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My dog bit her stitches. Can I bathe her and are remaining stitches okay?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 9 years and 4 months old | 4 lbs

The dissolvable stitches where she had a bump (benign) remived from on April 18th began to stick out. You cant tell by the picture but you could see the knot where it was tied & the 2 sharp ends. It was irritating/poking her so i was going to take her in to get it trimmed but now i think shes bitten it off. Is this okay? You can still see a small piece inside & it still feels a little hard where i guess there are more stitches inside. Also, can i bathe her now? She really needs it.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

Published on May 22nd, 2018

The problem with Precious biting at the stitch is that she can certainly get the area infected. The second pictures look like the area is oozing a little and irritated. I would recommend taking her in for the area to be evaluated and to see if there is additional suture that needs to be removed. I would not bathe her yet if the area is not completely sealed over. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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    Answered By Ana M, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 20th, 2018

    Thank you for submitting your question regarding Precious. I would recommend that she returns to her veterinarian to have the sutures removed. Typically this is a very quick appointment and many places will not charge. The ends just need to be trimmed back a bit. Then as long as her skin is well healed, it should be fine to bathe her. It is good to remove the sutures as they can be irritating to her. I hope this information helps!

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