My ex and son are fostering a 6 month old puppy who was just spayed (I think last Wednesday). While she's not chewing at the site, she is scratching at it and his pulled the stitches. She seems ok, the site doesn't look infected or anything. As she's a rescue dog, he's limited on which vet he can take her to and they can't see her until Thursday night (which is the night she's coming to me while he's out of town). I can't get her to the vet on Thursday.

I've heard bactine can help with the itching. Also read you can give a dog benedryl, which would also help, but I have no idea on the dosage. Anyone have any ideas?

Clean the site with hibitane soap. You can buy it in drugstores. I wouldnt give a dog benadryl unless prescribed by a vet.

Try calling the vet and asking them what you can do to help until you can get her to see a vet.

She needs an elizabethian collar to keep her from the site. An anti itch cream will work. Don't give her any meds call the vets office!

Yeah, that plastic collar. She needs that. Any vet will sell it to you. Call the humane society!

My lil 6lb chihuahua was prescribed Benedryl for his itchy skin...I gave him half a tablet a day...but I'm not saying you should give this to the puppy. Is there any way the dog can be watched & just wrap a steril bandage (with some Neosporin) around it? Or even try to construct a "cowl" like they give to stop chewing? I once made one out of a 2 liter plastic soda bottle...

Keep an eye on the incition...if there's any blood, swelling or discharge, chances are that it is starting to get infected and it needs to be treated with antibiotics.

The stitches are really not too vital because those are just on the surface. There are more stitches on the inside that aren't visible. One of my rescues didn't have stitches on the outside at all, just surgical glue.

You can look up the proper dosage for Benadryl online. It pretty much goes by weight of the dog...however, Benadryl can make the pup drowsy, so don't be alarmed if she gets a little lethargic.

Topicals like Neosporin and stuff work great but there is always the chance that the dog licks it off and then of course it's not going to work.

One thing you can do to prevent her from chewing or scratching is modifiying an old t-shirt or sock (depending on the size of the dog) into sort of a "belt" that sits over the incition. Works like a charm.

Good luck

Thanks, collar won't work as she's scratching, not licking or chewing. There's a call in to the vet, from what I understand, just was looking for suggestions until we hear from them.

Thank you, I'm hesitant on medicating her without the ok of the vet but the t-shirt idea I think might help. I think we have bactine and neosporin at home, gonna try those as well.

Knock wood, it doesn't look infected at all.

Ahhh, I hear you. Poor thing. I hope she gets better. Itching just plain sucks.

That's a good sign.

There is that sulfur based skin treatment for dogs that will help with the itching. I cannot remember the name of it of the top of my head but it worked well for the irritation on my dog after her surgery last summer.

Yeah, it does. And she's really a very sweet dog. She was one day away from being euthanized, I heard about her from a friend of someone I work with. She seems to have had some minimal training and she's incredibly loving. She's only 6 months old, is bigger than my current dog and thinks she's a lap dog. I swear, I don't know what it is about me finding medium to large dogs that think they are born chihuahuas

Hydrocortisone Cream is safe for dogs, but it needs to be rubbed in well... The stiches shouldn't be any problem as long as they were in 3-4 days...

Swabbing the inscision site with Hydrogen Peroxide will help prevent infection, and is safe...


She should be kept from licking anything you put on it until it has a chance to be absorbed/dries up...

If the incision isn't raw, or "Feverish", it should be fine... Dogs have a way of taking care of themselves...

Do you recall, is it something I get at a pet store?

It's called Sulfodene and you can buy it at PetSmart. Problem with it though is you have to keep an eye on the dog so he/she doesn't lick it off.

I swear by Bag Balm...you know the stuff you put on a cow's udders to keep them from getting chapped or infected? It works great on hotspots in dogs and it's cheap. You can even get it in the pet section at Wal-Mart.

I've seen that, they sell something similar at Trader Joe's, udder cream or something like that. I use it as lotion, works great

On all surgeries you have to be careful putting any oily stuff on them because it will not allow proper healing, that is why I used the Sulfodene on my dog. Good luck.

Benadryl is given to dogs for itching and allergies. Small dogs smaller doses. Call a vet..they will tell you. My Chuhuahuas have taken it..one half tab a day. Moms poodle "a toy" meaning he is about 19 pounds. He can take a whole one."a day" My vet told me no hydrogen peroxide. On humans 50/50 water and peroxide. Not dogs.

This itch is very common in dogs with surgery. It is foreign to them. All you can do is rub it with what they "should have given you" on it. A medical cream for this healing and anti infection. NEVER! NEVER USE "NEOSPORIN /PLUS"! Neosporin orignal only. Ask if you can put that on it. It needs cleaned softly to keep it free of bacteria. You do not want an infection to move inside. Also try putting socks on the dog by taping them on for a few hours at a time. Taking them off periodically.

Call someone. The original vet should talk to you. If not that is not the vet for you.

Kat