Is my puppy's spay incision healing or infected? She's too active!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lily. I know it is hard to do, but a dog should really be kept quiet for 10-14 days post-spay. This allows her body to heal. She went through major abdominal surgery. Her incision appears to be healing well from your pictures. I hope this information helps!

It does look like there could be some irritation and possibly infection here based on the discharge I am seeing. There appears to be mild inflammation of the area. I would recommend putting an e-collar (the cone shaped collar) on Piper and calling her vet in the morning. The vet may need to prescribe antibiotics, give you an e-collar if you don't already have one, and may be able to prescribe a sedative if you are having trouble keeping Piper calm. In the meantime, confine her to a small room or kennel if you have one available. Best of luck to you and Piper!

It is impossible to completely keep them confined. Keep doing the best you can and keep the incision clean and dry. You may notice a little swelling around the incision called a Seroma from the activity, but it will resolve over the next week. Keep using her pain medicine as directed. If she was in pain she would it be as active either

Hi and thanks for getting in touch with us! The incision seems relatively healthy, with a small amount of dry discharge. Antibiotics will prevent any infection. She should be checked only if the discharge is increasing and she seems uncomfortable and lethargic. She should be absolutely kept indoors and rested as much as possible. A cone/buster collar should be kept on at all times.

The image shows no drips or tracks of blood. This may be some normal post op discharge. If she will allow, you can use a plain, unscented baby wipe to gently clean around the incision. Keep an e-collar (cone) on her and restrict her activity to just leash walks for elimination. Avoid or prevent running, jumping, stairs or rough play as much as possible. If she has a crate, consider crating her for the night. Monitor for active bleeding, discharge, lethargy or pale gums. If any of these develop, she should be seen by your veterinarian or at the nearest veterinary ER.

Congrats on your new dog, Venus is beautiful! Her incision looks like it is healing well, no need to bring her into the vet. Continue to monitor it, keep her as quiet as possible to prevent post-operative complications, and use an Ecollar if needed to keep her from licking at the incision. I hope this helps!

Hello, and thanks for your question about Junie. Of course, a photo isn't the same as being able to examine Junie in person, but that incision still looks pretty good to me. There's a little mild redness where I presume she was licking, but no swelling, and I don't see any discharge. The most important thing now is to make sure you keep Junie from continuing to lick the incision, as that really could cause problems. She should wear a cone / E-collar for 10-14 days until that incision line is completely healed. If you don't already have one from your vet, they are available to purchase at most pet stores, such as PetCo. Secure it to her collar, and make sure it's a large enough size so she can't lick around the top of it! You can also ask your vet about a mild oral sedative medication to help keep her a bit quieter during this recovery period. I know it's not easy to keep a high energy dog quiet when they think they feel fine! But it's really important for her healing that she not over do it. Hope this helps!