10Jun/118
How long should my dog wear his e-collar after being neutered if he has internal stitches?
My dog was neutered 10 days ago. He has been wearing the e-collar for the full 10 days. The vet told us to leave the collar on for 10-14 days, I am wondering how to know if it is ok to remove his collar. There is just a tiny scab on the incision site, but not redness or swelling. He also had internal stitches so I do not think it is possible for him to tear them out.
June 10th, 2011 - 17:07
NO!! Please don’t I speak from experience. I did this with mine and she ripped open her incision site and dug into her other set of stitches. I was up at midnight holding a towel compress and on the way to the vet hospital.
I would wait the full time to be safe.
June 10th, 2011 - 17:14
Sounds like it healed up nicely I would say its safe to take off the e-collar. Just don’t let him lick or chew at his incision site.
June 10th, 2011 - 18:04
wait the full 14 days so your dog will not chew on incision
June 10th, 2011 - 18:06
You could take it off if the vet said ’10 to 14 days’ and watch him carefully. If he starts biting and licking the area a lot, put the collar back on for another day or two, and try again.
June 10th, 2011 - 18:53
The vet gave you the 10-14 days for a reason. If you feel it is ok call you vet and explain that your dog is pretty much completely healed and see if you can remove the e collar.
June 10th, 2011 - 19:22
You can take the e-collar off now, so long as he doesn’t mess with his stitches. If you see him messin with the stitches (licking or chewing), then put it back on. If he leaves the stitches alone; the collar is not necessary. However, I’d put it on when you can’t watch him just as a precaution to make sure he doesn’t chew them while you’re not looking.
June 10th, 2011 - 20:22
Depends on the temperment of your dog, and how much supervision you can provide.
When my girl was desexed, she wore the e-collar for the rest of the day, and I took it off her half way through the night. (Actually, SHE took it off half way through the night and I just went with it)
But she had a very solid “leave it” command. She was also desexed on a Wednesday, and I didn’t work again until Monday, where she was then cared for by my mother. She tried to lick the stitches and I told her “leave it” and she stopped. I know she wouldn’t tear them out, as she is very timid.
The e-collar really distressed her, as she couldn’t get around properly. And for a border collie, that is a real issue, as they are super energetic. It was better for both of us for her to not have the collar on and just be supervised properly.
June 10th, 2011 - 21:18
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