Dog stitches removed, raw spot. Should I be concerned about e-collar?

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If you can keep the E-collar or onesie on him to prevent him from licking it should heal up just fine. Leave the E-collar/onesie on for at least 7-10 days. You do not need to apply anything to the incision; just leave it be. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The red area next to his incision looks like some bruising that likely occurred due to trauma/pinching of the area during surgery. Bruising can worsen during the first 2-3 days following a procedure, but should start to improve after that time. The dried blood/crusting around his incision is not abnormal either. If Charlie Brown will tolerate it, you can gently wipe the crusting away using a damp wash cloth once daily, but not any more frequent than this. I definitely recommend keeping Charlie Brown's Elizabethan collar on AT ALL TIMES until his sutures are removed by your veterinarian to prevent him from licking at the area and causing trauma/increasing the risk of an incisional infection. If the bruising worsens after day 3-4 post-op, and/or you notice yellow/thick, foul-smelling discharge, and/or if any of the sutures seem to have fallen out, I recommend having Charlie Brown seen by your veterinarian right away. Otherwise, I recommend monitoring the area and keeping his E-collar on. Best of luck with Charlie Brown! And THANK YOU for neutering your pet!

I'd be worried in that Harley keeps licking it, which shows it's bothering him. From your picture, it looks like he has licked that area raw in a spot, so I would definitely have this checked out by the vet. Give the vet a call today or tomorrow to make an appointment for him. Until you can have him seen, put an Ecollar on him to keep him from licking at it. You can get one at a pet store, or I can put a link below on how to make one at home. Best of luck, I hope this helps. http://dogsaholic.com/care/homemade-dog-cone.html

The wound margins still look normal and the wound seems still ok at this stage. I would recommend to have the collar back on and keep it on. At this stage a vet check up is not strictly needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Thank you for the picture. The incision looks like it has healed really well. Yes it is normal to see some scabbing and from the picture, I don't see any obvious signs of infection (redness, swelling, pus). It takes 10-14 days to fully heal an incision so to be safe, I would keep it on for 14 days, then you can remove it. Frequently, vets who do the surgery like a recheck to be safe, so I'd give his vet a call just to check if you need to bring him in or not. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! At this point this looks very superficial. If he does not lick or scratch at it, this will likely heal on its own at this point. I would put the e-collar back on until this heals completely. Good luck!

He should have been healed after about 2 weeks. If he never had an e-collar (cone) on, he was likely licking the area when you weren't around or during the night. This could have caused the delay in healing. Ideally, he should be seen by a veterinarian as soon as you can. An e-collar should be obtained and placed as soon as possible to prevent further licking. A small tee shirt or onesie may prevent licking until you get a proper e-collar. Antibiotics may be indicated to treat infection. A veterinarian can dispense them, if indicated, after an exam.