Dogs and cats both lick their wounds. Why? Because they have no chlorhexidine handy with which to disinfect their own cuts and scrapes. Sad business for them—except that they seem to manage quite well when it comes to simple cleaning. Beyond getting the big bits of dirt and basic grunge off, though, their tongues are better off where they belong—in their mouths.
So much for my clients who swear their pets need no e-collars. Pets’ mouths are cleaner than ours, they say, citing the pithy adage that suggests we’d all rather eat a plate of spaghetti off a dog’s tongue than off our Crate & Barrel finest. Pets’ mouths are made for licking wounds, they say, so scr-- you neurotic vets and your expensive post-surgical accoutrements.
Such was the case last week when one of my cryptorchid neuters came back with a complete dehiscence of his belly stitches (where I’d had to fish around for a stray testicle). His owner swore up and down he’d never need the collar. Indeed, I’d used subcutaneous sutures and figured he’d be watched at home in the event of any catastrophes. I didn’t count on her disobeying every order and letting the cat roam outdoors to his heart’s content immediately after surgery.
When he came in Saturday morning for the “gash in his belly” I had sufficient cause to reprimand her. Instead, she berated me for my poor stitching. Her cat’s tongue surely had nothing to do with it. Everyone knows pet tongues are clean!
Didn’t you know Caesar employed a small army of trained, wound-licking dogs to handle his soldiers’ injuries? Sure, getting blood, guts, dirt and bacteria off a gaping wound is a good thing whether it’s a tongue or a gauze sponge. The latter’s better, but why quibble over details?
Get real, that was 2,050 years ago!
It’s true that some amount of normal licking can be therapeutic. In fact, there’s some evidence that cross-species licking is related to lower levels of infection than same-species licking (presumably due to the lower levels of species-specific bacteria). But excessive licking and biting is verboten. And surgical incisions are not the appropriate indication for such ministrations, anyway—not when there are other options available.
So next time you’re at the vet’s office rejecting the advances of the e-collar, at least have the courtesy to leave your pet indoors, watch him carefully and don’t blame me for the all-too-common outcome. Failing that, don’t plumb the depths of ancient medical history and feed it to me as if it were…well…spaghetti on a dog’s tongue. I don’t like it, Sam I Am!
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Next time (cuz I'm sure there will be a next time) ask them what year they graduated vet school and why they didn't do such and such surgery themselves if they know so darn much.
:-) OK I know you can't actually SAY that but you can think it.
I once had a training client insist I pull his dog through a e-fence to test it's effectiveness. (The dog clearly already knew the boundries at that point.) I refused and he got adamant. I pointed out that I was the paid professional here and would not do what I knew was wrong. He was welcome to do what he liked and I would leave. I was also ready to give him advice in HIS job field if he wanted. Pointing out of course I that I was not a professional writer like himself. That example seemed to get through to him and he started listening to me. (and he turned out to be a very good client)
It is funny what people think they know sometimes.
Marie August 21st, 2007 09:04:00 AM
Being an AAHA hospital, we are "protocol driven". We have an E-Collar Release Form that clients must sign at dismissal. The form states that failure to keep the collar on at all times can result in extensive and expensive repairs. Clients are given an option or sign a line for "agree" or a line for "disagree", with the dire consequenses spelled out fairly graphically. Most clients sign the "agree" line, but not all comply. Friday we did extensive oral surgery on a whippet who ended up with a mouth full of sutures. Tomorrow he's coming in for repair. No e-collar. Sigh.
6catmom August 22nd, 2007 12:22:00 AM
Agadore is the reason ecollars were invented, I am sure.... when he was neutered, the doc also did a job on his badly docked tail--the bone was sticking thru the end...not only did it look gross, it had to be an infection risk. So after the re-dock, Agadore began to lick and chew and chew some more.... he ate thru his bandage and thru his stitches. I came home from work and he met me at the door with a bloody snout, a bloody stump of a tail, and blood all over the floor. So after the THIRD tail docking, the ecollar was introduced. Thank God!!! To this day, I keep ecollars on hand at the house. Ya don't have to sell me on them......
Agadore's momma August 24th, 2007 03:27:00 AM
thank you sir
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games September 7th, 2008 10:33:00 AM
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lakii September 22nd, 2008 10:44:00 PM
In fact, there's some evidence that cross-species licking is related to lower levels of infection than same-species licking (presumably due to the lower levels of species-specific bacteria). But excessive licking and biting is verboten. And surgical incisions are not the appropriate indication for such ministrations, anyway-not when there are other options available.
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Mr.cool October 12th, 2009 03:37:13 AM
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