My dog's neuter wound opened. Does he need to see the vet again?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This warrants a veterinary examination as soon as possible. While this cannot be sutured back in place for now as it is infected and inflamed, the ultimate goal would be to treat this wound aggressively and it can improve. This is not something that can be treated at home. This will require surgical debridement, cleaning and antibiotics. This is also painful and pain control medications need to be considered as well. Best of luck!

Thank you for the picture of his incision, it's very helpful. After 12 days, the incision should be fully healed, and in the picture, it doesn't look red, swollen, or infected. There is an area in the middle that looks a little open, and that may be from him pulling at the stitches, but it doesn't look fully open. I would put a cone back on him to keep him from pulling at the stitches more, and take him to a regular vet if you can on Monday to get the rest of them removed. There isn't a need for an emergency vet at this point in time. If you cannot get him into another vet on Monday, you can wait until Tuesday to see his normal vet as long his incision doesn't become infected or open up more. Again, keep a cone on him to keep him for getting at the stitches. I hope this helps!

Unfortunately, there is no way to email photos to the experts, but you can request a consult online where you can share your photos and receive more in-depth help. Without seeing this gap in person, I can't say if it's normal or not, but with a neuter spaces are left for drainage. The incision should held together with the sutures, so it is possible that he tore a stitch. To be safe, I would have Jack seen by a vet now, as he may need another suture put in.

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!

Yes, Bear needs to be examined today. If the incision opens up, that will cause delayed healing and possibly infection. Bear should also be wearing an Elizabethan collar at all times to prevent him from looking at the incision. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello. I have never heard of leaving a dog neuter incision open like this. We do it in cats & horses, but not dogs. If this is your veterinarians practice, then he should have sent home a Elizabethan cone to prevent Cutty from getting to & licking the incision. Personally, I do not like the way it looks & really think it needs to be cleaned up & sutured closed. Until you can see your vet, please purchase a protective collar to keep him from licking & clean the area 2-3 times daily with a povidone-iodine or chlorhexidine skin cleanser. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

That looks fine for the stage it's at. Rather than cover the wound with a bandage, I would put an e-collar or an inflatable collar on him that will keep him from licking at it, unless he's getting to it with his hind claws. In that case you can put baby socks on his hind feet to keep his claws from getting into the staples. If you do keep it covered, change the bandage daily or twice daily if the wound oozes a bit.