Yesterday my dog Abby was put under anesthesia to have her teeth cleaned by the vet.   It's a long story, but the vet was supposed to remove a growth from her leg for biopsy and while she was "under" I thought it a good idea for him to do the teeth.  Anyway, the growth had gotten smaller so he decided to leave it - it's in a bad place, right behind her knee, so he wants to avoid surgery if at all possible. 

I suppose Abby was went under anesthesia about noon yesterday and now 24 hours later she is still quite depressed.   She's better than she was last evening, but she is still not herself.  She's normally bouncy and happy - and she is most definitely not now.   She also had horrible diarhhea yesterday afternoon, but nothing since.  Her appetite is good and she's alert. 

She's had to be anesthesiased (?) four times before (x-ray for broken leg, surgery 1&2 for same broken leg, spay) and I've never noticed that her recovery took so long.  I suppose that's because on all other occassions she's been in pain, so I expected her to be depressed. 

How long does it generally take for a dog to recover fully from anesthesia? 

Stacey

When humans have an aneasthetic they are advised not to drive for 48 hours so this seems to be how long you could expect it to be fully metabolised out of the system (especially as we get older :)).  I suppose her gums could still be sore if he has been poking around above the margins so that could be a factor too.  If you are at all worried you should perhaps speak to your vet but if she is eating and more importantly drinking I think, personally I would be happy to give it another day.

I agree with Isabel .
also they may have used a different anaethetic to last time .

If you are really concerned give the surgery a ring to put your mind at rest.

Roni

I always give my dogs milk thistle after any occasion they need to be under GA, it cleanses the liver where the GA gathers; my vets give my dogs one dose as soon as they come round and then I give it every day for 5 days afterwards.  It helps remove the GA from the liver and body.

However in your case I would recommend a chat with the vet as the behaviour could be down to other factors.

Thanks everyone.  I do think I am expecting a bit too much from her.  She's refused some hard treats, so I expect her gums are bothering her a bit from the scaling.

I'm a bit annoyed at the vet that whilst she was under he did not do a needle aspiration for biospy, but I suppose he had his reasons.  I hope whatever the lump is on her leg disappears, but if it does not and she needs it removed I will definitely try to find some milk thistle. 

Thanks again everyone!

not quite the same as full anesthic my baby was only sedated yesterday afternoon for her heart ultrasound, but she also suddenly started  really bad diarrhea  all evening yesterday which cleared up as suddenly as it started and she has also been unusually quiet today ( up until about an hour ago now she is making up for it)