no bowel movement after surgery

Wow your poor dog... glad you got the surgery and he's on the road to recovery though.
tramadol can cause constipation which is probably part of the problem, things got backed up. Also, surgery in that area will cause swelling and painthat is likely to affect his ability to want to and be able to push anything out.
While it is a very different surgery, my dog had a TPO, a surgery on the hips and had similar problems. It was related to the tramadol, internal swelling, and other issues, and he wound up having to have an enema. You might ask you vet about a mild laxative to get things going... at this point if things are that backed up and he is eatting normally he may be pretty uncomfortable ... IMHO I'd get a second opinion if your vet is still not doing something, he may need help to go, be it manually by a vet, an enema, or laxatives... a week is a really long time to not go and as I think back to how bad Oliver felt after less than that time i suspect your dog may be in some discomfort. Is he hunched over, restless, or straining and unable to go? If he begins showing signs of discomfort or he still has not gone by tomorrow yet is eatting adn actting normally I'd hope that your vet woudl take some action or I'd at least call another vet for an opinion.

he isn't hunched over or acting like he has discomfort. i think he gets some relief from that tiny blop that comes out. believe me something will be done by tomorrow if he doesn't go today. i was hoping someone had some sure fire holistic way to go. after all he has been through, i don't want to make things harder than they have to be. thank you for your help.

i was hoping someone had some sure fire holistic way to go.

It is by no means a "sure fire" fix, but try a couple of Tbs of plain (not spiced), canned pumpkin with his meals.  That will help to normalize the stool.
 
I wish vets would tell people about pumpkin when they give meds that can cause constipation!!
 
Figures crossed that the tumor is benign!!  [&:]

thank you for the crossed fingers. i did try the pumpkin originally but when it wasn't helping thats when i called the vet. he actually just went. it wasn't a great one but bigger than the tiny things he was doing(gross i know)(sorry). at this point i will take anything. poor guy has been on antibiotics for almost 2 months cuz originally they said it was a bladder infection. i stopped the pumpkin when the vet gave me the meds to help him go. i didn't want to overload him. with all the stitches the last thing he needs is urgency when having to go. i wonder if it would be safe to add the pumpkin back in. his food actually has some pumpkin in it. maybe i should just let nature take it's course since he did go today a little better. this is gross but he always was a huge pooper. we always laughed and called it elephant poop so to see these tiny things coming out, it's alarming. thanks fo reading about my dogs poop and trying to help anyway.

 I remember when you posted before about your dog and was wondering how he was doing. I''m sorry he had a tumor and like Janet, I hope it's benign. Your description of your dog's poops isn't gross at all; you should see some of the "poop" talk on the nutrition threads. []  I hope his poops continue to get bigger. Let us know the results of the biopsy.

poor guy has been on antibiotics for almost 2 months cuz originally they said it was a bladder infection. ...  i wonder if it would be safe to add the pumpkin back in. his food actually has some pumpkin in it.

I think you can safely add back the pumpkin.  Are you giving probiotics?  Two months of antibiotics really does a number on the bacteria that is supposed to be in the digestive tract to help with digestion!!
 
Edited to correct spelling.

i am giving him 1  asidiphilus a day. i will try adding the pumpkin back in and see what happens.

well the bipsy came back today. it's not good news. he has tcc. i went down this road 2 years ago with my other dog. i know what's ahead. i tried everything with her including  special vitamins and herbs but by the time we found hers it was to late. she only made 3 months from the time of diagnosis. 1 month after her 8th birthday. vet says 6 months to a year with peroxicam. peroxicam tore her stomach apart. in the end she couldn't eat and vomited just smelling food. he has a better stomach than she did so hopefully he will continue to eat well. so this is where my question comes in. i need a good low carb food. these days it's scary with the recalls to try something new. i tried a few years back to cook for them and i tried raw but i always had this fear that they werent getting all the nutrients they needed. callie i have read on some posts that you have a cancer diet. if you could email it to me that would be great. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

   I'm so sorry Rose; it's so unfair to have your dog diagnosed with a terminal disease so soon after losing your other dog. Are Shelties prone to this cancer? If Callie doesn't answer you soon you can PM her. I'll be sending lots of healing thoughts for your guy and I hope he lives much longer than the vet says.

