In that the anesthesia is delivered through the lungs and not in the vein, after the procedure is finished the dog simply breaths off the medication and recovers quickly. The veterinarian considers many factors such as age, procedure performed, and pre-existing conditions in order to choose the best anesthesia for the patient. Isoflufrane is one of the newest and safest type of inhalation anesthetic used in small animal practice. In most cases a preanesthetic injection is given to sedate the patient, then the gas is administered with a mask over the dog's muzzle. Once the dog is sleeping an endotracheal tube is placed in the windpipe in order to establish a direct route for the anesthetic to be delivered.
Many patients control their own level of anesthesia.
When they are not deep enough, they will breath harder, inhaling more anesthetic and go back to sleep. If they are too deep the respiration will decrease and breath less gas. Safety is the veterinarian's most important concern. Prior to anesthetic delivery the K-9 is examined, with particular attention to heart and lung sounds. In older patients diagnostic testing of organ function is often performed first to confirm the patient can safely be anesthetized.