BackgroundThis prospective randomized blinded clinical study aimed to investigate the potential of vedaprofen for preventive analgesia, comparing its analgesic effects with ketoprofen administered post-operatively in dogs undergoing maxillectomy or mandibulectomy.ResultsPain control was effective and rescue analgesia was not necessary in any group. Pain scores were not significantly different between groups. The respiratory rate and rectal temperature were decreased in all groups at extubation until 6 hours post-extubation compared to baseline. Cortisol and epinephrine levels were increased only at 0.5 hours after extubation in all groups compared to baseline.ConclusionsVedaprofen did not present any preventive analgesic effect. Pre- and postoperative vedaprofen were as effective as ketoprofen for postoperative pain control.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-015-0338-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.