Jack saying goodbye to his bits

zaksmum

He hasn't been that bothered that much about his stitches. he had a quick lick when I first took off his collar so he could eat and drink properly, as he wasn't drinking with it on.

I think the collar is more distressing for them than anything else. He kind of sighs with relief when I take it off and has a good scratch of his neck, and when it's on he comes over to me and gazes at me all pitiful.

The man next door told me when his dog was neutered, the dog managed to get the collar off the first night, chewed it to shreds and had a good long lick of himself, and everything healed up beautifully. I'm only going to leave it on Jack now when he's left alone, or overnight.

I've ordered an inflatable collar which won't arrive till Monday, but I'll keep it in case there's ever a next time we need one.

zaksmum

Spoke too soon...he went under the kitchen table and had a good lick, and when I checked the wound there's a tiny bit of blood.

So collar right back on and I've put a bit of iodine spray on the wound and see how it's looking tomorrow

any_name_will_suffice

oh dear.

I'm sure it will be fine, if he hasn't ripped out any of the stitches. Are they disolvable ones, or do you have to go back to have them taken out?

zaksmum

any_name_will_suffice wrote: »

oh dear.

I'm sure it will be fine, if he hasn't ripped out any of the stitches. Are they disolvable ones, or do you have to go back to have them taken out?

They are dissolvable. Just had another look and it's not actually bleeding, just looks like a tiny bead of blood has escaped and I just caught him licking at that moment.

Hopefully the iodine spray will prevent any infection but how stupid am I, taking the collar off?

The vet did say 7 to 10 days and it's not 7 days till tomorrow, but surely some healing will have taken place in that time since the op?

That's what I get for letting my heart rule my head:(

joansgirl

You're only as stupid as the rest of us who would have also felt sorry for their dogs in this situation. Dogs heal incredibly fast so I would think that it will be fine and is probably mostly healed by now. I expect it's a bit itchy for him, poor thing. Don't beat yourself up!:)

any_name_will_suffice

As long as he's not split the wound open, and it sounds like he hasn't, I am sure it will be ok.

Dissolvable stitches apparently can get a bit itchy as they are dissolving. Maybe they are starting to bother him, poor thing.

I think most of us take the cone or inflatable collar off our dogs because they look so uncomfortable, watch them really closely and then when they don't bother the wound, get a bit more relaxed and take our eye off them. I'm sure they must know they're not meant to lick, because as soon as our eye is off them, they get stuck in!

zaksmum

That's what happened. My daughter visited with my 2 year old grandson and he was proudly telling me mummy has a baby in her tummy. I'd just fed the dogs and had taken Jack's collar off so he could eat and drink properly.

My grandson had me distracted and though I realised Jack's collar was still off, I didn't notice him disappearing under the kitchen table.

It was only a few seconds and I thought, best check on him, and there he was, licking away.

I will have to be really strict about it now and the collar will have to stay on for a few more days no matter what.

Just hope I haven't sabotaged the week's worth of healing that's already taken place.

meritaten

You wont zaksmum. a bit of licking wont hurt - the reason for the collar is that some animals will bite the stitches out! my female dog did this before collars became commonplace! despite wearing a vest which I sewed in place she took all her stitches out and I had to pay to get her 're-stitched' the next day! the vet charged me extra for a collar for her! grrrrr! this was about twenty-odd years ago, mind - but even then he said that the dogs saliva was very unlikely to cause an infection!

zaksmum

meritaten wrote: »

You wont zaksmum. a bit of licking wont hurt - the reason for the collar is that some animals will bite the stitches out! my female dog did this before collars became commonplace! despite wearing a vest which I sewed in place she took all her stitches out and I had to pay to get her 're-stitched' the next day! the vet charged me extra for a collar for her! grrrrr! this was about twenty-odd years ago, mind - but even then he said that the dogs saliva was very unlikely to cause an infection!

Thanks meritaten, you've put my mind at rest.

It's just, with it bleeding a bit, I feel it must have opened up just a fraction. The rest of the scar is crusty so must have scabbed over and probably itchy too, which will be what made him go at it. Also the area was shaved and there's regrowth which will be prickly.

I'll see how it looks in the morning but it has already dried up again. I expect it will add a few days to his 7 to 10 days sentence, am I right?

meritaten

probably not - it may even speed up healing. if its dried up again and there is no redness or 'weepiness' or inflammation - its healing fine!