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Won't stop licking!
by Shari and Lily
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Yesterday, we had our beautiful 8-month old maltese, Lily, spayed and she seems to be doing fine except for the fact, that she keeps licking at her incision. Is this normal? The vet told me when I picked her up, that if she bites at it or is at it too much she would have to wear a special collar around her neck. Please if anyone has some advice, I surely would be greatful! shari
DISCUSSION:
Yes its very normal for animals to lick at any wound whether surgical or not..as long as its not irritated or she doesnt start unravelling or pulling the stiches she should be ok...the collar the vet talked about is very benign and does protect the healing incision though the dog will look funny with it on..a small price to pay!dont worry and let us know how she does.Rob
Rob
Shari, when I had my female spayed earlier this year, she also licked a lot for the first couple of days. But do watch Lily, as my Cleo, successfully removed her stitches very neatly somewhere between day 3 and 4, and I didn't even notice her licking on those days. She was fine though, and had healed OK, of course I nearly had a heart attack. Frantic phone call to the vet etc., and I had to try and keep her quiet - almost impossible - she was fine. I still took her back on day10 for a check up, which was when the stitches were supposed to come out.
Jan & Cleo
Shari, when Truffles was spayed, I got disposable surgical masks from a research friend and tied one around Truffles' belly with bows on top of her back. Worked great at covering her incision but didn't touch it and allowed air to pass thru. She could not lick her incision and the mask is so light, I'm not sure she even knew she had one on! Worked great. You may beable to get them in a drug store or medical supply business.
Linda P
Yes, Shari, that's where the expression "licking your wounds" comes from. It's perfectly natural and some say aids the healing process. But watch out for stitch removal as everyone cautions. Angel removed his the first night at the hospital and then again the second day WITH THE COLLAR ON. They stitched him up the third time with the dissolvable stitches and that did the trick (along with keeping the collar on).
siobhan
Sophia was recently spayed and the vet used glue instead of stitches. She didn't bother it at first, but by the 2nd or 3rd day, she started licking it a lot. I took her back for the vet to look at and he said it was starting to get a little infected. I had to put the collar on her for a week and put a cream antibiotic on the incision..all is well now.
Sue & Sophia
Thank you everyone for the advice. It will be a week tomorrow that Lily was spayed, and she seems to be healing nicely. She is back to her playful, active, loving self!!
Shari and Lily
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Please bear in mind when reading topics pertaining to health issues, that most of these questions were answered by helpful Maltese owners with no formal education in veterinary medicine. When in doubt seek a professionals advise.