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Should I put cream on my dog's neuter stitches to prevent scars?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 7 months and 5 days old | 35 lbs

I just got my baby boy neutered and I was wondering if it was OK to put wound cream on the sutures to help them from scaring. He's wearing A cone so no worry of licking. Thank you so much!!

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on April 14th, 2018

No, you do not need to put any wound cream on the sutures, and putting it on there can interrupt the healing process. The sutures need to stay clean and dry. Neutering incisions typically heal just fine with no sign of scarring. Best of luck!

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Questions

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My dog was neutered 2 months ago on May 1st, we adopted him on May 20th. We took him to the vet 4 days after we got him on the 24th due to sores on his neck and the incision site from neutering would not heal. They suggested using neosporin and bitte
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! At least based on these pictures, this looks almost healed. It just has a small area that appears to be close to healing but not quite. While neosporin is ok, I think the main thing to make it completely heal is making sure that he is unable to get to it and chew or lick at it. Please make sure to use an e-collar to try to prevent this. If you are able to keep him from getting to his incision, I think you should be able to get it to heal. You can continue to use the neosporin as that may speed up the healing process. However, make sure to not pick at any scabs as that will usually delay healing. Good luck and have a good night!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Can you put Triple antibiotic ointment or benadryl itch cream on a dog that is scratching because of an incision made a few days ago when he was being neutered. He is wearing a cone but needs it off to eat and water for a while
No, I would not put these on Raider's incision, as he will likely try to lick them off. Many human ointments contain multiple other ingredients which are not necessarily safe to be swallowed. Dogs can eat and drink with a cone on, they do adapt, but if you take it off, monitor him very closely to keep him away from the incision. If he's scratching at it, you can get put a t-shirt on him to keep it protected or you can buy a medical pet shirt. Monitor the incision daily, and if you see any redness, swelling, warmth to the touch, or pus, it's infected and he will need to see a vet for treatment.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Noise recently got neutered and hasn't had any problems with his recovery from it, it's been over a week now and the stitches looked almost completely dissolved, my boyfriend let him outside and he rolled in a puddle yesterday..... he hasn't been itc
The incision looks good, it's healing normally and it is sealed. It looks like there might be some dirt on the incision. I don't like to scrub this but you can take a wet cloth and gently wipe the dirt off. Once it's clean apply a thin film of antibacterial ointment. As it's closed and healing Noise should not get an infection or problem from this. Thanks for using Boop by Petco to help you care for Noise.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Scooby got neutered yesterday and I noticed it looks like he has his stitches on his testicles, I didn’t know dog would get stitches there?
Some vets use a technique involving making an incision directly along the scrotum, and some vets use a technique involving an incision between the penis and scrotum. As long as it is kept clean and dry and Scooby wears a cone to reduce the risk of him licking the area, hopefully it should heal up fine, no matter what technique your vet used!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My Morkie is 16 months old. He was neutered 8 days ago on day 7 I left him home alone for the 1st for a couple hours and he was able to get his cone off. He had a couple of scabs on his testicles that he pulled off, now it looks a little raw/ sore. C
I would not apply neosporin as if licked it can cause digestive upset for Archie. I would however, still clean it up with the saline solution, and monitor the site for any swelling, open wounds, etc. You can also use a warm compress a few times a day to help reduce any swelling as needed. If the area remains red even after care, continues to swell, or is painful or oozing debris, then scheduling a recheck with your vet is best.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Health & Wellbeing
Yesterday my puppy had a procedure his vet took out inner sutures after neuter that caused irritation for a month, they only cut his skin and put outer suture to close the skin, but at night he kicked the wound open and today the vet closed the skin
That looks fine for the stage it's at. Rather than cover the wound with a bandage, I would put an e-collar or an inflatable collar on him that will keep him from licking at it, unless he's getting to it with his hind claws. In that case you can put baby socks on his hind feet to keep his claws from getting into the staples. If you do keep it covered, change the bandage daily or twice daily if the wound oozes a bit.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Our dog was neutered on Tuesday. Today is day 5 post surgery. Our dog was left unattended for about 3 hours and he managed to get his e-collar off and has been licking it for hours. It is reddened and possibly a tad bit bleeding. It also didn’t help
It is just red from him licking it. It looks fine. Just be sure to get the cone on him so that he cannot remove it. Typically lacing it through the collar and putting the collar on tight enough that you can only get two fingers between it and the neck will prevent them from removing it. I suggest you get this wound spray gel to put on it until healed. This should keep it from getting infected. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/vetericyn-plus-antimicrobial-wound-and-skin-hydrogel-for-pets I would not be worry about him getting it wet, that will not dissolve the sutures.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi there. Our dog was neutered 11 days ago and 2 days ago we removed his cone. This morning we noticed he may have removed part of the scab from the scrotum area. He appears to be guarding the area as well. Would you return to cone or will this heal?
Thank you for your question about Lucky. Yes, Lucky needs to wear the cone at all times until the incision is completely healed. If he leaves it alone, there is a high likelihood that it will heal on its own. It takes roughly 10-14 days to heal an incision and he damaged it around around day 10 so that is going to delay things a bit. Check the incision daily for redness, swelling or discharge. If you see this, he needs to go to the veterinarian for a likely infection from licking. Keep the incision clean and dry. Don’t worry about putting anything on it. It will likely form a new scab and will continue the healing process. I do recommend to have him checked by his veterinarian in about 1 week. I hope you found this helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My puppy got neutered yesterday and escaped into our flooded backyard this morning. I'm positive his incision got wet, should I clean it, if so how? Or just monitor it closely?
I would not recommend cleaning the incision. You can take a dry towel and gently spat dry the incision. I would monitor Snoopys incision for any discharge , swelling or smell. If this occurs I would recommend taking Snoopy into the vet to have the incision re checked. Hope that helps
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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my puppy had neuter surgery 09.15 this bump appeared 10.09 and it is getting smaller and lighter then red and big again, it is also leaking some liquid, now it has a wound on the side, I prevent him from licking the vet says it is not infection and i
This is likely a mild reaction to tissue stitches and the site may be developing some infection. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Leave always the skin very dry. Clorexyderm spot on gel or filtabac can be used on dry skin. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking(if any).
Updated on September 24th, 2025

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