My dog just got spayed. How do I care for her wound and prevent flies?

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.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You should clean the wound with cotton buds and warm, boiled water 2-3 times a day until you see your vet. Putting a cone back on is an excellent idea too. Your vet will likely prescribe Apollyon an antibiotic cream and maybe will put a stitch or two to close the small opening in the wound.

Limit or restrict activity to avoid stress on the incision. Avoid excessive running, jumping or rough play. Use an e-collar (cone) to prevent licking or chewing of the sutures. Examine the site daily for redness, swelling, bruising, bleeding or discharge. Monitor for lethargy, loss of appetite, fever or abdominal pain. Look at her gums daily to ensure they are pink. Sutures are kept in for 10-14 days. Do not bathe her until the sutures are removed.

So sorry about the problems after your dog's spay. If your dog is licking near or around the incision or at the clipper irritation, then you need to obtain an elizabethan collar or a Donut from your veterinarian or PetCo to help avoid further licking. I would keep in place until you have a chance to reach out to your veterinarian tomorrow, then you might want to drop by and have your dogs incision and skin double checked for any complications and advise as to treatment, if any, Normally animals receive some kind of pain management in the form of oral medication post op for spay operations, so double check that you are giving the medication prescribed or ask for medication when you see your veterinarian. This will help to cut down on licking or chewing. Lastly, there is no harm in applying a small amount of soothing ointment to the skin rash such as Neosporin or hydrocortisone cream a couple of times a day to help reduce the soreness and induce healing of the clipper rash until you can see your veterinarian. Despite you not being able to reach your veterinarian, please follow up with them as soon as you can Monday morning as most clinics want to be sure their animals receiving surgical get support and treatment whenever there is a complication. So e-collar to prevent licking and chewing, soothing ointment, and recheck at your vet clinic as soon as possible. Best of luck, Thanks for the question. Steve Popish, DVM

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry for the tragic lose of your dog Luna! What a terrible thing for you and her have to go through! Sadly I can't speak on behalf of what did or didn't happen at your Vet. A spay is a MAJOR abdominal surgery. The dog needs to be strictly exercise restricted at home for 10-14 days, this means no running, jumping, no playing with other dogs, leash walks only. If they exercise too much the internal stitches can fall apart and allow the internal organs to come out. Also the dog should wear an E-collar or a T-shirt to prevent chewing and/or licking of the incision as the dog can chew it open and cause the dame thing. They should also be kept indoors for the recovery period as well. Despite the tragedy of this situation, you should calmly speak to your vet about your interpretation of the what was or wasn't said at discharge after surgery and what can be done to better improve communication with post surgical patients. You constructive criticism may be able to prevent this from happening to someone else. Again I am so sorry for your loss. I hope this helps in some way.

You will need to wait a couple hours so that the fabric does not absorb the topical treatment. This could lead to under dosing her. The incision looks good. There is no redness, swelling or discharge and it looks closed. The bit of "crust" around the edges can be gently removed with a pet wipe or a plain, unscented baby wipe.

Wow, that's great! Awesome job talking to your mom about it :-) After surgery, it's extremely important to keep her quiet and rested, and to keep an Ecollar on her to prevent her from licking at her sutures. She has to stay quiet in order for her incision to heal correctly, and she has to stay quiet with the Ecollar on until her sutures are removed 10-14 days after surgery. Licking at her sutures can cause them to break down and open the incision, and it can introduce infection into the area. You will have to check the incision twice a day for signs of infection which include redness, swelling, warmth to the touch, or excessive discharge. If you see any of those signs, Bella will have to go back into the vet for an exam and antibiotics. Again, great job talking to your mom!