Is my dog's spay incision infected 6 days later? She's so hyper!

Keeping puppies "quiet" after surgery is certainly not an easy undertaking! The good news is that I think her incision is healing beautifully. There is very mild inflammation right around the incision, but the incision appears to be closed and does not appear to have any discharge. Continue doing your best to keep her as quiet as possible for the next week, but I know it's not possible to turn a 5 month old GSP puppy into a couch potato! If she's really out of control, you can ask your vet about prescribing mild sedative medications (like trazodone) to help her to stay a bit more mellow while healing. Keeping an e-collar (cone) on her is the best thing you can do to promote healing, as this prevents her from licking at the incision at all. Hope that everything continues to go well!

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. While the antibiotics should prevent a real nasty infection from progressing, I would also recommend gently cleaning the area with dilute betadine and warm water. Add a couple of tablespoons of the betadine into 1/2 cup of warm water, & clean off any serum that has accumulated around the incision. Do not scrub the incision. Dry the area, & you can wrap her abdomen using an absorbant pad & either vetwrap or coban. Most general pharmacies will have all this. You can also place an infant t-shirt on her, tying up the bottom to cinch her just in front of the hindlegs. Keep the cone on, & clean the wound several times a day. If it is not healing or the discharge increases or changes in any way, see your vet immediately. Good luck with her, she should be fine in 7-10 days.

The area certainly looks less inflamed. As long as there is not discharge, heat, worsening of swelling, or pain I would not be overly concerned. I would keep her cone on until the inflammation is resolved. You do not need to clean the area overly as this can cause more irritation to the skin. The incision itself looks healed but has areas of irritation. This should resolve, if not I would be worried about a suture reaction or incisional infection and then she should certainly see a veterinarian.

Hi ! From this side of the wound I don’t see any oozing or have any concerns regarding a possible infection. I would keep the collar on for another 3-4 days and have it reassessed at your vets if you are worried.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Panda's spay incision does appear to be red and a little swollen. Swelling at a spay site can be due to a variety of reasons, including infection, inflammation from a reaction to the suture material, or over-activity after her procedure, among others. I would recommend Panda be seen by her regular veterinarian to have the swelling evaluated, and start any medications (antibiotic, anti-inflammatory) that she may need. In the meantime, I would recommend icing the area as well. Good luck!

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.

As long as Letty is behaving normally, is not feverish and has no discomfort or discharge from the site then she can probably wait until morning. Keep an e-collar(cone) on her to prevent licking orbchewibg of the site. Monitor for lethargy, discomfort, fever, bleeding or discharge. These are symptoms that should be addressed by a veterinarian.