Gunny here.
.
There is some talk on the internet about dogs becoming fearful or aggressive after having surgery, so I wanted to weigh in… from the canine perspective. Think about it this way: All of a sudden I’m on the way to “the vet.” It smells there (even if it’s clean, trust me, there are lots of smells). It’s damn noisy. They separate me from my human and stick me in a metal box. I’m not saying the box isn’t clean, but it makes crazy noise and echos everyone else’s noise. And it definitely doesn’t smell like home.
.
Eventually, strangers grab me out of the metal box, grip me hard, stick sharp pointy things in my legs and the world goes gray. The next thing I know, I’m back in that metal box, and I feel drunk. Bad. Maybe nauseous. The whole world is blurry. This is scary stuff. Plus, part of my body hurts, right down between my legs.
.
Finally, the family shows up, as if everything is great. Sometimes I even get this horrible plastic tunnel on my head that makes my neck hurt and makes it impossible to eat, drink, or get in the car. (I used to like the car.)
.
This is traumatic stuff. What makes you think I’m ever going to trust a new situation again? Do you wonder that a group of us dogs become fear aggressive after castration/spay?
.
I don’t know squat about science. I just know I went through it and it makes total sense to me why some of my brothers and sisters get panic attacks.
.
Lucky for my family, I was already a grumpy dog. No real change there. But here’s my canine two cents:
.
You humans need to own up to what you are doing to us. Talk to us. Let us know you’ll be here. Ask the vet if you can sit with us in the waiting room until the exact moment the vet is ready to bring us to surgery. Some of you humans might not be ready for a drunk/groggy post surgery dog; but some of you might. Reassure us. Never leave us. Promise. (Don’t break those promises cuz of you do, you reinforce why we dogs might be distrustful.)
.
Do these things and there will be less fear and aggression.