Neutering question

We got Bear from a gentleman that had lost his home to foreclosure. He had to give him up because the people he was living with raised Great Dane's. Enough said. He was a year old and had not been neutered yet. We took him in for neutering a month after we had gotten him. The surgery went well and he came home the same day. We did our best to keep him chilled out and away from the surgery site. However, he's a licker and the vet does not like cones and strongly did not recommend them.

Thursday morning he was bleeding profusely and had pulled a staple out of his wound. We rushed him to the vet who kept him until Saturday but decided not to put the staple he had pulled out back in. We went through the same routine Tuesday morning. This time he did put two more staples in and gave us a collar type thing that prevents Bear from reaching the site.

I'm a farm kid but haven't had a dog since high school. I don't freak out over blood, wounds, etc. However, all of this seems like it shouldn't have happened. Anyone else have an experience like this. Am I just having "new mom" anxiety?

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on November 25, 2010 at 12:25am

I had a female years ago that started to rip her stitches and the vet "vet wrapped her but I guess that wouldn't work for him. I would be a little disturbed with the vet...doesn't seem right. When my Aussie was neutered we HAD to use a collar as he licked himself raw...as for the bleeding I never had this happen (poor baby!)...we also got a salve called NoLick to put on him (near but not on the wound) as his whole tummy was raw!

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Permalink Reply by Tauna and Kota on November 25, 2010 at 3:21am

I think the vet should have given you the option of a cone, or even the blow up neck ring things. Its your dog. Not his. The bleeding would be normal from a stitch pulled out the next day. I'm supprised the vet didn't replace the stitch and provide a cone/neck ring then... As, a dog will continue to lick if they started. And he of all people should know that. Vets always say to watch and make sure they don't lick.... And if they do to go back and get a cone... I'm glad he replaced the first stitch when the pup removed the second one. I would still think that the first stitch being taken out the first day after surgery... That he would have replaced it. Anyway..... Just my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Jane on November 25, 2010 at 12:12pm

The vet definitely should have given you the option of the cone. Yes I'm sure it's annoying to the dog, but a few days of annoyance is better than ripped out stitches/staples, pain and more vet bills. It's just not possible to watch the dog 24 hours a day, especially since most of us like that thing called sleep once in a while.

We have a soft cone we bought at petco when Henry was neutered, it's nice to have just in case, and the dogs don't seem to mind it as much as the hard plastic.