Dog Stitches: How to Care, Heal, and Manage Costs

Dogs are agile and jumpy and may not care if they have a stitch that needs healing. They jump around, and may exert pressure on the stitched area which could result in tearing, prolonged healing and possibly an infection. Not to worry, in this article, you will learn to care for your dog with stitches, what it costs and its financial considerations.

Content:

1. When Dogs Need Stitches and What to Expect
2. Dog Stitches Care and Healing Stages
3. Cost and Financial Considerations of Dog Stitches
4. Conclusion

When Dogs Need Stitches and What to Expect

Dogs may need stitches for different reasons. Commonly, stitches are done after surgery to close up surgical sites. Common reasons such as intrusive trauma or wound would require surgery and stitches.

Dogs that roam around without supervision are susceptible to trauma or injury. To help your dog stay safe, use the Petcube Tracker. This would help track your pet’s whereabouts and ensure they stay in safe spaces.

Stitches are recommended when there is a minor cut on the skin or large wounds that need to be closed up. Studies also recommend stitching for cosmetic reasons in order to give the wound site a normal look without many scars when it’s healed.

Other reasons for stitching may include:

• Deep lacerations
• Excessive bleeding
• Deep wounds
• Exposed soft tissues
• Bite wounds

Dogs are placed on anesthesia during stitching to prevent pain and a lot of body movement. This would help the dog stay stable throughout the whole process. The degree of stitching would depend on the severity of the cut or damage to the body or skin.

Dog Stitches Care and Healing Stages

Stitching is essential as it promotes healing, prevents infection and restores function to the site of injury. After stitching, the healing process sets in. Stitches need as much care as possible, because any disruption of the stitched area would prolong healing and may lead to infection.

A study shows that dogs with stitches would go through four different healing stages such as:

Inflammation (0–3 days)

This is the first stage of the healing process after stitches. First, there is inflammation or swelling. This is the first immune response to a stitched site.

Debridement (2–4 days)

In this stage, the body clears dead tissues from the wound site, making way for fresh and new tissues.

Repair (3–21 days)

In the third stage, the body goes through repair. New tissues are formed, and dead ones are replaced. Also, the stitched site begins to close up with new skin.

Maturation (2+ weeks)

During the maturation stage, tissues in the stitched site begin to strengthen and harden, leading to scar tissue formation. The stitched site is completely closed with a complete new skin and scar tissue.

“Putting a cone on your dog after surgery would help prevent chewing and biting at the stitch site”, - Reddit User

From my experience, cones are the most effective way of preventing your dog from interfering with stitches. Dogs with stitches are recommended to wear this for about two weeks or until the wound heals.

The following can be employed when caring for dog stitches:

• Use of an Elizabethan collar on dogs to prevent reach to stitched areas. Dogs could reach stitched areas with their mouth or paws, resulting in damage to the stitched area.
• Prevent dogs from playing in ditches and dirty areas to avoid soiling the stitched area. Soiled stitches will have a prolonged healing process and may lead to infection.
• Stitched areas should be clean and dry, monitor them for pus production and report any unusual symptoms to the veterinarian.
• Restrict exercise in dogs to prevent strain on stitched areas. Strained stitched areas will not heal properly.
• Use prescribed pain relief medication as recommended by the veterinarian.

“Most stitches may not require any topical treatment, but you need to make sure the stitch area remains clean and dry”, - Dr. Stephanie Howe

Cost and Financial Considerations of Dog Stitches

The cost of stitches in dogs depends on the type of procedure and type of stitches used. Minor or average procedures would cost from $100-$500 while major procedures could cost as much as $1000 or more.

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Conclusion

Caring for dog stitches is easy if you can control what happens to the stitch area. Dogs are fond of licking or scratching at the stitch site. The use of an Elizabethan collar and other sanitary measures would help the wound heal fast and prevent secondary bacterial infection.