Dog owners always bring the best things to their dogs and keep them healthy. However, playful pets often hurt themselves in daily activities. To avoid any mistakes while looking after dogs having surgery, you have to know how to keep a dog from scratching a wound.
How To Keep A Dog From Scratching A Wound?
Your dog will want to scratch or lick its wound area. Come hell or high water, you have to prevent your dog from damaging the wound and avoid secondary infection. Some tips below will help you.
1. T-shirt and bandage
After a dog gets injured, hair in the wounded area is shaved off so that it can receive medical treatment. This is a step to cure the dog. However, the hair will grow back soon, which makes the pet feel itchy. The skin area with shaved hair becomes very sensitive. As a result, your dog will try to scratch the shaved area and wound. It doesn’t unintentionally damage the healing wound. Other problems including ingrown hair and infection can also happen.
You need to take the action to prevent your dog from scratching its injury. Using a T-shirt and bandage is a popular solution. help your dog wear a T-shirt. It not only looks cute but also works as a physical protection layer between the wound and paws or teeth. This solution is effective but just temporary. Some mischievous dogs will make a getaway from the T-shirt. It will bite or scratch the T-shirt.
You also can use a bandage. The bandage stops your furry friend from scratching or licking a wound and avoids secondary infection. One disadvantage of bandage is decreasing airflow that helps the wound heal more quickly. This is a short-term solution with good effect. You have to change the bandage regularly to maintain proper sanitation.
Please notice that not all types of wounds can use bandages. You must observe and decide if you should use a bandage for your dog or not. That the bandage is effective also depends on your pet’s behaviors. In case your pet finds any way to lick or scratch the injury, you cannot make use of even the most complex bandage.
If a dog undergoes surgery, its wound is bandaged before the animal is discharged. For milder wounds like small cuts or scratches, no bandage is applied so the wound can heal quickly thanks to contact with the air. Don’t use a light bandage because your dog can easily destroy it. A thick and tight bandage that the vet advises will get it done. It’s good to cool off the animal when it insists on licking or scratching its wound.
Read more: How To Groom A Dog At Home With Scissors? Useful Tips
2. Elizabethan collar
The mischievous dogs that love to run or play often get hurt. They can suffer from wounds, but they won’t stop. When they have serious injuries, you need to take them to a vet. They may undergo surgery and you must take care of them during the recovery process. However, the furry friend will be able to scratch and lick the wound. This’s harmful to its recovery as the dog will ruin growing tissue and make the open wound get dirt and bacteria. The bacteria may enter the bloodstream causing dangerous symptoms.
How to keep your dog from scratching a wound? An Elizabethan collar is an effective tool. It has 2 different names which are cone of shame and pet lamp-shade. This cone-shaped necklace goes around the dog’s neck creating a barrier between its mouth and the wound in the body.
An Elizabethan collar is a popular tool for pet owners and vets. Dogs, cats, and other animals wear it to avoid licking or scratching their wounds. Especially after surgery, pets owners help pets wear this cone to refrain them from touching surgical stitches.
Nevertheless, Elizabethan collar is a plastic device that can make your dog stressful because the tool reduces vision and influences its control of the environment around the pet. You can see the dog pump into objects around the room, refuse walking, and get trouble eating or drinking water.
This item is good for a post-surgical wound; however, it makes the dog uncomfortable. You should look after your furry friend and follow some tips to ease it. Make a sign like talking or calling name before approaching your dog to avoid startling it, encourage it to walk by standing in front of it, move pieces of furniture in the room to make the dog safe, and feed it in the right way.
Read more: Are Shock Collars Legal In the US? The Answers You Need to Know
3. Ointments and creams
The wound in the recovery process becomes itchy, so your dog will try to scratch it. You can place a cold compress on the wound site. It will numb the wounded area and resist the temptation to scratch.
You also can regularly apply ointments and creams on the wound to reduce the dog’s desire to scratch. To prevent the dog from licking its injury, you can use no-lick spray that makes the wounded area taste unpleasant. Its tongue is full bacteria and the wound is an ideal environment for bacteria to grow. Therefore, it’s important to stop it from licking.
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Summary
Dogs that play with full energy can usually get hurt. You need to prepare some knowledge and tips to take care of them after they receive medical treatment. Protect the wound after surgery and help it get well soon. You must learn how to keep a dog from scratching a wound to avoid infection. It’s necessary to keep an eye on your dog’s wound during healing duration and tell the vet if you realize any signs of complications or infection.