process.

Massage

Never underestimate the power of a massage. Massage is always the tip when it’s about coping with some dog issue. Massage helps your dog to calm down and reduce the feeling of pain in stitches. Along with massage, let your dog sleep peacefully after surgery.

A nice massage keeps your dog calm, improves blood circulation, and speeds up recovery. Massage is the most simple and effective way to reduce stress and anxiety after surgery.

Use of relaxing scent

Scents provide a soothing feeling to pups when inhaled. Proper use of smell is the best way to mental stimulation the dog.

Dogs are the world's best sniffers, so let’s serve their sense of smell with refreshing and relaxing scents. Go ahead with dog-friendly fragrances rather than diffusing human-oriented essential oils.

Relaxing music

Like soothing scents, relaxing music is another option to reduce stress in dogs after surgery. You can’t play puzzles or cup games for the entire day. So, try soothing music into the routine of your darling pup. These kinds of music will let your dog sleep peacefully by reducing stress and restlessness.

FAQs related to Dog surgery

Do dogs get stressed after surgery?

Yes, dogs suffer from stress and depression after surgery. The restrictions over jumping, playing, and chasing are the additional reasons they get stressed even after minor surgery.

In how many days do dogs recover from minor surgery?

After Minor surgery such as castration, it may take 1 or 2 weeks to recover your dog completely. The recovery time is dependent on the care and food of your dog. If you are regular in providing medication and healthy meals, it may recover in a week.

How to reduce stress in dogs after surgery?

There are multiple ways when it’s about reduce stress in dogs. The most effective methods are spending quality time, playing puzzle games, cup games, and serving your dog with a nice view. Nose jobs, soothing music, and diffusing a dog's familiar scent may also help your dog fight stress.

To wrap it up

You may notice anxiety in your dog even when there is no pain after surgery. It’s because your pup is not allowed to go out and play its games. Being in the home for the whole day is the most boring stuff for your dog, due to which it may get stressed. Therefore, it’s highly recommended to spend time with your pup and involve it in fun games at home. It can be the best time to train your dog about nose jobs and improve its learning skills.