I am so sorry that things turned out this way.  Here are some resources:

Eldredge, Debra[font=verdana][size=3], Cancer and Your Pet: The Complete Guide to the Latest Research, Treatments, and Options, 9/2005
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/295yz9]http://tinyurl.com/295yz9[/link]
[/size][/font]
Kaplan, Laurie[font=verdana][size=3], Help Your Dog Fight Cancer: An Overview Of Home Care Options, 7/2004
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/5qu68]http://tinyurl.com/5qu68[/link]

Kelleher, Donna[font=verdana][size=3], Last Chance Dog (recovery of dogs deemed hopelessly ill), 2/2004
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/ysv637]http://tinyurl.com/ysv637[/link][/size][/font]
[/size][/font]
Messonnier, Shawn & Blaylock, Russell L.[font=verdana][size=3], The Natural Vet's Guide to Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs, 3/2006
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/3yo4dv]http://tinyurl.com/3yo4dv[/link]
[/size][/font]
Sarg, Michel J. & Gross, Ann D., Cancer Dictionary, 3rd Edition, 3/2007
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/yq95u5]http://tinyurl.com/yq95u5[/link]

Segal, Monica[font=verdana][size=3], booklet, Canine Cancer: The Dietary Role [/size][/font]
[size=1][link[/size]>http://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/productindex.php?cPath=25_26]www.monicasegal.com/catalog/productindex.php?cPath=25_26[/link][/size][/size]
 
Villalobos, Alice & Kaplan, Laurie[font="times new roman"][size=3], [font=verdana]Canine and Feline Geriatric Oncology: Honoring the Human-Animal Bond[/size][/font] (illustrated), 9/2006
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/2v7zhy]http://tinyurl.com/2v7zhy[/link][/font]

thank you for the resources. yes unfortunately shelties are prone to this disease. it's a horrible disease. i guess i misunderstood the vet. i thought that by doing the surgery we would be cutting out the cancer. we didn't have that option with my other one cuz it was at the neck of the bladder. his was at the back. i was on vacation with him all week for his recovery from the surgery. now i go back to work this week and i remember going to work with my other one worrying everyday. his name is zimba. my little girls name was libby and i still have zimbas brother zeus. vet says now we will have to watch zeus. i didn't know that shelties were prone to this till libby got sick. i wish i had known but i wouldn't have made a different decision. they have been the loves of my life. my babies.......

I'm so sorry to hear about the little guy.  I wish you both comfort, peace and lots of loving time together during this journey.  

ORIGINAL: janet_rose

poor guy has been on antibiotics for almost 2 months cuz originally they said it was a bladder infection. ...  i wonder if it would be safe to add the pumpkin back in. his food actually has some pumpkin in it.

I think you can safely add back the pumpkin.  Are you giving probiotics?  Two months of antibiotics really does a number on the bacteria that is supposed to be in the digestive tract to help with digestion!!

Edited to correct spelling.

]
Benebac is a probiotic made by Pet Ag, who also make Esbilac (the veterinary recommended puppy formula).  Many vets give Benebac to clients that just came out of surgery.  It is formulated just for that.  You may also want to try Dog Sure, which is a very easy  to digest liquid diet for dogs that are ill or just came out of surgery.  Note: they will pooh liquid on Dog Sure because it is a liquid - like Ensure for humans.

i thought that by doing the surgery we would be cutting out the cancer.

Sometimes a surgeon can cut out all of a cancerous mass.  However, sometime it is not possible to get all of it without damaging vital functions.  Sometimes the cancer has already spread elsewhere.
 
My dad has stage 4 prostate cancer.  If we had caught it early enough, surgery might have gotten it all.  Unfortunately, it had already spread (metastisized) and gone to the bones before it was caught.  Back doctors were unable to diagnosis his back pain because it was cancer.
 
OT:  Be sure the older men (45 and up?) in your life know their PSA number.  If they don't, get them to a doctor.  A surprising number of men don't even know that they should be tested.
 
If my dad had had the regular testing that he should have had, we would have caught his cancer much sooner.  A PSA score of 10 is cause for worry and my dad's score was 540!!