My dog licks his surgical wound after surgery. Is any licking safe?

Question

Is there an acceptable amount of licking a wound that a dog can do after surgery? My 6 month old puppy was neutered two weeks ago tomorrow. I've been taking his cone off the last couple of days to see how he does and he starts licking so I put the cone on right away. I also don't know what a healed wound looks like to know if he's just investigating the wound or capable of reopening the wound. They used a surgical glue to close the wound, not external stitches. I've attached a pic of the wound. Pet's info: Dog | Standard Schnauzer | Male | unneutered | 6 months and 4 days old | 32 lbs

Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS · Accepted Answer

As far as I can see the wound looks fine at this stage. Cone should be kept all times unfortunately, as licking can delay healing process and open up skin margins. There is no acceptable amount of licking, the wound can open up any time. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

My dog licks his surgical wound after surgery. Is any licking safe?

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