Your dog indeed loves to jump and run around whether you keep them inside the home or outside in an open space. While your dog is enjoying the moment, they are also risking themselves to get injured, even if it is a small wound. Taking care of the injury at the beginning may seem easy, but once it starts to itch, you will have to start thinking about how to stop dog from scratching wound!
Yes, it is the most common problem for a dog owner after their pet gets injured, and it is top stop them from scratching the spot. The wound is already nasty itself, and them rubbing it even for once will make things much complicated and that you do not wish to happen. That is why we are here to discuss how to stop dog from scratching wound.
Why Do They Scratch?
Before we can move on to getting the solution to how to stop dog from scratching wound, let us take a look at why do they scratch their wound!
When your dog meets a severe injury that required them to get treated in the vet or even get surgery, they will end up having to remove the hair from that particular area where the wound has happened. Therefore, after a while, the hair will start to grow back to the site, and it becomes very itchy due to the ingrown hair. That is one of the reasons why your dog wants to scratch the wound.
Also, if the wound is open and not covered with something, air and dirt will get into it, and it will give them the sensation to itch. As we already know how itchy it gets just by a mosquito bite, so you can understand how your dog may be feeling. When the wound is healing, new skin will start to develop, making the area itchy again. If you do not stop your dog from itching the site, their nails will make the wound open and bleed again.
How to Stop Dog from Scratching Wound?
After your dog meets an injury or has an operation, you need to be extra careful in taking care of them. You have to make sure that they do not do something that can worsen the situation. Because the wound is not healed correctly, it could turn into an infection and cause serious health issues in the future.
But even if you stop them from running around or eating anything improperly, you need to pay extra attention to them so that they do not cause any harm by themselves, in this case precisely, by scratching. There are few ways of how to stop a dog from scratching a wound. Let us see some of them.
Using Bandages
If the wound is too big, the vet will give your dog some bandage to cover up the injury for the time being. But once you take them off, your dog can end up scratching the still recovering wound, and it could open it again. If you feel like this incident can happen, you can use an additional bandage to cover the injury. It may slow down the process of healing as there will be less airflow, but the bandage will stop your pup from scratching the wound. You will also have to change the bandage frequently to make sure that the wound is healing correctly and provide some airflow to the wound.
Elizabethan Collar
The Elizabethan collar is widespread tool doctors use for dogs after surgery. It is a plastic made round shaped color that will cover up around your dog’s head. This collar helps the dog by blocking its sight and keeping its head straight so it will not end up biting or licking the wound. It will also allow the pup to stop scratching the wound. Although there are some disadvantages to this collar, such as it makes the dog anxious as it cannot see around correctly. Your dog may stop running or walking and has some mood change after you start using this collar. The collar also becomes appropriate for them to eat and drink. But it is an effective way to help your dog recover any wound.
Using a T-shirt
You may have already tried to make your dog a tee once. If you love to dress up your dog, it is a great chance to do so as the tee will be a significant barrier to keep your dog from scratching the wound. The T-shirt will work as a barrier to stop the claws from getting close to the damage. Your dog may end up scratching on top of the t-shirt. Although it is not the best solution, it is something that will stop the process from getting worse.
Using Other Solution
There are some ready-made products you can find in a store that can be used for keeping the wound from being scratched. The dog usually scratches the wound because they feel the itch. So, if you can help them by stopping the itch, they will not try to rub it. But before you use any product, you need to consult your pet’s doctor to see if the product will be the right one for your dog or not. By no means, you want to make the wound any worse.
Final Thoughts
Those were some of the solutions you can use to know how to stop a dog from scratching a wound. Besides all these solutions, you need to be careful that they do not make the wound infected by scratching too much. It is always better to keep a close eye on them so they will be recovered sooner. Besides everything, you need to make sure to stop your dog from getting injured in the first place. It may not be possible all the time, and they might get hurt here and there, but it is your responsibility to stop them from getting any significant injuries and take care of them with proper dedication.
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