My dog's stitches look infected. Can I treat them at home temporarily?

Hello. This does not look too bad. I do not think Shasta needs oral antibiotics, but it may benefit from a topical antibiotic. I would show this to your vet & see how concerned she might be. Otherwise, hot compresses & keeping Shasta from doing any licking on the area ( using either an Elizabethan collar, T-shirt, or canine body suit ) should be all that is necessary. If you want to put something on this until you can see your vet, I would try one of the over the counter Vetericyn wound products. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It’s hard to know without being able to feel and touch the incision in person but I think it looks infected. I can see the underlying layer of suture but the deeper layer looks intact. I probably would not stitch this up if there was infection and the underlying layer is still holding together, but if the incision is truly infected it won’t heal without antibiotics. An e-collar would be very important as well since any licking could cause further damage. If things seem to be getting worse I would definitely recommend seeing your vet.

Yes, this does look infected and I would recommend taking him back for a vet exam. The wound will definitely need to be cleaned out and the vet may want to prescribe antibiotics for it. For now, it's good to keep the wound clean by flushing it with clean water twice a day. Flush the wound for at-least 10 minutes using good pressure. Gently wipe away crusts or other debris. I don't recommend putting any soaps or antiseptics on the wound for now. Draeko will probably just lick it away and it may delay healing. I hope that helps and Draeko gets better soon.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. A topical antibiotic ointment would help this, bit if you are limited with what you can find I would start by keeping the wounds clean with a diluted Betadine solution (Betadine diluted in water or saline to a light brown color) and keep wounds clean 3 times per day to help prevent infection. If the infection is too deep in the tissues, it is likely that Macana will need oral antibiotics. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

I would make sure she isn't licking it and not being too active. I would keep her confined to a crate or small bathroom and only take her out on a leash for short walks to go to the bathroom. You can put a cone collar on her to prevent the licking. From the picture, they do look a litte red but otherwise it looks good. You can put a little neosporin or bacitracin on the area as long as it doesn't attract her attention to it. If she is leaving it alone, then the ointment will likely make her lick it and that isn't ideal. I hope this helps. If you are still unsure by how it looks, I would have your vet take a peek at it when you are able.

This happens all the time so don't beat yourself up. Put the cone back on immediately. Then gently wipe the incision with a warm, damp cloth and pat dry. Apply neosporin (or other antibiotic ointment) tonight and tomorrow morning, then keep your appointment for tomorrow. The vet may decide to wait to take the stitches out now that there is some inflammation involved. They may also prescribe oral antibiotics if they are worried that Diesel might have infected his incision. Or it may be perfectly fine and they will remove the stitches and you and Diesel will be on your way! Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Diesel!

I would recommend waiting until Monday before starting any antibiotics so your vet can see what it looks like and start appropriate treatment. In the mean time, you can keep the area clean and place an e-collar on Luna if she's trying to chew at the area. If she's severely distressed, I would recommend an emergency clinic visit to get started on treatment sooner.