Cystotomy recovery question.

Question
Hi Becky, I just wanted to warn you this is a long message, but I want to make sure you have all the information.

Well my dog, Stanley, just got a Cystotomy to remove bladder stones last Thursday. This is the second time we discovered stones in him, but the first time he was operated to remove. Stan is a Chihuahua, 3 years old (just turned 3 in December) and is a healthy ahnd ahppy puppy, aside from having those stones.

Now, I was just wondering what we can do to ease the recovery or something... He does not seem well at all, and I'm just wondering if it's normal...

Now, he has not eaten since Wednesday night, as he was submitted to a fasting befor ethe operation. He was back home on Friday afternoon, as the vet wanted to keep him for observations. Since being home he has not eaten and will not drink of his own will, we use a seringe to feed him water, as fluids are important for any kind of patien... (My mom is a nurse and so she knew that was something he needed).

Energy level, as you can guess, is virtually non-existant and he is extremely weak. He cannot jump or even run, though this could be attributed to the pain from the operation, I'm sure.

He is still peeing blood, which the doctor said is more than probable, however he is strainig to urinate and does not pee more than he did when the stones were in there, which again could be attributed to pain, but he just dribbles a drop or so.

His wound is healing well, it is a little red but the swelling went down. He seems more perky but will still not eat. Plus his breathing his abnormal, at times, as is his heartbeat.

The doctor did not prescribe any analgestics, and only gave us antibiotics that he takes daily, but he won't crunch them, so we have to crush it and mix it in water and insert with a seringe.

Also, he was vomiting once or twice a day, but has not eaten, and is also Pooping, but again has not eaten. His vomit, and this was also when he had the stones, I noticed one time, it is a bright yellow color, the same color as urine.

There is one other thing, when he went in for the Cystotomy, he was also neutered, since we felt we should not subject him to another surgery, and since he was already under, the vet thought it would be a good idea to do it at once rather than put him under again, later on (we had spoken to him about this before), especially because of his size (he weighs about 3-4 lbs, full grown).

Are these all normal symptoms and what can we do in the mean time? Normally how long does it take to heal? I'm asking because I've been reading up and some places said the dog was able to pee and run a mere day after the surgery...

So his surgery was last Thursday, and he fast Wednesday before the surgery. It is now Tuesday and he still has not eaten anything, but started to drink on his own. His urine cleared up and there is no more blood in it (which was normal anyway), but he is still straining to pee, more of it comes out but he is in a lot of pain.

He gets the shakes are something, and this has been almost non stop for the last day or two, but he not very cold.

As for his poop, it is black & gooey, but when you wipe it up it is a bright yellow color. My mother took him to the vet today, and is still there. I'm just waiting to see if you can give me any information at all on what might be wrong and if it is normal at all.

As I said he was a normal & healthy 3 year old dog (although a little overweight, but he lost that lately for obvious reasons). He responds to no food at all, not a little piece of ham I tried to offer him, nor des he eat his regular food (Roayl Canine for Chihuahuas). Please help me.... Thank you.

Answer
Hmm, well I'm not Becky,.so hoping that you just made a mistake with the name and not the posting :) Either of which are fine. So if I'm answering a question not meant for me I apologize in advance.
Now moving on :). I would take your boy back to the vet asap. Something is far from right with him. Whether he has had some sort of blockage or small aneurism,anytime a dog will not even drink water you have serious problems. The straining to urinate could be from a blockage or swelling,. or both. Take him back asap.
As for the RC, I'm not thrilled with it, I prefer Wellness or Natural Balance. Or Flint River.
Go get your baby taken care of.
take care
Cindi