How to stop a dog from licking her stitches after entropion surgery

[Daizy and Dukes mom]

Hi, My 3 yr old bully Daizy has just gone for a second round of entropion surgery Her lids reverted back on one side. My question is how do I get her to stop licking her eye sutures?? She went back last Friday to get it restitched because the sutures came out on the top lid. We went for a recheck yesterday and was told there was a couple of sutures missing on top and bring her back on Thursday for a recheck. So today it looks whatever stitches are left on top are not attached to anything and looks like one is poking her eye. We go back in at 3:45. I just emailed the company that makes the Optivizor cone to see if it would be suitable for a bully. Does anyone have anyone have any suggestions on how to alleviate this problem? The cone does not come off her head unless she is eating. Even then I stand guard!! Getting very frustrated!!! Too bad they can't stitch the tongue down...lol. Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[2BullyMama]

How the heck is she reaching them? Culd Duke be 'taking care' of it for her ?
[MENTION=2091]BabyDuke[/MENTION]... any ideas?

 

[Daizy and Dukes mom]

Nope, it's her...lol. I have caught her in the act. Such a little resourceful brat she is!!! Duke wants no part of her at the moment. She is like a bash brother with that cone and he has gone into hiding...lol

 

[Daizy and Dukes mom]

The tech says that is the only dog she knows that can lick her eyes..lol

 

[truffle shuffle]

wow.... i didn't even know that was possible.... perhaps would a baby asprin help with the irratation enough to prevent the licking?

 

[Casper]

Wow…licking her own eye??? thats amazing.

 

[sheshistory]

Hmm, it is hard to prevent when the tongue can reach the eye....the only thing I am guessing will work is vigilance. When you see her licking the eye, I would make a loud noise to startle her and say "no!" I had to do this with my bully, who was in a terrible habit of licking his paws. Of course I could've used a cone but now just me making a loud noise (I say "AHHHH!" really loud) will make him stop in his tracks. Tough situation though for your gifted bully! I hope she gets better!

 

[BabyDuke]

uuugggh that is a tough one , Duke wore a huge cone for 4 weeks after his surgery.. sorry I have no other ideas..

 

[Daizy and Dukes mom]

Thanks for the advice. We do that when we catch her, but when were out or she's sleeping...that's another story. Multi talented these bully's are....lol. The vet said she will have some scarring and it won't be as pretty as she'd like it. But the soreness should subside. Any suggestions on oils or something to help with the scarring?? It's on the inside of the lid. Thanks again..

 

[frannygirl2010]

Hello, im not sure if this would help but I bought my Sammy the pro collar which looks looks like a.donut tube for the neck, but im not sure if that will help but its much more comfortable! Get better soon, hugs and kisses from sammy!

 

[kazzy220]

Wow!! She can lick her own eye? That's impressive!!

I wonder if there is something that is safe to put close tithe eye but that tastes really nasty????

 

[LucyLover]

Would it be possible to put a hard muzzle on her? She would still be able to drink water and open her mouth but the cage would stop her tongue maybe.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi, I can't imagine how she would be able to lick her eye, that's amazing. Lol. I don't have any experience with my guys licking their sutures after their spay and neuter surgeries. They didn't have a cone, and never touched their surgical areas.
I was going to suggest the same thing as frannygirl, to try using a soft cone, they are available at Petsmart or PetValu and are much more comfortable than the hard cones. I would be worried about the muzzle though because for a number of reasons, she could still rub her eye on the muzzle and since they are hard it could scratch her more, or it could be dangerous for her breathing since bullies have breathing difficulties already and the muzzle might make it more difficult to breath or could cause her to pant or overheat more. Plus it would be very hard to fit a muzzle on a bully because most are designed to fit over a snout and they have flat noses and faces. I was considering a soft muzzle for Blossom last summer because she loves to eat cigarette butts and they are toxic, and of course they are everywhere. I looked at some pet stores but couldn't find one that fit her face, and I asked my vet about it because I was worried about the butts being poisonous and making her sick. My vet didn't recommend putting a muzzle on a bully because of the breathing issues.