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Expert: - 1/2/2010


Question
hi i am looking for advice i can pass on to my brother in france
their 11yr old diabetic spainial dog took a fall and landed yelping in pain , they stayed up all night with him and took a 120 mile round trip to the vets the next day, where he was checked over xrayed and given a pain releif injection, his abit better now but still not drinking very much his had a gentle walk round the garden and a little food soaked in water. any ideas of anything that might help him he seems to be afraid of water . backing away from it .any advice to help aid in his recovery would be very grateful ,they have stopped the pain killers because the list of side effects are terriable and it even states not to be given to diabetic dogs.  french vets are extremley expensive and dont understand the british way of doing and spending what ever we need to keep our animals alive and pain free,i think the dog is still suffering with shock and told them to keep him as quite and comfortable as possiable which of corse they are .  

Answer
What kind of painkillers are we talking about?
The dog is not suffering from shock so much but he is probably in pain. That is the reason the pills were dispensed.

Diabetic dogs can handle pain killers much better than they can pain. I am sure he is still in a lot of pain from bruising etc. A dog in pain won't eat much, or drink. Walking gently is a good thing to do for him, but he should be given his pain medications.

Even a half a dose is better than none. Being in pain will prevent or prolong his healing time. That is how it is with humans also.

So have your brother give him a dose of pain medication after his meal then walk him about 20 minutes later after it starts to work.If he isn't drinking water then your brother will have to get it into him manually by squirting it in his mouth. He will get dehydrated otherwise, and that will make his pain even worse.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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