No Poop Three Days After Spay Surgery

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My 11 month old foster doodle Molly was spayed last Thursday. I have not been responsible for a newly spayed dog for almost 20 years and don't remember what is normal and what is cause for concern. She has not had a bowel movement since the morning of the surgery three days ago.
At that time she had been experiencing a bout of severe diarrhea from the stress of losing her home combined with a radical change in diet...I switched her immediately from Walmart crap kibble (which I could not have in my home) to Jack's Orijen.
Post-op, the vet told me to feed her half kibble and half plain boiled rice to treat the diarrhea. He also gave me metronidazole for it. The post-op instructions said that during the first 24 hours post-op, it was normal for the dog to not have a BM.
Well, it has been 72 hours, and no poop. I discontinued the rice and the meds after the first 36 hours, as they are obviously not needed. Molly has not been eating much since she got here, even before the surgery, which is normal for a displaced dog. But since the surgery she is eating even less. She also has to have her activity level restricted, and this can certainly slow down normal bowel function. She was somewhat gassy last night. She is taking water and peeing, and she seems to feel all right; she wants to run & play with Jack. but I am very worried about the pooping and of course it's the weekend, so I can't contact the vet.
Can anyone tell me if they experienced this with their dogs after spay surgery? Is it normal for a dog to go this long post-op without a BM? Do we need to go to the emergency vet?

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Karen- the + gas is a good sign- means the bowel is moving, so to speak. The pain meds, not eating much, & decreased activity all contribute to the constipation. I would make sure she does at least walk around some- that moves things along. She probably had no or very little food Wed night through Thursday. So really Fri and Sat - no bowel movement. I think you are safe for today. Is she in pain do you think? If so she may be "holding" on to avoid the strain. If nothing by tomorrow and she is eating - then I would call and I'm sure they will give you something to help her "go."

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks Pat, that's encouraging!

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

I would say it is fairly normal for her to be a little backed up, especially since she had to have an empty stomach for the surgery and you say she has not had an appetite since the surgery. I know when I have had surgery in the past (pregnancy, hysterectomy), I was a little backed up for awhile after the surgery. What I would do is boil or bake up a chicken breast in olive oil and cut out the rice or other fiber and let her system do it's thing on it's own. Once she is back to normal you can adjust it back, but post op abdomen surgery could cause a back up and the opposite of what she had before the surgery. If she had her surgery Thurs., her bowel was empty. Friday, you said she didn't eat much, Sat. the same. She may not even have a full bowel by this morning (Sunday). I would go with just the plain chicken, for a day or two.

It could be, also, that she just doesn't like the good kibble. If she was used to eating the crap in a bag (and you know what they spray on that to make it appealing to dogs), she might need some olive oil or other oil (fish, flax) to lubricate her system. Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You just knew that one way or another, you'd eventually have me standing here on a Sunday, cooking for dogs, didn't you? LOL

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

LOL She got me making those stinky liver snacks twice a month. I wear a mask with perfume cotton swaps stuck up my noise--but I make 'em!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Don't tell Karen but liverwurst is a favorite here. I give them a 1/4 of a slice in bits as a treat. Today, however, I defrosted liver snacks. One of the few occasions my freezer was used in the out direction. Usually things go in until there isn't a crevice left and the garbage men are busier than ever.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

I don't even do it on a Sunday anymore. With 5 dogs it took up my entire day. Now I cook nightly, at the same time I make the families dinner. They eat when we eat. The REAL food really is the best thing we can do for our dogs. You know that. I don't have to tell you anymore. Just think of the long, healthy lives our dogs will live.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yes, and we'll die young from overwork : ) Who'll feed them hen? Do you have 4 of your own now and one foster?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I just finished baking a batch of peanut butter doggie treats. Now all I have to do is keep my DH from eating them. In 32 years of marriage I've never made them for him, and they are his favorite. I figured if I'm traveling down this home cooking road, I should do it all the way. After seeing all the treat recalls there was no way I could justify giving him the processed treats while home cooking his other food. Now I'm sick of cooking...who knows what dinner will be, but Guinness will be all set. I made him a big batch of "stew" Friday and now he has dessert. Oh, Doodles. Good luck with Molly. I swear we spend half of our life worrying about poop...too much, not enough. LOL

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

JANE!
So true with all the recalls. I am seeing you in the kitchen cooking all day. We do this too. NO, not as much as Lynne but we are commited to cooking treats. So here is my story about keeping the DH out of the treats

One day we made several different types of dog` treats. One with just liver, the other batch Oatmeal, apples, bananas............... but no liver.

I kept getting into the batch with the tasty apple/oatmeal/banana--sneaking a snack `from the fridge. Little did I know, DH replaced the snacks with a new package that contained the Liver batch. EWWWW Spit OUT blah blah blah. It cured me. I no longer steal Spud's Cookies

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That would be a sure way to keep DH out of the cookies. I can't even imagine how bad that liver treat must have tasted...yuck!!! The only problem is I'd have to actually make those liver "treats". I'm not sure I can handle that....organ meat totally grosses me out. I can't even stand to touch those "parts" they leave in the turkey. But then again, I never thought I'd be cooking for my Dood, so who knows what's ahead. DoodleMania and OCDD have taken over. Is the recipe for the apple/oatmeal/banana snack in the recipes group - it sounds good.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Yes, see the DK Cookbook
We modified our recipe and added CRANBERRIES! Spud will do anything for these treats. He also has a sensitive stomach--he pukes everything. We have never had a problem with anything we cook from the Cookbook. We are actually cooking more for him then ever before.