Hi Vikki

Sorry you have to go through this. It sounds like a few things might be going on, as the others said. First, the first two or few weeks (in some of our cases) move slowly for many of us. Some dogs don't want to do anything, while others leap off the operating table and keep going. If Gizz wants to impersonate a block of cement, join our club. That did get much better, and I worked to find things that made him brighten up (certain people visiting, car rides, or whatever your dog might like).

Finding the right balance with drugs is hard. I weaned Tazzie a bit early because I did not like apparent side effects, but then he did get irritable, presumably because he was in more pain. So I put him back on the tramadol and he was in less pain (less irritable). Is Gizz only on metacam for pain? I have never heard of metacam resulting in personality changes (tramadol yes). If he is only on metacam, it may not be enough for the pain, and that can definitely make him grumpy. (Was this Friday a few days ago, or Friday 10 days ago?) Most dogs use tramadol for 1-2 weeks, and sometimes additional drugs for pain (on top of metacam).

Then there is the alpha dog issue. Is Gizz the elder or the dominant dog? This physical impairment (from the dog's perspective – we know he is perfect), can easily upset the happy balance that you had. That is true for any dog and huskies are known to be competitive, even though they also respect the hierarchy once it is established. People say to let dogs work it out on their own, for the aggression will keep happening until they do settle it. However, I don't think that holds for a dog that is recovering from major surgery and on drugs! Like the others, I'd vote for finding a way to avoid the potential of aggression until Gizz feels better.