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A vet administering anaesthesia to a dog using a vaporiser.
Anaesthesia has not only revolutionised human medicine but also veterinary practice. Today, it makes it possible to perform more significant procedures on animals. However, anaesthetic agents can pose a health risk to patients, including dogs. Therefore, it’s important for you to be familiar with the pros and cons of anaesthesia in dogs.
Anaesthesia inherently carries risks to your dog’s health. No matter how fit and healthy your furry friend is before the procedure, complications can sometimes occur that can be fatal in the worst-case scenario.
For this reason, it’s extremely important to use anaesthesia only when necessary. Many dog owners choose to have additional treatments, such as dental scaling, done during a necessary procedure to avoid a second anaesthetic use.
How Does Anaesthesia in Dogs Work?
Before any anaesthesia, a detailed owner interview and clinical examination must be carried out. This helps rule out potential heart diseases or other underlying conditions. Additionally, it’s important to know whether the dog about to undergo surgery has any liver or kidney issues, which can be detected with a blood test.
Depending on the reason for the use of anaesthesia, further preliminary examinations may be needed. In cases of joint or bone problems, often an x-ray or ultrasound is performed.
Here’s how the anaesthesia process can look:
Induction: Once all preparations are complete and you have been informed about the risks, your vet can begin the anaesthetic process. The steps involved depend on the type of anaesthesia chosen.
Surgery: Once induction is successful, the vet continuously monitors your dog’s condition. Vital parameters such as breathing, heart function, and body temperature are regularly checked. It’s also important to ensure your dog is positioned correctly and the heating pad is set appropriately.
Waking up: As the surgery comes to an end, your vet prepares for your dog’s wake-up phase. They may need to administer a drug to reverse the effects of the anaesthetic agent.
While your dog is under anaesthesia, you can take the opportunity to have their teeth treated at the same time.
What Types of Anaesthesia Are Available for Dogs? A Comparison of Anaesthesia Methods
Vets distinguish between three different types of anaesthesia:
Injection anaesthesia
Inhalation anaesthesia
Total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA)
Each method has its advantages and disadvantages summarised below.
Injection anesthesia
Depending on the agent, the vet administers the anaesthetic to your dog via an injection under the skin, into the muscle, or vein. If the drug is directly injected into the bloodstream, it enters the body more quickly, so the effect occurs sooner.
To handle the drug more easily, many vets place a venous catheter – this allows them to quickly administer additional medication like pain relief or a new dose of the anaesthetic during the surgery.
Advantages: Injected anaesthesia is less expensive and usually adequate for minor procedures.
Disadvantages: Injected anaesthetic agents have to be metabolised by the liver and then excreted by the kidneys. This process takes time, which can make dogs wake up confused.
Inhalation Anesthesia
The inhalation method is considered the gentlest and safest form of anaesthesia. An apparatus, called a vaporiser, is used to convert the liquid anaesthetic into a gaseous state.
Your vet then directs the anaesthetic gas, usually a mixture of Isoflurane with oxygen, via your dog’s respiratory tract into its body, typically through a mask, an induction box, or through a tube intubated through the trachea.
Advantages: The anaesthetist can control the depth of the anaesthesia during the procedure and can terminate the anaesthesia prematurely in an emergency. Also, dogs usually wake up from the anaesthetic in about an hour and tend to be less confused upon waking, finding their bearings more quickly.
Disadvantages: Inhalation anaesthesia is often more complex and more costly than injected anaesthesia, which means not every veterinary practice offers this method.
Total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA)
For TIVA, your veterinarian will insert a venous catheter through which he will administer short-acting anesthetics to the dog. Propofol is often used in combination with other active ingredients.
Advantages: Similar to inhalation anaesthesia, TIVA is very easy to control. Infusion pumps and syringe pumps also make handling easier.
Disadvantages: TIVA is one of the more expensive anaesthesia methods for dogs. In addition, not every practice offers this anaesthesia.
How Do I Prepare My Dog for Surgery with Anaesthesia?
Preoperative and postoperative care significantly influence the risk of complications during a procedure involving anaesthesia in dogs. Therefore, you must follow your vet’s instructions. The following points can also serve as a guide.
1. Preparation for Anaesthesia
Do not feed your dog for at least 12 to 15 hours before anaesthesia. This fasting is crucial because the swallowing reflex is turned off during anaesthesia. If food is still present in your dog’s stomach, it could choke on it while falling asleep or waking up. In the worst case, food remnants in the lungs can cause a dangerous pneumonia.
It’s also helpful if your dog has the chance to empty its bowels and bladder before the operation. However, avoid your dog overexerting itself before the procedure as this can impact its circulation.
2. Post-Anaesthesia Care for Your Dog
Many complications can occur after anaesthesia. So, remain vigilant even after the procedure. Give your dog plenty of time to recover from the anaesthesia. Cancel meetings with other dogs during this recovery period and provide your dog with plenty of fresh drinking water.
If your dog is chilled, offer it a heating pad or a hot water bottle. However, ensure they aren’t too hot (maximum 40°C), to avoid the risk of serious burns.
What Are the Risks of Anaesthesia in Dogs?
Anaesthesia always poses a health risk to your dog. Complications that can occur during or after the anaesthesia include:
Breath depression
Hypotension (low blood pressure)
Cardiac arrhythmias
As a result, your vet always prepares medications such as antiarrhythmics, blood pressure stabilisers, and circulatory support, as well as other aids like ventilators or oxygen supply, which can save your dog’s life in such cases.
However, if cardiac or respiratory arrest is imminent, even many aids and resuscitative efforts can sometimes tragically not help. It is therefore very important to understand that anaesthesia always carries a certain risk of death.
Risk Patients: Anaesthesia in Older Dogs and Puppies
The risks of anaesthesia depend on various factors, including the age and general condition of your dog. Underlying diseases, especially those affecting the heart, can increase the anaesthetic risk.
This is because these factors influence essential body functions. For instance, anaesthetic agents have a stronger effect on older dogs than middle-aged dogs.
How Much Does Anaesthesia Cost for a Dog?
Since the cost of anaesthesia depends on factors such as your dog’s size, the length of the procedure, and the type of anaesthesia, it’s difficult to estimate the costs without specific information. In the UK, the cost of anaesthesia tends to be included in the overall price of the surgery being carried out, but always consult with your vet regarding your dog’s specific case.
How Much Does a Dental Cleaning Under Anaesthesia Cost for a Dog?
The induction of anaesthesia and monitoring during and after the anaesthesia can add up to a considerable sum. If you want to have an additional procedure performed during this time, the bill will increase. For example, the cost of cleaning a dog’s teeth under anaesthesia can average around £200 to £400 extra.
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Franziska G., Veterinarian
At the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen I was extensively trained as a veterinarian and was able to gain experience in various fields such as small animal, large animal and exotic animal medicine as well as pharmacology, pathology and food hygiene.
Since then, I have been working not only as a veterinary author, but also on my scientifically driven dissertation. My goal is to better protect animals from pathogenic bacterial organisms in the future.
Besides my veterinary knowledge, I also share my own experiences as a happy dog owner and can thus understand and enlighten fears and problems as well as other important questions about animal health.
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