# Do You Think It'll Need Stitches?



## ChancetheGSD

So, we just got home from the dog park. Chance had a great time with all his buddies as usual. Unfortunately we had a little accident. Chance and another dog named Jack were running around and playing and as Jack turned a corner, Chance ran straight into him. I guess Jacks tooth hit his head or something (or they just hit heads REALLY hard) but now right above Chance's eye is a pretty decent size cut.

It was 10 till 5, no way to get to the vet. I don't think it's such an emergency that I need to spend $100 just to walk into an e-vet so I'm planning to take him in the morning to his regular vet.

Anyways, do you guys think this will need stitches or think they could like glue it or something? :crazy: (I already shaved it so I could clean it) It's not really DEEP it's just...wide?


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## elisabeth_00117

It is so hard to tell from photo's.. Stark had something similar below his eye from playing too rough with his BFF.

Just remember, some vets won't stitch after a few hours... might be worth the trip out. 

It does look pretty decent of a cut, infection is the big thing..


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## Zoeys mom

They won't be able to stitch tomorrow- cuts have to stitched immediately or not at all because of the risk of sewing in bacteria that has had time to invade. You could liquid stitch it yourself, but it's going to leave a scar


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## GSDAlphaMom

Make sure you put some antibiotic ointment on it.


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## KLCecil

No it’s fine, just keep it clean and it will heal up fine. Flush it with saline (eye wash) and dab either rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide on it make sure to keep these out of the eye. It looks like a nice clean cut and I've dealt with many "battle" wounds and that one’s not too bad. Keep the wound open (don't seal it or cover it with anything) Don't use Neosporin as this can cause the wound to heal from the outside in and you want it the other way around or bacteria can get trapped inside.


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## ChancetheGSD

My mom (CNA for 15 years) came home and looked at it. She too thinks it'll be ok and also said it wouldn't be able to be stitched in the morning. =/ At least I know that now in case it happens again.

I've shaved it, flushed it with saline, wiped it (gently) with an alcohol pad (I didn't want to run any down his face just in case) and put neosporin on it. I don't want to use peroxide because if I remember correctly, it kills bad bacteria but also eats away good tissue, no? I've dealt with wounds before but they're mostly ripped up paw pads. >< Chance has done THAT enough times that I'd say I've gotten to be quite the pro at caring for them so I don't think this will be any problem I just haven't had a cut that big around the eye before (He did have a tiny one once after my Chihuahua bit him when he was a puppy. Not NEARLY as bad though) and worried if it got infected if it could cause eye problems or something. :S

I guess I'll see what they say in the morning, I can't make it to the e-vet tonight since I've got to wait for my brothers practice to be done. I could have if I'd gone earlier. =/ The closest one is like in Charleston too, it'll be 10 or so before I can get there so either way it's going to sit for a couple hours.


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## bunchoberrys

Unfortunately, he is going to need stitches. It looks too wide of a gash to be glued, and also the skin on top of the head near the eye is thin and tight which also makes it difficult for glueing.


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## Zoeys mom

Invest in some iodine I like it way better than alcohol and hydrogen peroxide- it won't dry it out too rapidly


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## Jax's Mom

Our lab gets those sometimes. We call them "bullet holes". Mainly in her hind region because Jax likes to run with his mouth open. If you keep it clean with peroxide, it should be ok.


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## Elaine

Any full thickness laceration like this should be stitched and it needs to be done within a short period of time after it happened or it can't be done. It will take much longer to heal, bigger scar, and greater chance of infection if not stitched. If this were just a puncture wound, then it wouldn't need to be stitched.


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## bunchoberrys

Zoeys mom said:


> They won't be able to stitch tomorrow- cuts have to stitched immediately or not at all because of the risk of sewing in bacteria that has had time to invade. You could liquid stitch it yourself, but it's going to leave a scar


Actually, they can be stitched even after a day. The vet will trim the edges of the wound to remove the already decayed edges to promote new tissue that will bind together when stitched. Then they will flush and wash the wound out with surgical soap (whatever the vet uses, all vets are different when using scrubs) and wipe with alchohol. Then proceed with stitching.


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## KLCecil

Zoeys mom said:


> Invest in some iodine I like it way better than alcohol and hydrogen peroxide- it won't dry it out too rapidly


Yes! I always forget I have that stuff now and it is very good!

And no it does not need to be stitiched as long as it is kept clean.


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## bunchoberrys

Your vet should look at it, and you both should decide what is best for your pupper.


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## Jax08

bunchoberrys said:


> Actually, they can be stitched even after a day. The vet will trim the edges of the wound to remove the already decayed edges to promote new tissue that will bind together when stitched. Then they will flush and wash the wound out with surgical soap (whatever the vet uses, all vets are different when using scrubs) and wipe with alchohol. Then proceed with stitching.



Yup...they did this for a doberman I was fostering. I spoke to the vet on the phone, she told me to wash it with warm water and soap and bring him in the next morning. They stitched three different spots.


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## ChancetheGSD

Took him in this morning, he didn't want to stitch it so I'm cleaning it 3x a day and bringing him back in a couple days to check on the healing. Fingers crossed everything goes ok! He's not a show dog or anything so it's not the end of the world if he is left with evidence of it happening. I just don't want any infections.


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## ChancetheGSD

Just an update. 

It's been a week and a half and it's healed better than I thought. There is of course going to be a scar but it's not nearly as big as I expected it to be. (It's about half the size of the original gash) It's just got a tiny little piece of scab left in the corner to fall off. His hair has also started to grow back in thankfully! He ended up with a pretty big area on his head shaved to the skin.

But here it is now!










The question remaining is, how long do you think it'll take the hair to grow back all the way? Lol!


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## PaddyD

Great, I bet in a month you won't see anything.
My pup had major surgery at 6 months and the sewn up area was at
least a foot long and it looked like they had sewed it up like a turkey.
To get to the point: within a few months there was no scar.


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## jkscandi50

His boo boo looks great !!


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