Hi! I am new to this forum but I have a question. My 9 year old Sandi is scheduled to have her teeth cleaned soon. I am nervous about the general anesthesia. How old is too old for a dog to handle this?

Hi, welcome to the forum! Somebody with more knowledge will be able to answer your question but we had a bad experience recently when my Ky had to be put under and was told the next time to ask for the anesthesia they use that they can give them a shot when they're done to bring them out of it.

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Your dog is not too old, don't worry. Make sure to have pre-anesthetic bloodwork done on your dog before putting him under. If there are any red flags popping up on the bloodwork, the vet would not put him under.
Also, make sure they use an IV catheter for your dog. Usually, in seniors, IV catheters are standard before anesthesia.
The vet will also give him an age appropriate anesthetic like possibly Ketamine/Valium and maintaining on Isoflurane ( a gas).
As long as a dog is in good health, there are no worries. Think about it like that. if there would be an emergency with an old dog and he would have to have surgery, he would have to be anesthetized to save his/her life.

My Golden had two orthopedic surgeries a year ago, at age 8. My lab mix had two surgeries to remove a cancerous growth from his leg, he was 11.

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Christa

Two of my Bridge boys had anesthesia when they were 12, almost 13 years of age, with no problems. Like Christa posted, we did pre-anesthesia blood work, a EKG and blood pressure check and the vet used a specific type of anesthesia by IV drip.

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This is exactly what my vet used when I had my Great Pyrs teeth done at 10 years old, and Pyrs are very sensitive to anesthesia.

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Agree with everyone who posted so far to get pre-anesthetic bloodwork done before the actual procedure. My vet has done this on both my dogs and cats and it's a good precaution.

Then don't worry because the dental will result in a better quality of life for Sandi.

And welcome to the forum

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My 12 year old has been under anesthesia twice in the past week alone. I definitely echo everyone who has said get the bloodwork done first, and if there are any red flags, then you'll know not to proceed.

Good luck.

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Hi, try not to worry, our twelve year old barnaby had his teeth done whilst having a tumour removed 2 weeks ago. We were extremely worried about the anaesthetic but we had the pre-op blood work done to make sure everything was in good order. The hardest part was actually after he came round from the surgery, seeing him unsteady on his paws.The recovery after a couple of days was incredible! Good luck and let us know how you get on Goldie hugs to all x

Hate to disagree with everyone, but no matter what the dogs age, there is always a risk with putting them under anesthesia. Once the dogs hit middle age, I don't put them under unless it is absolutely necessary, life and death type situation. Unfortuantely, you can never know, even with bloodwork, if a dog will have a reaction to a certain type of anesthesia.

A few years ago, a good friend lost one of her girls during a routine spay to the anesthesia. She was 5. People are die from anesthesia, so this really something you need to discuss in depth with your vet who knows your dogs history.

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You can also ask around and see if there are any anesthesia-free dental clinics for dogs in your area. We have them here, and many folks concerned about their elderly dogs utilize this service instead of having their dogs put under.

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