Do Whippets have problems with anaesthetic?
There was more of a problem with sighthounds with Thiopentone, an older agent used for inducing anaesthesia that distributes itself into fat once in the body. Sighthounds, having very little body fat, had longer recovery periods from the anaesthetic than other dogs. This is common knowledge, and sighthounds were either given slightly less, or just monitored until they woke up. Most practices now use Propofol, a newer agent. Sighthounds may still take slightly longer to recover than other breeds, but again, all vets know this. Thiopentone and propofol are ‘induction’ agents – i.e. they are used to first make the dog go to sleep. The anaesthetic state is then maintained by putting the dog onto an anaesthetic gas. So usually the recovery times from the initial induction don’t matter, because the dog is under the gas for a longer period anyway. Your vet probably was reluctant to spay her until she was a little older and slightly bigger. Our practice won’t spay dogs until 6 months of age. H
