Unfortunately, my dog Scooby recently got hurt badly enough that he needed stitches. He got caught on a plant sticking up out of the ground and ended up getting 7 stitches. He came out of the vet with a cone on his head and he absolutely hated it. He tried to do everything he could to get out of it and lick his wound, but he just couldn't.
This made me wonder why do dogs want to lick their wounds so badly and why do we stop them from doing that?
We may think that a dog licking its wound is a good thing because that's the only thing they can do. Even though dog saliva is slightly bactericidal (meaning it kills bacteria) towards E.coli and Streptococcus canis and their tounges are able to loosen any dirt that may be in the wound, excessive licking can lead to irritation. This can cause infections, hot spots (painful sores), and even self-mutilation. Licking also causes the wound to reopen, slowing down the healing process.
Licking surgically closed wounds can cause the sutures to break down which requires additional trips back to the vet. Although licking is a dog's natural response, it actually causes more harm than help and it's important to keep themselves away from themselves during the healing process.
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